Happy new year!

I have an old Val-Mar in-ground hybrid pool (concrete bowl, fiberglass sides) that appears to be leaking somewhere in the side panels. This is typical for pools of this type/age, and according to the wiki article there are a few options I can pursue to fix it. I was wondering if there were any other Canucks on here with similar pools who had any luck refurbishing or converting to liner pools. I know of this thread already but there was no reply.

I just converted my pool to a salt water generator (thanks to this forum for advice and help). My pH has been maintained at 7.8 for quite a while before the conversion and I haven’t had any scaling or cloudiness. My family has sensitive skin and I really want the pH to be closer to 7.4 but 7.5 is okay. Does this Orenda screenshot look like a reasonable goal? I just took all the current measurements with a Taylor kit.

We moved into our house 2 weeks ago. It has a 20,000 gallon chlorine pool with a sand filter. I had the pool company remove the cover, remove plugs and turn on everything. While removing the mesh cover, they practically dumped everything that was on top of the cover into the pool . My poor Dolphin AC 30 sweeper can't keep up (clogging frequently). I bought my TFTest Kit pro. I don't know whether to focus on cleaning out all the debris or focus on chemistry first. I'm thinking let the chemistry start working while I'm working on getting all the stuff out of the pool. Should I drain a large portion of the water or let the CYA levels guide that decision? I can almost guarantee there is ZERO chlorine in this pool.

I used the TFP method for my pool many years ago and had crystal clear, low maintenance results. (see prior posts) I want to get back to that ASAP.

Hello I'm purchased a home in Dec '24. As a Pisces and originally being from Nola, I wanted to be near a body of water. In central, rural Mississippi this house has a pool. Wasn't looking for one, it came with the house. Lol Never thought of owning a pool, so here I am with no clue what to do or where to start. And a pool boy is out of my budget. I'm ready to not put on my big girl panties (they are soooo comfy), but my itty-bitty, teenie-weenie, yellow, polka-dot bikini and learn.

Good morning,
First time pool owner from Ontario, Canada. We moved into our new place at the end of August 2024 so really didn’t have much time to get used to our new pool. It was less than 3 years old when we purchased the house so all of the equipment is “as new” although the previous owners were not necessarily the most “handy” or up on maintenance. Does not appear anything has been damaged or abused and a professional company did our closing at the end of the season. Looking forward to our first full summer with a pool!

I came across HTH Super Shock at Costco. They’re granules but cal hypo and don’t contain CYA. Are those safe to use or does anyone have any experience with it?

I had a pool installed last summer. My wife really wanted salt water. We did it, but now I’m regretting doing it as I see so many people whose pool has rusted after 3 years of use.
I really don’t want to be replacing the pool after such a short while.

Should I look at switching it to back regular chlorine system in the spring?

Getting a new VS pump to replace single speed. I'm making an assumption that running the pump at slower speeds will have lower pressure reading at the DE filter.
I'm curious how will I know when it's time to backwash?
I'm going to guess I pick a pump speed and us that speed and pressure as the reference point?
The pump will be a Pentair VSF3.
Can I use some of the flow and power readings from the pump to judge when the filter needs cleaning?

I have a used raypak206a. I have cleaned out the burners and have a new pilot light on. The pilot is lit and burning but I can’t get the burners to light. Any help?

Well, it finally happened. I didn't actually expect my current pump to last as long as it did. I bought an Xtremepower dual speed 1.5HP pump when we first put up our pool. It's possibly the cheapest no name brand pump but I will say it got us through and worked extremely well, money well worth it. That is until this morning.

Now, my current setup is breaker box -> gfci outlet -> timer -> pump/salt cell. I finally fixed up a few leaks and o-rings in my plumbing and was filling the pool yesterday. This morning I turned the timer to "on" and turned the pump to "low" and nothing happened. I immediately noticed that the salt cell didn't have power either. The GFCI outlet was tripped, so I reset it and immediately it tripped again. I opened the connection area of the pump and pulled off the red (positive) wire, plugged the timer back into the gfci outlet and turned the timer on, and the salt cell was getting power. Turned the timer off again, plug the red (positive) back into the pump, plug the timer back into the gfci outlet, and immediately tripped again (even with the timer turned off). Super curious how this trips the gfci outlet when the timer (which the power flows through) is turned off?

As a quick remedy I purchased a new wire whip and replaced the conduit and wire from timer to pump. Same thing, trips immediately even with timer off. Therefore, my conclusion is the pump is shot. I have not pulled it off the pad and opened it up yet. But I will be doing this in hopes that I can make a quick/cheap repair and keep it as a backup. FYI: I did not take the pump inside during winters, I unscrewed all the unions and connections to pump/filter and left them on the pad. I also noted water in the conduit from timer to pump as the conduit was never properly screwed into the pump opening. I can only assume snow/water got inside the pump and miraculously it lasted as many years as it did.

I already know, I should've done better about this. I can make excuses, perhaps it was a "let's test it and fix it later" and later never comes, but that doesn't fix the problem now.

The 2 speed pump that died successfully activated the salt cell on the low speed until the filter became dirty enough to impede the flow of water enough. Once the filter has been cleaned the low speed activated the salt cell again.

Now, the same pump is still pretty cheap, around $150ish. I checked out a few cheaper variable speed pumps that can have 3-4 speed selections, with an Xtremepower variable actually having some adjustable ranges. I'm not totally turned off the brand. True variable speed pumps are unfortunately out of my budget (have to recoup vacation money). Is a variable speed pump going to make that much difference to me, or is a 2 speed still the best option since the low speed already worked best for my situation? I'd rather not spend more than necessary, but if an upgrade is worth it I'll consider spending the extra.

To note, I have a couple solar panels but the connections are leaking as o-rings went missing and the connector knobs broke off. They aren't connected and the low speed barely worked to push the water through them. I'm undecided about fixing/replacing them, not sure they made much of a difference.

Hi there! We purchased a home in October with an 11,000 gallon inground fiberglass pool. The previous owners seemed to rely pretty heavily on trichlor pucks - when the pool was opened, we found the CYA was 129. We partially drained the pool and refilled, and our CYA levels are within normal limits now. We obviously don't want to do that again anytime soon, so I'm going to stay away from trichlor pucks. I've been using liquid chlorine, but I can't imagine I'll want to pour some in every single day. I already know that using unstabilized pucks in the automatic chlorinator is a no-no (could go boom), so I won't be doing that.

My question is: is it okay to switch to unstabilized chlorine pucks and use them in a floater to help keep chlorine levels up and slightly minimize liquid chlorine? Would that cause any bad reaction? Additionally, a lot of the unstabilized chlorine pucks I see say to only put these in the skimmer - what's best practice? Skimmer or floater?

I recognize that unstabilized chlorine pucks will increase calcium hardness which is fine for me currently, because our calcium is low. Also open to recommendations on recommended calcium hardness levels and if they differ for fiberglass pools.

Thank you! I'm a newbie here, so I appreciate the help.

New pool and chemistry is good with CSI of 0.05.

I’ve read some threads on efflorescence and I think this looks like it to me, but wanted to ask here. It sounds like most recommend dilute MA?

The PB plans to use a tile cleaner (GLB TLC), which does have HCl in it (but looks like at a low concentration). It also contains sulfuric acid and phosphoric acid and a substance to make it stick better to tile before it gets wiped off. Is this product safe to put into the pool? Other recommendations?
Thanks!

I’m in the process of a water exchange. I have had an iron issue for a couple of years. I deduced that the iron was from using Clorox salt. I did a water exchange at the beginning of 2024 in and out method and basing my calculations on the amount of water going in and out and the size of my pool.

When I thought the exchange was complete, I started the pool up and tested for salt and it was at 800 ppm. I thought this was a small amount and probably wouldn’t matter. However, I still had a problem with staining, although it had improved. When I added salt I used Morton Pool Salt. So, I’m not sure if the problem was the residual salt or the Morton salt.

Right now, I’m using my salt level to determine if the exchange is complete. After 3 days of 24 hours of exchange, my salt level is 400 ppm. My question is: Can I actually get the level to zero?

I’m really ready to enjoy the pool this summer.

I am moving into a home with a pool, and have booked with a company to open it on May 8.

I am trying to prepare myself. I highly doubt that I will be lucky enough to have a crystal clear pool after opening it. It has a mesh safety cover on, and I can’t see what the water is like.

The previous tenants did not leave many accessories or tools. I’d like to know what I need…

I have a TFPro salt kit coming. I bought a wide brush.

I saw a skimmer net, a hose and a triangular vacuum head. Not sure what condition they’re in. Is this good enough (assuming that I probably have a lot to vacuum up?) or should I buy something else?

Would a robot vac be efficient in vacuuming the pool after opening? I’m looking at the Aiper S1.

I’ve attached a photo. Can someone tell me if this is set up to be able to backwash or vacuum to waste?

I'm chasing a problem with my SWG that started a couple weeks ago. Added salt one evening, the next morning got the no power warning on the SWG . Checked the 20Amp fuse, it was blown. Figured some new salt must have got in the cel and overloaded the circuits. Replaced the fuse, everything was fine. For a few days. Then I noticed the water temp was reading about 10 degrees high,and the salt was reading lower than actual (Taylor salt test). Did the research, figured the cel/thermistor is going bad (the T-15 is less than 3 years old btw).So I did the clean the cel and check for any debris but it looked fine. Then magically everything was back to normal. Temps were fine, salt was within 200 of actual, great. Then yesterday I check LOW SALT, Temp 115 ! (Water is really 85). Must be the cel so I Check the resistance across the correct pins on the cable. 7.68kΩ. According to the chart that's pretty close to the actual temp. Unless I'm reading it incorrectly. So what's wrong ? The Voltage and Amps seem to be close to spec. But my Salt is now reading about 1000ppm low. As tested it's 3200. My chemistry is a little bit old 12/24 exp. but it's been fairly accurate (I think). Fearing it may be the board I changed the Cel type to T-9. It now reads the salt accurately but the Temp is still way off. What am I missing ? these are the readings I got this morning.
Can the thermistor be bad but still read Ω close to normal? or is it something else?

Searching around, it seems like the issue could be a lot of different things. I'm hoping you guys could point me in the right direction. The warranty expired, so this will be my first attempt at a repair.

Last week, the heater worked fine. Yesterday, it started short cycling. I think it would run for 30-40 minutes and then stop heating. The heater display looked like it normally does when it's on; there was no error code. The intellicenter app made it look like the heater was working, but there was no noise and no heat.

This morning, I went out there hoping to see an error code. I turned it on and it only ran for about 10 minutes, then stopped. The "Service Heater" light is now on if I try to turn on the heater. Still no error code on the display.

The only issue I had to this point was the Stack Flow Sensor had to be replaced about 2 years ago while under warranty. It did something similar (short runs and cut off), but I don't recall if it gave me an error code.

Any guidance on troubleshooting would be appreciated.!

My Sta-rite 2hp pump recently died and I have not been able to replace it due to recent hospitalizations and disappearing pool suppliers or suppliers who do not carry my preferred brands. My pool water has turned an ugly shade of green and is supporting some new form of life. I want to drain as much water as I can safely. During the building process some ten years ago, the City required the builder to use rebar 2.0. I wish now I would have taken a picture. So much rebar. So, after draining, I will need a new variable speed 2hp+pump, SWG system, and control equipment. What is the latest recommendation for the draining process? I like Pentair equipment. I have had two Taylor test kits and scores of reagents. The pool is around 27,500 gallons with a Pebble Sheen surface. Any opinions as to how I should drain and re-build are appreciated. BTW, I am headed back to the hospital again, and again. Looks like I will have to visit Leslie's...noooo.

I have a Hayward aquarite T-15 salt cell and when I opened the pool (~20k gallons) the cell was reading 1900. I put in 6 bags of salt and after about 24 hours it read 2800 (I've also seen this number drop depending the time of day) This seemed a little low to me as I was expecting more around 3200-3400. Rather then just buy more salt, I decided to buy the Taylor K-1766 kit to make sure my numbers were accurate. I just did the test (only used 10mL of water) and came up with 4400 PPM.

The salt cell was cleaned just prior to opening and the plates looked pretty good, but I know I'm at the upper age of cells. I've ran the cell at 45% for 12 hours during the day and 20% for 12 hours during the night for the last couple of years (not sure if this maintains life of the cell). I'm pretty sure I'm genearting chlorine since my level has stayed constant since I opened the pool a week ago.

Is it time for a new salt cell? Should I just wait until next year as long as I'm generating chlorine? Any reason to calibrate the Hayward to show the accurate number?

Started a Slam on Saturday. The last 3 days FC and CC have remained steady. (Located east of Atlanta)
FC = 31.5
CC = .5
Before the Slam (Friday - 4 days ago)
PH = 7.4
CYA = 60

Water is clear and sparkling (and was before the slam) - Water temp over the last week has fluctuated between 62 and 71. Pool was open over the winter as water temps got as low as 34 degrees. I decided to slam when noticing yellow/brown substance on the bottom corners along with flat areas in the shallow ends (I have a sport pool - ends are the same depth with a deeper middle). I have been diligently sweeping the spots but they are not moving or getting smaller. Could this be an algae of some sort? Could it be mustard algae. After reading through forums here I noticed 2 things the yel/mstrdshock chart (below) and also a discussion on using Sodium Bromide.

CYA ........... Min FC3 ..... Target FC ...... Yel/Mstrd Min ...... Shock FC ..... Yel/MstrdShock
0 ................. 0.071 ........... 0.111 ................ 0.151 .................. 0.641 .............. 1.501
10 ............... 0.81 ............. 1.21 .................. 1.61 .................... 4.5 .................. 7.1
20 ............... 1.51 ............. 2.4 .................... 3.1 ..................... 8.3 ................ 12.7
30 ............... 2.2 ............... 3.5 .................... 4.6 ................... 12.2 ................ 18.2
40 ............... 2.9 ............... 4.6 .................... 6.1 ................... 16.0 ................ 23.8
50 ............... 3.7 ............... 5.7 .................... 7.5 ................... 19.8 ................ 29.42
60 ............... 4.4 ............... 6.8 .................... 9.0 ................... 23.7 ................ 34.92
70 ............... 5.1 ............... 8.0 .................. 10.5 ................... 27.52 ............... 40.52
80 ............... 5.8 ............... 9.1 .................. 12.0 ................... 31.42 ............... 46.12
90 ............... 6.6 ............. 10.2 .................. 13.5 ................... 35.22 ............... 51.72
100 ............. 7.3 ............. 11.4 .................. 14.9 ................... 39.12 ............... 57.32
120 ............. 8.7 ............. 13.6 .................. 17.9 ................... 46.72 ............... 68.42

I have been a pool owner for about 16 years and never had this issue. Typically if I need to SLAM it takes care of everything. Curious if those that know far more about this than I would raise the chlorine? If so should I shoot for `35FC as the chart indicates or something higher. Or go the route of Sodium Bromide. Temps are expected to warm substantially here in the next 2-4 weeks. I suspect I will have kids wanting to swim soon.

As always all opinions are welcomed and incouraged.

Hello all, first post here. Just had my pool resurfaced less than a year ago. I had my pavers sealed a few months ago and the company sprayed a ton of sealer into the pool. I’m not sure what’s going on here but I can’t get this stain out. There was also some type of joint sand that also got into the pool as well. My pool plaster company doesn’t want to touch this. Any recommendations on how I may be able to get rid of this? Thank you so much for any input.

Hey guys, wondering if anyone can weigh in on a couple of pools.

I currently have a 30ft round pool with resin components from Family Leisure. I switched from their permasalt system after one season and went to a SWG. The pool is only 6 years old and has a rust spot all the way through it where I can poke the liner. (I'd previously put rust converter and repainted it). It's on the wall closest to the stainless steel panel where any overflow from the skimmer splashes down, about 3 inches from the bottom. I thought about trying to mostly drain and pull the overlap liner back a little (and have a couple of people hold it up) and slide a piece of sheet metal down to the ground over the hole, but I'm not sure if that would work or if I'd be able to get the liner back in. There's more rust around the rest of the bottom of the pool where it meets the ground.

So the combination of saltwater, the pea gravel around the perimeter which I assume scratched the wall coating, and poor drainage near the skimmer side all contributed to this rust.

So with that in mind, I'm looking at a new pool because I don't want to keep fighting corrosion.

I like the idea of an all resin pool: the Aurora from the pool factory. I think I found a company that will install for $3500, but I don't know if they offer any support if something goes wrong since they are installing a 3rd party pool.
That same company offers the desert spring Doughboy which looks to be a hybrid pool and still has a coated steel wall, but I imagine they offer more support since they sell the pool. I know Doughboy has a great reputation so their coating might be better, but I'm still afraid something will scratch the walls and start the corrosion process all over again.

Can someone with the Aurora pool weigh in if they've had any issues with it? Can I still put rocks around the perimeter to prevent weeds? I'm going to try to address the poor drainage at the spot with the skimmer/pump/filter, but will a little standing water hurt the outside of the pool? Is it pretty straightforward/similar to other Above ground pools as far as installing?

Thanks for any insight!

Hello all,

I kept the cover off the pool this year and kept it pretty clear all thru the winter. Once the temps started warming and the pollen started falling here in Atlanta, the water quickly went green then black. I stopped fighting it while the oak blossoms were falling in the pool, but I've been working to clear it up for 15 days now. The color isn't bad, but the water is still cloudy. I had been managing my FC with liquid chlorine, but dumping $15 worth a day into the pool was getting a little spendy without seeing much improvement, so I've got my SWG working on the super chlorinate setting now.

FC - 12.5
CC - 0 - 0.5
CYA - 30 ppm

It's been in this cloudy status for at least 10 days... running the dolphin mutiple times per day to pick up any muck. Dumping skimmer baskets multiple times a day to get rid of oak blossoms, etc. Seeing maybe a dozen pill bugs per day in the baskets, and some big dead spiders. Not sure what thats all about. It's getting hot outside, so I'm getting ready to jump in.

I have the ability to vacuum to waste, so I'm getting real tempted to just floc it. Any other ideas? Pump is a VSP running at 2500 rpm 24/7. I've backwashed the sand filter probably 8-10 times whenever the pressure increases.

Thanks for your help and consideration.

I'm planning to build a deck and have to move my pool equipment. The heater is broken so I'm just focusing on the variable speed pump and sand filter. I'm planning to attach 2" PVC schedule 40 and extend my drain and 2 skimmer lines about 20 feet. My pool equipment now is sunken in and causes rain water to flow towards the house. I don't want to put in a new pad in the existing location and the new deck doesn't leave any room for this equipment. I'm based in central NJ and have a 35k gallon 20x40 vinyl pool. Was planning to dig a 18 inch trench and leave it exposed until I open the pool in June just incase there are any leaks. Any tips or suggestions from this group? Appreciate any advice.

I'm going from black poly to PVC. Would you cut the black poly and insert a 1.5" barbed adapter, run the pvc to the new location and get new unionized ball valves? Any sites you would suggest to purchase from?

What's the best method to remove pipe fittings from the pump? I'd really like to replace the tiger striped pipes but the fittings are glued to the pump.

Thanks for your help!

How many times per day can I add Muriatic Acid? I'm seeing scaling on the beach ledge wall and the steps. I know CYA is low and added 1.5 cups of dry stabilizer today but am coming off of CYA over load from last year and adding a little at a time... thanks in advance for your help

FC 4.0
Combined C .2
PH 7.7
TA 175
CYA 30
CH 440
CSI .53
Water temp 75 F

Help!! Went to drain hottub. Make sure you push drain 1/2 in to let the water actually drain. Still didnt work so i siphoned water out by hose. Next water here in Canada 50F, so cold system wouldnt heat til i blew dried the heater element for 10 mins. If you’re worried about an air lock remove filter and see if this helps jets run smoothly. If you cannot access entire panel turn your salt system to 1. Now that front cover. Had hubby take off and bleed airlock (which there wasn’t) . About to attempt to replace now. What a FLAW!! Thought I’d share what I’ve learnt.

So i've been online researching everything. and i'm stuck so now i'm here looking for real world opinions.

Pool size 40' x 20' - approximately 36000 gallons
No large debris in pool typically, nothing like someone with trees hanging overhead - no trees close by but we do get occasional leaves or rose pedals etc

i currently have a hayward filter/pump combo. pump is a single speed 2hp i think tristar....6 years old already fixed once. i am traditional chlorine now. moving to salt.

just ordered the new core-contorl55 from circupool and their 3hp VS pump. I'm considering adding in an AquacalS220 while i'm doing all of this work as well.

I was ready to do all of this and never considered my standard Hayward Pro-Grid Veritcal DE filter (48 sq ft). DO I CHANGE THIS???

The biggest issue i have every year is POLLEN. There is a critical two week window early in the season where we get pollen storms basically and it covers my pool. this wreaks havoc on the pool, filter system, and chemistry for usually a few weeks.

DO I get rid of the hayward DE filter also and potentially go with the CIRCUPOOL COMBO? The typhoon pre-filter and their largest size cartridge filter? I can't find much real world feedback on how people like these....definitely can't find info on if the typhoon can capture pollen...that would be great even to add just to my hayward filter.

Is that also an option? Typhoon added to my system but keep my current hayward filter system? I would love to have to backwash less....especially now going to a variable speed pump, little more worried about that than my current single speed with a simple on/off switch.

Sorry for the long thread but that's everything i'm going through...i've LOVE opinions on everything i'm considering but i know this is a filter/pump thread....so i wanted to focus there for this thread

Thanks!

Hi,

Sorry if this is the wrong place to post but I need some advice.

We have decided now is finally the time to get a pool. My family (wife and 1 kid) want a pool for fun and relaxation. My kid absolutely loves swimming but gets cold very quickly.
My wife wants a pool she can swim in, not laps (we can't fit a lap pool).
I want something to relax in. I like to submerge myself and listen to music.

We have 2 areas of our backyard to choose for the location.
Our preferred location is directly off our back deck. This would be great as you would be able to walk straight out from our living area and into the pool. We currently have a garden bed retaining wall here which would need to be removed. Another challenge with this spot is our sewer line placement which is 1.4m deep. I have had a few installers out to quote and was told the zone of influence means the pool needs to be 1.4m away from the sewer line.
In this location it limits the width of the pool we can use (if fibreglass). If we go a concrete pool I actually have a quote for pretty much our dream pool - but i don't want the hassle of a concrete pool which i understand to be (extra chemicals, harder to heat and shorter warranty). This area is also sloped which complicates things especially for a fibreglass pool.


The other area of our yard is much easier to place a pool. We can fit a 7 × 4 fibreglass pool there. It's still a good location but not what the wife wants.

I guess my main questions to help me decide what to do are;
Is a concrete pool really much more work?
Is the width of a pool more important than length in terms of feeling spacious?

We are looking to use the rebound process for our pool steps. Looking to see how it is holding up for people after a few years. Are you still happy with the results? I live on Long Island. I'm not hearing all good reports. I'm being told by the installer it will last for up to 20 years. Rebound indicates a 5 year warranty and it will fade similar to a liner. Although it is cheaper than new steps it is still costly. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

See attached pics. I assume this is crystallized calcium. Customer called me about this. Other company did an acid wash and closed up the pool and I'm afraid they did nothing to balance the chemistry. (have not been out to test chemistry yet, but obviously it is off).

From research, seems like some folks have buffed or polished it out. On the last image, you can see the fuzzy crystalline structure extending off the step.