Could DPD powder cause these spots on table? Not sure if I spilt some, but don’t know what else it could be. There is a potted orchid overhanging the spots.

If DPD, is there anything that can be done to fix it?

About to be first time pool owner here. Should be getting the keys to the new place in the next two weeks. I’ve been scouring this site, Swim University, and SwimmingPoolSteve to try and get the basics down. Wish us luck and I’m sure I’ll be posting soon as we start to move in.

SWG read 1500 ppm
Test strip read 2500 PPM
I added 8 bags of salt to reach 3300 ppm from the 2500 reading
Now strips read 5800 ppm which is 5.8 on the strip. And SWG is warning check salt at 2200.
I read the old posts and most said trust the SWG or get the K-1766 kit. I've had faulty readings from SWGs before which caused an overload of salt so I would rather have a reliable test kit then calibrate the SWG. My strips are just a year old.

Have a 1.5 hp dual speed pump with a salt system and a sand filter. I noticed that recently when I go check it out the skimmer basket is floating and even though the pump is running the water doesn’t fill up all the wait to the top on the pump basket as it did before, this is actually only 1/3 full. The return jet is weak also and noticed a lot of small air bubbles.
I have done several backwash and rinse on the filter and try to prime and get any air it may have out without success. When I bypass the filter on recirculate the issue is still same with no changes. The filter pressure is fine. What do you think I should do? Thanks in advance.

recently based on some advice I was reading here I turned my main drains 75% closed so that I could have more skimming of the pool surface. This worked but for the same rpm I was running prior 1800-2300 I’ve noticed some air bubbles at the top of the pump basket. At 2300 it’s just a few but at 1800 after 5-6 hours it’s a small pocket about half an inch deep it seems.

Is this normal behaviour with vs pumps? With the main drain fully open previously didn’t see this issue unless very low around 1000 rpm

Is there any disadvantage of liquid chlorine. We are using cal hypo but I want to switch to liquid to prevent high concentration of calcium over time. I was told liquid can be damaging to our vinyl liner ? Is this true? To me that doesnt make sense but I wanted to ask

Hello!
Just Spend $2,000 to have the area leveled and compacted. Now, I’m going to place the pavers 16”x16”x2” for the 24 legs. Then getting sand delivered tomorrow to put 2 inches under the pool so that the pool bottom will be level with the pavers.
Questions:

1. What is the footprint of the pool? I read in other posts it’s smaller than the 32x16?
I need to know so I can place the pavers

2. Does it sound like bringing the pool bottom level up with 2” of sand to the pavers will work?

I just got back from a 10 day vacation and came back to these brown spots all over the pool, but mainly on the sun shelf. A pool brush didn’t seem to do anything, but when rubbing with my nail it removed some of the brown spreading part but not completely.

Is this due a chemistry issue? I have been dealing with high PH for awhile which I think is scaling my filter. The filter jumps to high pressure within an hour of cleaning. I thought the filter issue might be an algae issue, and was planning to do a chlorine drop test (CC is 0-0.5).

Could this be due to high PH or algae? Or is it something wrong with the plaster? I would appreciate helping identify the issue and how to fix it. I have been using TFP since we built a year ago, you guys are always great. Thanks for the help in advance!

FC - 6.0
CC - 0-0.5
CYA - 70
PH - 8.2
CH - 450
TA - 80
Salt - 3400

I have a SWG that is keeping the FC at ~4.0 continuously (I check every day). My CYA is ~50, so FC should be good (slightly over 7.5% CYA). I have noticed that the CC has been slowly rising over the last few days - 0 three days ago, 0.2 two and one day ago, and 0.4 (maybe 0.3?) today. Pool was swept yesterday, filter was backwashed, and pool vac run two days ago and today. Solar cover has been on at night and up to about noon everyday.

FC: 4.0
CC: 0.4
CYA: ~50
pH: 7.6
TA: 60

I'm located in the Bay Area (Orinda). The context is that from November to February there were many torrential rains. The rains extended through March and April, and even happened sporadically through May and June.

My house is on a hill, at an elevation of 728 ft. In March I noticed that the pool began to loose water and I called a pool specialist who detected a water leak in a crack in the wall of the pool.

The work of patching the crack and reinforcing with rebar happened in May; However, the pool lost water again and after inspecting all the systems, the pool builder found another crack adjacent to where he had fixed earlier. When removing the water from the pool a second time, more cracks were found in the pool wall.

One theory from the pool builder is that there is a gap between the base of the pool and the ground due to soil movement caused by rains.

Potential fixes from the problem:

1) Recommendation is redo the entire layer of plaster, which will help identify the parts where there are cracks and reinforce the base as needed.

2) Another is to create a retaining wall on the side bottom side of the slope (opposite side from the crack repair area) that will better support the pool and prevent movement of the subsoil under the pool.

3) Building a french drain in the area where there is more elevation (near the current crack repair area) could help prevent water from flowing down near the pool wall.

I am looking to try to understand where the origin of the problem is. What type of study would you recommend? Would a structural engineer tell me what work I need to do to prevent from future cracks and if these (all or one) will prevent future issues?

Does the crack need to be opened for an structural engineer to study the soil?
Should the pool builder have reinforced a larger area from the beginning?

here is a video and some pictures

thanks for any ideas !

My pool has been empty for about 16 months did some repair on the decorative rocks and painted them. I found out that the main drain covers should be changed every 10 years and mine had some cracks so got some replacements. I also replaced the halogen lights with LED lights with longer cable (thats another story). I have a salt system and also starting with new filter cartrages. Is there anything else I should do before filling it up? I have belonged to this form for a while now and love the "Pool Math" app it makes it so easy to keep it looking good.

Hey everyone!

I’m new to the board, although I’ve definitely lurked here before for tips and troubleshooting issues I’ve had in the past. I’m hoping someone may be gracious enough to help me solve my problem - my former pool guy is too busy or can’t be bothered to swing by, so I’ve been trying to figure this out on my own - to no avail.

Let me get to it.

I have a 17,000 gal in ground pool with an attached, raised spa with a spillway. I recently had to change out my return actuator and that replacement went off without a hitch (I believe).

My previous actuator was set to stop at, let’s say 90% off on the spa return when it was in pool mode so that there would be a tiny bit of circulation and the spillway would run. When I replaced it, I couldn’t figure out how to get it to stop just short of totally closing off the spa return. My specific model is a Tork TPE24VA, and it wasn't clear to me how to manually set the dial. As a work-around, I manually hit the switch to off once it got to that desired 90%, knowing that it would no longer be controlled by the automation system. This was a temporary work around as I had no immediate plans to run it in spa mode while I did more digging on how to manually set the limit on the rotation.

I assumed that my drain actuator would also stay on the pool setting unless I switched it to spa mode. Then I went to bed. This morning, when I went into my backyard, I first noticed that the pump sounded louder than usual, like when it’s straining when the basket is full. However, as I got closer, I realized the spa was completely drained. I immediately hit the breakers to turn the pump off.

I then filled the hot tub back up with my hose, set the actuators to just run the pool water, then turned the pump back on. It “runs,” but the pump won’t fill with water. It does not return any water to the pool, in fact, a few air bubbles slowly come out of the nearest return jet. When I open up the pump, the water inside sits at like 2/3 full.

Some troubleshooting that I’ve done so far:

-Pool/skimmer water levels are good.
-Skimmer and pump basket are not clogged.
-I used a coat hanger to clear out the pump impeller and nothing came out.
-I’ve tried filling the pump with my hose and literally had it filling for ~10 minutes and it just kept eating it - it never filled/overflowed.
-I tried bleeding the air out of the filter, and when it eventually filled up, pressure wouldn’t build, and it would fill with air again. The filter is at 0 psi.

I’m hoping with these details and the troubleshooting I’ve done so far, one of you may be wise enough to pinpoint the issue. I fear that it pulling air in from an empty spa for who knows how long could mean the pump needs to replaced.

So, anybody have a clue what the issue is? Or have any other troubleshooting tips?

Thank you all so so much for taking the time to read this! Apologies for the length!

So I have read (not on here) that if you see these in your pool ... you more than likely have algae even if you can't see it. So I had a couple of them swimming around today , I removed them and have no reason to believe that I have algae that I can or cannot see. What are the thoughts on these bugs making their way into your pool.

I finally splurged and got a dolphin Sigma and love it so far except for the fact that it gets hung up on at least one or both of the main drains each time which is really annoying. I turn the pump off when I run it but it still gets stuck. I'm sure this is probably a fairly common issue with these cleaners. I've watched some videos of the clips you can install on the drains but wondering if that's the best fix or if there's something that works even better. I don't mind spending more money on new drain covers or whatever it takes for the robot to not ever get stuck.

Thanks in advance!

Just had my salt system upgraded to a PLC1400 and upgraded to iAqualink3.0 Upgrade Kit w/ RS-PS8 PCB. We've always had the Aqualink RS4 mounted on the wall inside the house inside the back door, to control the pool, hot tub, and monitor the system (would display the air temp, water temp, salt level, etc.). The pool tech who installed the new board said the RS4 would not be compatible with the IAqualink 3.0 as it would interfere with the app and web application to control the system.
My question is, can I at least hook up the Aqualink RS4 to show anything on the indoor display, I understand I would not necessarily be able to control the system from it, but seeing a black screen on the unit is still odd to look at, since before when it was the "brains" of the system when it was black meant there was an isssue!

Hey all. I just bought a Pentair Intelliflo3 VSF to replace my Hayward Northstar. After removing the Northstar it appears that the intake line doesn't match up. That being the case should I just shim up the pump with a piece of pressure treated lumber, or cut the lines and lower them? I have attached images so you can see the difference.

Also if I have to cut and lower the lines for the Skimmers, Spa drain, and Main drain. Will the water pressure force water out of the lines impeding me from being able glue on couplings? Thanks

Dealing with very hot days and tons of rain here in Florida which is causing lower than normal FC. I’m worried about running my SWG at a higher value (currently 50 bumped up to 75) that may cause premature cell failure vs supplementing liquid as a band aid. The SWG is about 5 years old.

Hi All,

I live in SETX and have run my pool year round since it's initial install in 1993. This was somewhat messy and temperamental with tabs but when I switched over to salt in ~ 2005, things got better - until the weather patterns over the past few years have made me wonder if it's time to stop treating from Nov thru Mar and just let it ride.

We'll get 5" of rain over a couple days which drops my salt around 600 points, not to mention my CYA to 0, and causes me to pump out what remains so the skimmer will work. Then I'll add salt and the rain comes again. I've dumped prolly 6 bags of salt since Christmas with no end in sight. Water temps are usually below 60° and sometimes get into the 40's during this stretch. My though is to shut down the chlorinator and just run the pump long enough for 1 turnover, about 6 hrs.

Your thoughts?

Russ

I'm new to TFP and new to pool care. We've had a pool for a couple years and have been paying someone to take care of it. I finally bit the bullet and decided to take over the pool care myself. At first it was to save money, but after testing the pool I realized our pool guy wasn't doing his job right, so all the more reason to take over. I'm glad I found this forum. Looking forward to getting help and sharing ideas.

This is my first time building a pool so I'm unfamiliar with gunite process. I don't know what it's suppose to look like within the first 24 hours, but this isn't what I envisioned so I thought I'd just get confirmation from all the veteran pool owners.

I live in Texas and it is like 100+ every day right now so I guess my concern would be that the parts of the surface dried/cured to fast and would cause issues/cracks later. I just need peace of mind.

I replaced my sand filter and did some replumbing. This 90 has cracked on me twice. Could it be faulty pvc or is this 90 in a bad spot? Thanks in advance for any help!

I have a Jandy XLi heater that has worked great for years. But starting this week, the heater will not turn on when using my handheld remote or indoor control screen. I've shut down all equipment and restarted everything. On my actual heater display, I've confirmed that TSTAT is enabled, green SPA light is on, and temperature set to the maximum 104 degrees. I've confirmed that the actual water temperature reading of 83-84 degrees is accurate and my SPA temperature is set to heat to 101 degrees on my indoor control screen. The screen and my PDA handheld remote both show that the heater is on (indicated with the red icon), but the heater itself doesn't fire up. If I turn the remote setting to OFF on my heater, I can then manually turn on the heater by pressing the SPA button and it fires up immediately without issue. So I am happy that the heater actually functions, but I am really stuck on what could have happened within the past week to cause this issue.

Does anyone have any advice? I've scoured this forum and google extensively. Thanks!

Hi all,
We have recently started finding thin, relatively short (approx 1-3 inches, although some much longer at 1 foot plus) little metal spirals in our pool. Has any one else ever had something like this in their pool?
It is a new pool, but been running and in use for approx 3 months. The builder recently swapped out two 3 way valves (pool vs. spa suction and returns), but this seems unlikely to be related to that work.
Other things might be our automatic cover (CoverCare), our cleaning robot (Aiper Seagull Pro), maybe internal to filter, pump or heater?
The picture has the longest ones we've found and a few short ones as well as a diving ring for scale.
Anyone seen this before?

I have an Aquacal heat pump (SQ110) and it appears the temp sensor has gone bad. The temperature on the display is 10 degrees off from the actual water temperature. The heater runs fine otherwise.

Can these be replaced easily?

So I just got a house that has a pool. I have ordered my Taylor 2006 kit, but it has not arrived so I took a pool sample to Leslies. Not something I want to do, but only thing I could do. Here are the results for a 27,000 gallon pool.
FC - 0.35
TC - 2.11
PH - 7.5
TA - 55
CH - 179
CYA - 90
Copper - 0.4
Phosphates - 1406

They are recommending a CuLator PowerPak for Metals, adding Alkality up, Shock it at night and NoPhos to remove Phosphates.

I know they are in the business of making money so I told them I have some of this product at home and come back and get what I need. Any recommendations on doing something different? Thanks in advance.

I am replacing my Jandy Stealth single speed pump with a new to me Jandy ePump (JEP 1.5). https://www.jandy.com/-/media/zodiac/global/downloads/h/h0311700.pdf

The manual doesn't say how to wire the 2 hots wires L1 & L2 (I do have the green wire to ground on the pump) but there is a label on the side of the pump that says L2-red & L1-black. If I follow this direction, how do I know the red & black wire in the outlet I'll be plugging this into has the same standard, or does it not really matter, ie., you can swap the red & black wire connectors? If it does matter, how do I test which wire in the outlet should be the red one and which one should be the black one?

One of my temp limit sensors failed last week on my pool heater. It failed "closed", so the heater basically errored out and stopped heating.

It seems this heater has 2 of these sensors wired in series. The failed sensor is currently bypassed but I'm curious as to whether or not these sensors can fail "open" as well as that could be an issue with just the one sensor.

This is a pretty old heater (15 years) and the repair quote was pretty high considering it's just a sensor, so my options are
- Have the sensor replaced with a new one (~$400)
- DIY with Amazon parts ($80)
- Let it ride on one sensor until something goes wrong then do one of the above

I know what the correct answer is since obviously there's a redundancy for a reason in the design, but I'm curious to see if anyone has had one of these sensors fail in the "open" mode or what the other common failures are that I can look forward to in a heater this age. There are a few condensation drips on the inside (minor) so I'm hesitant to pump too much money into it.

Well, the story repeats itself. I returned from a 5 day vacation to find algae in the pool. I immediately thought the chlorine must be low. To my surprise, here are the readings using my test kit:

FC 12
CC 0
PH 7.5
TA 90
CH 400
CYA 70
NA 3800
CSI -.11

I even put half a bottle of algaecide in the pool before I left. My son checked the pool on Wednesday, and all was fine. Folks at the pool store said they've had a record number of algae complaints. Has the algae become resitant to chlorine? How on earth can I have algae? I solved my circulation issue 2 years ago. It's now Dang near a whirlpool. What on earth could be the cause??

Alien strain of algae perhaps?

There are 6 jets in out raised spa. Five are working normally and one is struggling. Any thoughts, ideas, tips?

hi all, thanks to this forum and a few other resources, I taught myself basic pool maintenance in a few days and now have my pool chemistry, basic plumbing and operation under control! This new-to-me pool was a great learning experience for first time pool owner given all the gaps that existed.

The two things I am still missing in the Pentair Easytouch set up (SWCG pool + spa) are: a way to automate a little acid dosing if possible (using IntelliChem or Intelli PH) and being to manage the overall operation remotely by wifi. Both these features will be very helpful if I am out for say 2 to 4 weeks and especially if weather changes quickly. Pentair Easytouch has Intellichem on menu but does not have the Intelli PH on the menu. And no wifi control. This house is 5 years old, I am assuming the EasyTouch was not obselete when installed, lol.

So first question -- IntelliChem or IntelliPH? I am looking for a little simple acid dosing to avoid the pH going up a lot. Neighbor has Intelli Chem and seems to be ok with it, but I have heard Intelli pH is better for this purpose?

Second to get wifi -- My options may appear to be -- platform upgrade or in the extreme case, get Intellicenter? Seems i should re-use the Easytouch I have if I can, since Intellicenter is not cheap. What is the recommendation?

TY all for the help!