FWIW, a lot of helpful information about ph meters and similar test instruments can be found on forums for fish aquarium enthusiasts. Unlike one’s pool chemistry which allows more latitude in use of reagents to get close ballpark readings, aquarium owners have to attain water specs with more accuracy. It’s a delicate balancing act with only minor movement in their water chemistry that can mean losing potentially thousands invested in some of the more rare, exotic species.

Pool looks great! I just realized, you used same builder as me. Empire?? We are finished too, just waiting for our sod to be installed by our landscaper.

ketofol said:

Dropped over 16 ppm in 4 days,

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4 PPM per day FC loss is right in the ballpark to be expected.

I’m working on a mock build for my new filter and pump.

Strange that the pressure gauge will make the difference. As @Jimrahbe said lets wait and see.

Gflande1 said:

last year I calculated my GPM, then figured out the speed I needed to turn the pool over 3 times.

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It's a nice thought "pool turnover" but here on the forum we don't do anything because of turnover which is a myth. We run the pump to get enough chlorine into the water and that would be enough. The rest of the pump time is owner preference for filtering, skimming and the like. A vsp allows you to run more efficient so it affords you if you like to run 24/7 which lots of us do and at the same time we have the SWCG run at a lower percent along with it. The water remains very clear because of constant filtering.
Turnover of Pool Water - Further Reading

AmberCrest said:

I do not seem to find an installation manual for the iQ30 but I do see one for iQ20. I presume they are pretty much the same except the 30 has the newer antenna and that in terms of hardware

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Correct. There is a registration number on the antenna and on a place card contained in the package. That is needed to register the new antenna/PCB in the iAquaLink app. The only difference between 2.0 and 3.0 is that 3.0 is improved to work with MESH networks such as Eero.

AmberCrest said:

I guess it will be pretty much a 1:1 swap from the old board to the new board?
In terms of programming... As I cannot access the current board, I really have no idea what sort of programs exist so might I ask about some generalities?

Click to expand...

Yes. Take of picture of the connections on the old PCB and also of the dipswitches on the left of the board.
Don’t worry about the current programming as you want to start fresh once everything is installed.

AmberCrest said:

There are four control valves, two are motorized.
In terms of flow to the pump:
#1) [manual valve] selects between the pool main drain and the pool skimmer
#2 {motorized valve} selects between valve#1 and the Spa drain
Flow from the pump:
#3 [motorized] I believe selects between pool return and Spa return (these are not labeled)
#4[manual valve] I am guessing this is where the blower connects in for the Spa

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#1 is to set suction between main drain and skimmers. I had mine set 80% open to skimmer and 20% to main drain. This is adjustable over time.
#2 This will plug into the INTAKE socket on the PCB. It will auto rotate when selecting Pool or Spa mode. It is firmware programmed so can not be changed.
#3 same as #2 but plug into the RETURN socket on PCB.
#4 - would like to see a photo of this and the whole equipment pad. It could be an spillover valve to allow the spa to spillover into the pool when the system is in POOL mode.

AmberCrest said:

Regarding the pump... It would seem to be a 2-speed: SP4020X252NS however, I have not confirmed that the motor actually is a 2- speed motor and I just discovered there are multiple generations of that pump - this one seems to be 2005.

Click to expand...

The current dipswitches may indicate if it is a 2 speed pump. Take a photo of current PCB dipswitches.

It’s a bit early to do anything with the pool here in Michigan but, we had a beautiful day and I did a couple things. First, I replaced a tie down spring on my safety cover. I got off line this winter and hit it with my snow blower. I clear a small path by my pool that gets me to my shed and I usually run a shovels width along the edge of the springs but I got lazy and just took my blower out there straight off and hit the last one. Thankfully no damage to the cover.

Since the cover was a bit loose, I looked underneath it and found that the water was almost up to the coping. I had to break away a little ice to get my submersible pump in there, but I pumped out a few inches to give me room for the spring rains. While in there, I also checked the chlorine. There was still some there, about 3ppm, so I’ll need to get pumping and chlorinating as soon as any risk of freezing is past. Probably by the end of March.

All in all, a good day to tinker with the pool and a few other outdoor chores.

M,

Are we talking about Amazon reviews???

Jim R.

Newdude said:

(I like the RJ60+)

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+100

I'm a fool for my RJ-60+...I would (will) buy again when necessary. Has given me GREAT service.

Since this post on Thursday, we are now down to 32 drops (FC 16) thanks to turning off the SWG, lots of sun in March and a rather large thunderstorm. Dropped over 16 ppm in 4 days, interesting.

Can you email [email protected] with your user id?

Also may be worth it to try logging out and logging back in again first.

I no longer have any saved data.

What model filter do you have that took all that dirt?

Did they clean the filter after vacuuming?

Hey M and Welcome !!!

Are you going to DIY ? Circupool is hard to beat. They claim the most production for the longest time, both likely inflated but at worst they are as good as anyone else, and usually cheaper.

There's a forever sale where you buy the lower model and 'upgrade it' for $10 to the one you wanted. We aim for 2X here so you only need to run it about 12 hours a day in the peak season. Less runtime means longer life and less pump electricity. They have 55k and 60k models that are close enough for you. (I like the RJ60+) The daily UV demand is much friendlier in PA than it is in TX, so you have that going for you when you don't quite hit the 2X.

1.5 ppm FC is not 'fine' under any circumstances.
Review FC/CYA Levels

I pretty much don't trust any Amazon reviews anymore. I just went through it again looking up cofee makers. Many of the reviews I was reading clearly weren't for the model they were under. The only ones I trust have pictures of that model, and even then, my 'is this guy just an idiot' senses are on high alert.

Roz,

Odd indeed...

I guess the gauge could have had an air leak.. Any air leak will cause something to drain down when the pump is off.. Not sure how it would effect just the spa.

Keep an eye on it for a few days and tell us if the drain down problem comes back.

Thanks,

Jim R.

ajw22 said:

That is a toy.

If your Pool Service has a standalone vacuum rig let them clean it up.

You need a commercial grade standalone vacuum rig like the Riptide or this...

Riptide XP

The Riptide XP is an ultra portable pool vacuum and battery box combo. Our battery box will hold a 35 amp hour battery and you can expect around 2 to 3 hours of run time (battery not included). The XP utilizes the same exact vacuum head as our Riptide SL. NEW FEATURES FOR 2020: Integrated...

www.riptidevac.com

Riptide SL Pool Vacuum

New features for 2020: Integrated Stainless Steel Steering Knuckle. This allows you to hook any pole directly up to the Riptide vacuum without the need for any adaptors while being effortless to maneuver in the water. High Torque Motor- Our new High Torque motor utilizes rare earth magnets...

www.riptidevac.com

Riptide XP Pool Vacuum: !!WOW!!

I got a Riptide XP pool vacuum cleaners, and WOW, 65k-68K, no problem. This equipment, along with a skimlite 6317 pool pole, will clean this size pull up in no time. It sucks up dirt and debris like nobody's business; you just steer it and not try to fight it. This thing will blow every...

www.troublefreepool.com

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Well.. they showed up and just used a hose hooked to our skimmer and vacuumed it. Added chemicals and will be back in two days to vacuum again, clean the filters and check chemistry.

mas985 said:

No, just leave it as is. Both the ground and the bond are fine connected to the j-box.

What I was describing was to add a bonding wire from the pump directly to the j-box so the pump bond and pool bond are in direct contact.

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Got it. I will leave it as is in the j-box. If I can’t find a wire buried near the pump, I will run a wire from the j-box. Thanks for the help

M,

Got any links to those reviews??

Did it just get shipped bad, or did it go bad over time??

I can't see how it would crack unless not drained in the winter or sudden freeze..

They seem to me to be pretty beefy.. At my house I have the Pentair CCP 520.. It is about 12 years old and working fine.. but, if it went bad tomorrow, I'd replace it with the Waterway.

Thanks,

Jim R.