I've had a challenging pool month. My salt cell failed a few days before an 8 day trip, so I covered for that with liquid chlorine, and got the cell replaced. I returned to a pool that looked fine but was consuming a lot of chlorine and had mildly elevated CCs-- 1-2ish or so. I slammed with liquid chlorine, and it was an impressive battle-- I've been doing TFP for 10 years or more and have never seen a pool consume so much chlorine. The SLAM process has been imperfect, interrupted by storm damage, a medical procedure and a death in the family (it's been a heckuva month!). After a bit more than a week, the CCs trended up into the 5-7 range and became stubborn there, with the pool consuming about 3 gallons a day. The pool still looked great. I have had the pool cover off for the duration of the slam.

I tried to push the FC higher and added 6 gallons of 10% and the pool water seemed to get a slight yellow tint-- subtle, hard to tell with a French gray pool. About 5 years ago, I had an issue with iron staining after a high FC, so I backed off and let the FC drift back down. I felt lost at this point and decided to let the FC come down under 10 so I could get an accurate idea what my pH is and start again.

It took a few days to drift down below 10 and the pH was high, above 8, so I worked the pH back down to 7.4. The pool looks fantastic.

The CC had remained stubbornly high generally between 4.5 and 5.5. Last night it was 5, and I was wondering if I had gotten into a situation where I'd have to replace some of my water, despite looking fantastic. I rained like crazy last night, and this morning the CC is down.

Current numbers are:
pH 7.4 (tested yesterday night when FC was 9)
FC 14
CC 2.5
TA 60
CYA 50
CH 650

So, my questions are-- should I restart the SLAM process at this point? If so, what FC target-- I had been doing 24. Can I SLAM my way out of a CC over 5 with a FC of 24?

Hi Everyone,
I turned on my heater for the first time in 2 years and it's giving me a "System Error" red light. Looking at the underside of the circuit board, HLS led is lit.
The heater won't turn on (stays in "System Error"). There is no noise or ignition or gurgling. However, once I jumped the HLS connectors, it started right up and the heat pool light turned yellow.
Is this as simple as changing out the HLS? In another thread I read, it was the bypass valve that gave an HLS error. Thanks.

I have a old Hayward SP-583-SL light fixture that had a old Halogen light burn out. I am replacing it with a LED light since Halogens are not obtainable in California any longer. Because of that I had to replace an old X-10 remote switch with a X-10 WS469 Amazon.com since I heard the old switch is for incandescent only. I connect everything up, live light, neutral. I use a voltmeter and see 120V at the pool light junction box, pressing the X-10 switch turns it off so I believe my connections from the pool electrical box to junction is good. I also get 120v at the bulb socket in the fixture, and properly goes to 0 when i hit the X-10 switch. So to me, everything to the fixture seems ok however i cannot get the light to turn on, the GFCI does not trip. I test the bulb in a regular light socket in the house and it works fine. Any other troubleshooting ideas? Can the fixture be bad if I still get 120v to the bulb socket? Is it a fixture compatibility with LED an issue? This is the light I used Amazon.com

Thanks for any input!

-Steve

I guess with all the splashing and big waves, the water going into the skimmer, then forcefully pushing the skimmer weir door up against this piece of plastic finally gave way and cracked the skimmer frame. This is causing the weir door to stick outward into the pool

Where it is cracked we can pull the this plastic lip away about an inch or so. It is attached on the left-hand side.
What’s the best way to fix this? Some JB water weld?

The Proteus DX3 is listed as being for pools up to 33 feet long. I have an older kidney shaped pool with sloped middle section and sloped walls on the deep end. The pool deck level opening is @35 feet. Can I still make this work? What would be the limitations - if any. TIA!

I was reading another article about phosphates and one of the suggestions in limiting them and other containments would be to use an rv filter. Just wanted to see if anyone has noticed a difference if they have gone this route or just a waste of money.

For clarification this is not to fill the pool initially but to add an inch or two after evaporation. Thanks all. Appreciate the response as I’ve learned so much on this site.

We have 3 of these filters on our 100k gal pool. They have a screw on cap (about 10 in diameter) with a pressure gauge on top of the cap. I've been fighting a losing battle with one of the caps and I'm looking for any tricks to get it off. I've broken one of the plastic wrenches that fits over the fins on the cap. I've tried getting more leverage with a length of pipe on the wrench handle. I've tapped on the cap with a rubber mallet, scraped around the rim, applied various lubricants. It's stuck and I'm stuck. Any ideas? Thanks. --Fred

Cleaned my DE filters and backwashed 2 weeks ago, and this pipe has been constantly dripping/streaming/spurting water ever since. I don't know what the technical term is for this pipe, so I couldn't search. What could I have missed after I backwashed? Thanks!

I am Shawn and live in Troy, Texas GO TROJANS!!!!!! After having a pool for years back in the 90s (is was an in the ground Lazy L shaped pool and we payed a local company to maintain it). My wife has now talked me into getting a pool at our current home. Before spending the money on something permanent we have decided to get an intex easy set pool. We went with the 18' x 48' round and upgraded to the 16" 3000gpm sand filter. We also got the Intex skimmer and auto pool cleaner. I purchased the ZX300 pool cleaner but found when it climbs the walls it wants to come up and out. So I just purchased the regular gray one that does not climb walls and seems to be working good when it dont get stuck behind the ladder. However, I have already used this website to get an idea how to fix that. I think this will be a great resource to help guide me back into pool ownership!

I have read about this forum for months during my research about pools. I am excited to learn and accomplish some DIY goals. Cheers!

Hello, so glad I found this forum. I have learned and received advise from the great members here. Eager to learn more. Thanks!

Hi all, I have been a reader of this forum for several years. I would like to ask for advice because after 6 years of honorable service the side of my intex pool, which is installed in a stable way and therefore is exposed to summers and winters, especially the side most exposed to the sun, has begun to fray. Basically the rubber compound in the part most exposed to traction is starting to give and small portions of the tissue are starting to be exposed.
It basically looks like a fluff....

I know that it is an irreversible process and that sooner or later it will involve the need to replace the liner (and at that point the whole pool) but I was wondering if it was not possible to slow down this process by painting the edge, where the problem is manifesting itself, with some resin. I would like advice on which type of gummy resin is suitable for the purpose in your opinion. Thanks to anyone who can advise me!

TLDR Version: Pool contractor came out, misdiagnosed the issue, did two services they thought would fix the issue (and didn't do one of them right), and then didn't respond when I reached out multiple times for support after. Now he sent a $300 bill and is demanding I pay by tomorrow or will send to collection agency.

Long Version:
I just got back from being gone with the Army for about 9 months and have had a friend taking care of basic home maintenance, but needless to say have had a pretty big to-do list to get the house back to the condition I like it. My pool skimmer stopped working properly about 4 months ago, and I just told him to leave it off until I get back. I got back and started to work the problem.

All the basic fixes I tried and know didn't work, and I was out of ideas, so I reached out to a pool company around me with decent reviews. I called and before even getting to talk he said "hey text me" and hung up, so I texted him and never heard back.

The next day my dog starts barking and runs out to the backyard, and I go out and find a pool repairman already working on my pool pump. He apologizes and says he didn't think anybody would be home so he just "came in" and genuinely seems apologetic, and I talk him through what the issue is, how my pool isn't cleaning properly because of the skimmer, and I'm all out of ideas/wondering if I'm the problem.

He offers to attempt a basic fix that should help get the skimmer working, and the fix fits under the cost of the $150 service call, so I say cool go for it, maybe I did it wrong. He tries it, does it, and it doesn't fix the issue. He then offers to do a filter cleaning which may help, which isn't hard at all, but I figure probably needs to be done, and frankly I was doubting myself. He explains it's $135 for a filter cleaning and might fix the issue, so I agree to it and go back inside while he works. Seems like a good guy genuinely trying his best. He knocks on the door and says pool filter is clean, I don't need new filters, and he thinks it should work, and sure enough, skimmer starts to work. He leaves and says his boss will bill me. 5 minutes later the skimmer stops working again and I call the company about it, no answer, so I text.

Next day with no warning a different pool guy shows up, and primes the pump and does more basic fixes, which gets it going again. He leaves, but then 5 mins later the issue pops up again. I call, text, no response. Next day text again, no response. Next day text one last time and he finally responds and says "not sure what the issue is but I can refer you to this guy."

At this point I've busted my own butt to fix it and it turns out I had a clogged pool line and also needed new filters, the "clean" filters were completely messed up and so I spend $40 on plumbing supplies/drain bladders and $300 on new filters, which sure enough fixes the issue. Yesterday he texts me that my bill is overdue and I need to pay. I call him and he doesn't answer, so I text him why I have an issue paying the full $300. The guy proceeds to call me dishonest, that he never agreed to "clean my pool" (like that isn't what a filter does), and that I owe him $300 for service call and filter cleaning.

I tell him I'm okay paying the service call, but don't think the filter cleaning is fair since it wasn't done right and it didn't fix the issue. He proceeds to act like a toddler, refuses to answer the phone, says he wants to keep it to text "so I have everything in writing." He said he's done talking and if I don't pay by Monday he'll send it to collections. After his behavior I really really want to be difficult, but I also don't want to be dishonest and become the scum. But his communication has been awful throughout, the pool guys themselves seemed good but what they did didn't work, and when I reached out for support he blew me off but then magically starts communicating when he wants me to pay the full $300. I offered to pay the service call, and that's in writing, and he refused to even consider that.

Should I put a flaming bag of dog poop on his doorstep? Pay it and leave bad reviews?

It looks like what I’d need but I didn’t want to potentially order the wrong thing

Thanks.

Klean-Strip® Green™ Muriatic Acid, 1 Gallon
Klean-Strip® Green™ Muriatic Acid, 1 Gallon - Walmart.com

Hello! I am a fairly new and somewhat inexperienced pool owner. Our pool was built in the mid-80s; I don't know the last time there was an overhaul on the equipment.

Problem
Currently, I have next to no water coming into my pump and the pressure gauge at zero. A dribble of water comes out if I try to backwash the filter. No water coming out of the jets and no water sucking in the skimmer.

Description of Problem
We had a pool company open our pool. They told us we needed a new pump because our pump would not prime. The pump was pretty old so that seemed reasonable. I bought a new two-speed pump (I want a VS pump but that was not in the budget currently) and as we were preparing for installation, we noticed the lines were still plugged and the valves were not opened during the opening. We then opened all the lines and turned on the old pump, which started right up and was seemingly running fine. The next morning, the flow from the jets seemed weak. I tried to backwash the filter but nothing seemed to happen. I turned the filter back into position but there was zero pressure, nothing was coming in from the skimmer, nothing was coming out of the jets, and little to no water was flowing in.

We then decided to go ahead and install the new pump since the other one was so old. We got it installed, turned it on, and everything was running fine. The pressure was at 10 psi, the jets were flowing nicely with no bubbles, and the skimmer was flowing properly. Then a few hours later we noticed bubbles coming from one jet and nothing from the other one. I turned the pump off and back on. The same thing as before happened - no pressure, no water flow, no movement.

What I have tried
From everything I read, it seems like there could be a blockage in the skimmer line. I got a rubber bladder and inserted it into the line running from the pool to the pump and closed the valve to the main drain. I let that water flow for quite some time on a couple of different occasions. I saw some tiny debris coming up through the skimmer but it was not significant. I also tried alternating between flowing water with the bladder and then turning the pump on to see if that would lodge any potential blockage loose. I still had very little water flow and zero pressure. Also, just to be sure, we replaced the pressure gauge.

Other information

• The water level has pretty much not moved.
• I believe I messed up last year when vacuuming the pool in preparation for closing. I vacuumed a lot of leaves but did not use a vacuum plate. I didn't even know such a thing existed until I started trying to troubleshoot these issues. Therefore, a blockage seems very logical to me because of my vacuum mistake.

Next
The owner of the pool company that botched our opening has reached out to apologize. I think I am going to ask for his assistance with this issue but I want to make sure I am as educated as possible. In our short time owning a pool we have not had great luck with pool companies. I was hoping to get some advice from people who know more than me.

Thank you for reading my very long post!

Hello all! My pool just seems to be whipping my butt this summer! I just had to have my sand filter replaced due to a pinhole leak in the old one. I had been running my SWG on the lowest setting for a while now and the chlorine was always a bit high, but not too bad so I never worried about it. After the sand filter replacement on Tuesday I noticed that the water was cloudy. I tested for pH and chlorine, and there was NO chlorine. I am guilty of not having checked it in a while, I will admit that. So I switch the Aqua Rite over to super chlorinate and leave it for 20 hours. When I came back today I tested for chlorine again and I couldn't discern if there was any or not, if so it was faint. Also when I came back after 20 hours, the Aqua Rite display was off. I can't remember if any lights were illuminated or not. So I took the readings from the diagnostics and they were as follows:

3100
91
27.3
3.16
57p
-3100
AL-0
r1.55
t-3

So then I came back here and did my research and the first thing I noticed is that my percentage was set around 20-30% but was reading 57%. Also it seems that my voltage and amperage are in the right neighborhood but outside of normal range. So then I went back to the panel about an hour later, it was still on, showed generating like one would expect, no issues or error. I went to the diagnostic screen that shows the percentage and I am not getting the full sweep of the range, it goes from around 24% to 80% with a big dead zone at 67-68%. Also while I was adjusting the range I could hear the panel clicking (not sure if this means anything). I am guessing I might have a display or PCB issue, but could it possibly be the salt cell? I saw the recent similar article and could take the cell in for testing next week, but the display being off leads me to think it's related to the control box.

I have been having issues with my sandfilter I keep seeing debris in the clear check valve before my chlorinate pool is 18000 gallon fiberglass photos of sand filter equipment tag below

I didn’t want to jinx it, but now I have delivery confirmed for tomorrow…..
Being frustrated with not having a proper testing kit, I took the plunge and ordered one from the Big US
The K-2006 cannot be shipped overseas, so I went for the K-2009 instead (without the TA and CH reagents), but with additional R-0013 (16 oz) and R-0871 (2 oz)
Even for legal imports, there is a risk of additional import taxes (which could be sky-high), but according to my son, when ordering from Amazon import taxes are included. Something I didn’t know when placing the order, but that explains the fast shipment.
So from tomorrow, I can have exact knowledge of my values and work towards a really TFP
K-2009

Good morning, I've never used a solid cover for our pool. I've searched the forums about using a cover when closing the pool for the winter, and I think I've got a good idea of what to do, but thought I'd just get some confirmation since my situation is a little different.
In NC we really don't have to "close" the pool, since it doesn't get too cold. I don't drain anything or lower the water, and the pool pump has a thermostat to turn on when temp gets below freezing. Like the previous owners we used to put out a pool net to catch leaves during leaf season. Ran pump about four hours a day to keep things filtered (might not be needed?)
This year the pool net became deteriorated and I got rid of it. I'm thinking of putting on a solid cover with water bags and tie downs. Reason for not getting another pool net is that I think the falling leaves from a maple tree next to the pool contribute to an iron staining problem I have every spring.
So, I am thinking of putting down a solid cover from around mid-September to mid-December. Will the pool cover cause any problems with running the pool pump for a few hours, or if temps drop and the pool pump turns on? I will bring up the water to SLAM level before putting the cover on. I'm also wondering if running the pool pump is even necessary when the pool is covered? Thanks!

Hey guys.

We love the feel of our SWP. Our Cell is going bad and I'm going to need to replace it. When I look at the different sanitation systems as a cost per year deal, The cells are expensive. Going with liquid chlorine is much more cost effective, however we love the feeling of the salt water.

Any reason we couldn't install a liquid chlorine system in our salt water pool? This would be without the salt cell. Both pools still use chlorine either way. I can get a liquid system for 700 and 70ish bucks a year in chlorine vs 1200 for a new cell every 3 years @ 400 a year.

Would this give me the best of both worlds?

Thanks!

I added 5 gal liquid (10%) chlorine, and the water cleared up overnight; however my test kit (taylor k2006) indicates no free chlorine.
I took sample to Leslies and they show .13 ppm, and ph 8 and 1846 ppb phosphates along with .5 ppm copper. I'm attaching their 3 page report
They recommend a multitude of chemicals and I'm a bit skeptical based on previous opinions from TFP.

Thanks for any suggestions,
Norm

Ladies and gents, I've noticed lately that I'm getting slightly cloudy water, especially after the pool has been used by the family. Numbers are all solid and I typically run 7FC/70 CYA here in Florida. I am running my SWG pretty high right now but here is the wild card...

My filter cartridge is about 6 months old (bought a knock off Hayward brand) and lately, the PSI runs up fairly quickly so I rinse, drain, and repeat. I'm wondering if the filter just needs to get swapped or maybe I'm fighting algae but it just hasn't turned emerald on me yet. Thoughts?

We have inherited an Intex 6220 swg, and it is said to generate 12 g chlorine/hour. In pool Math there is only one Intex swg with an output of 0,63/24 h.
How is that calculated?
Furthermore, we don’t have percentages on the swg - the output is chosen by runtime only. Can we still use poolmath?

Good evening! My pool has looked spectacular since getting my TF-Pro salt kit a few months ago and learning all there is to know (and still learning) on this forum. All you pros are great and have taught me a lot!

I did a bucket test a week or so ago and definitely have a leak. The builder has been an absolute jerk about the possibility of a leak since I notified him. The pool is 9 months old and still under warranty. We live 20 minutes east of Dallas, TX and the sun is not very forgiving LOL! We have to add water to the pool daily…generally around 30-45 minutes of steady hose water.

The builder finally sent out someone today and they stated the skimmer housing was not glued or sealed at all at one of the couplings. They will come back Monday with their materials to fix it. He said it needed silicone around it. They were a bit hard to understand due to being Hispanic, even though I can speak Spanish to a degree (mostly medical Spanish). Really hoping this fixes things.

Is there anything I’m missing as far as what to ask? I’ve really had to stay on top of things with this builder from the beginning. Definitely peeved about the whole ordeal. When they come out Monday, they will be draining the pool to just below the skimmer to do their work. Not sure how long it will take the beads of silicone to dry but obviously the pump will be off. Anything I should do that morning to ensure the pool doesn’t go sideways on me?

As always, thanks for any feedback you can provide.

Hi all

Mostly new here. I've been trying to treat reoccurring algae for a few months and can't shake it.

Water is balanced. I have been brushing and adding chlorine /acid/baking soda/conditioner/phosphate as needed.

2 weeks ago added Yellow Stop. And still see algae forming on the wall near the spa.

Any recommendations?

Hey all, well.... I'm at it again. Opened to a crystal clear pool, wife helped me take off winter cover. I totally messed up and let a huge chunk of debris from the cover in the pool. Pool went from crystal clear to cloudy blue.

I'm very familiar with the SLAM process, as I did it last year. I have a 17,000 gallon 27ft round AGP SWG (not running during SLAM) 2HP 2spd pump. No ladder in the pool, lights etc. Just one return jet and widemouth skimmer.

Here's where I'm baffled. I use a Taylor kit to check my FC. I'm at about 40-50ppm CYA so I'm keeping my SLAM FC at 18ppm. I'm using 12.5% liquid shock. So last night my FC was @ 19.5 ppm @ 6:30 PM. This morning it was @ 15.5 ppm. Pool is crystal clear, I have scrubbed the walls and using the Dolphin Edge around the clock. I obviously have contaminants in the pool if I'm losing 4ppm overnight. Very windy nights and cold. Not sure that would affect anything.

Here is where I'm baffled. My pool is roughly 17,000 gallons. Every year I use the pool math calculator and it's been spot on. So when it was at 15.5 ppm this morning I did the math to bring it up to 18ppm. Which was I believe 43 ounces liquid chlorine. I go and check about 2 hours after adding and I'm at 19.5 ppm FC? What gives? How is it off by that much? Also, I had a green nasty pool last year and my SLAM process took a little over a week, but it went flawless. This year I didn't turn green and I'm eating through 4ppm overnight? Something isn't right.

Again, scrubbed walls. Dolphin cleaning floor. No ladder in pool. I don't have any lights, etc. Just not making sense.

Any thoughts from the veterans?

Btw... I had a fresh water top of last Tuesday. So I've been at this SLAM almost one week.

Hello all,
I'm wondering if anyone has any referencable industry specifications as to how water line tile should be installed? I've searched ANSI and have articles that reference tile thin set should have >95% coverage for exterior or submerged environments. I also have ANSI/APSP/ICC-5 2011 (R2022) American National Standard for Residential Inground Swimming Pools which covers the specifications of the actual build/structure and this TFP waterline overview.
I'm hoping to find something that specifies the actual mortar application though (troweled). The crew installed the tiles using spot bonding, maybe it's ok in this setting, but nothing I have found confirms that - I did find that ANSI has a few use cases where spot bonding is suitable but it doesn't include this use case. I raised my concerns to our PM and I'll be meeting with him and the contractor tomorrow. Their response was that they've used this team for 100s of pools, no issues, personally guarantee yada yada.

They assured me they'll backfill everything when the lay coping (not sure how the underside would get backfilled?), but clearly there will be gaps no matter how much they backfill. I'm worried I don't have much rebuttal as to the tiles being installed incorrectly without anything to cite. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

​

Hello everyone, our pool is 70 years old and the plaster has many discoloration and some stains. I am not sure if it is necessary to be Replastered. I was wondering what would be the cost of it and do we need to drain? Is it safe for the structure to be drained? Thanks!

Really late opening this year- pulled the cover off to a black swamp and low and behold our pump is dead. Will be a week at least before if can be replaced. Should I shock the swamp without the pump or wait patiently looking at the swamp?

Hello from NEGA