I know they have sales on systems all the time, but do they ever put cells on sale? Black Friday maybe? My Edge-40 cell may be coming to an end (only 3 years), so I thought I'd buy a new one as a back up. It's still producing, so I can wait. I'll have low salt blinking one week, and clean cell another, but no matter what I do they both won't go out. As long as my FC is above 5 I don't worry about it. And I may go to the Edge-25 cell to save some bucks, since the 40 is only set at 2-3 LEDs.

I’m having an issue where I get sand particles by my pool stairs but no where really else that I notice.

A few years ago I emptied my sand filter to verify the lateral and i couldn’t find a hole but I decided to check again and show it to a professional.

The top of the filter had a bit of pollen, but the bottom really had a lot, pic attached.

Would this have affected my sand filter performance? And is there something I can do to better prevent this?

Could it be why I’m having these issue or is there something else I can check?

This is a 20+ year old pool that was installed by the previous owner. I have owned it for 11 years. Bottom of pool looks to be pool-krete while the walls are steel, I believe.

Liner and pool lights are both leaking. I had an electrician who specializes in pools assess the situation yesterday--and he informed me that fixing or replacing the lights would be cost-prohibitive (would require us to break open the concrete to understand how the lighting system was wired up). He suggested there is not a quick fix for the leakage that is occurring from the lights.

At this point in time--I am getting ready to sign a contract with the local Pool company to replace the liner, heater, pump, and pool cover. I am uncertain if we will need to cover the lights or if I can possibly get one of them working. However, bottom line, is the pool will be empty for a while until we can get the installation moving. I expect it won't be until the end of May--at the earliest.

The pool company suggests I completetly drain the pool until then. They told me this will not be an issue--however, this is different than I have learned / been led to believe in the past.

Any advice from the experienced pool owners in this forum?

Hello I am in the process of replacing all the plumbing to my in ground pool. I have a pool company doing the actual skimmers and jets and I am going to run all the pipes and replumb the pump and filter. When I start laying my pipe in trenches do you recommend gravel or sand underneath the pipes to give them support? Or just the material that was dug out of the hole? My 2nd question is when I thread a male adapter into the return jets, should I use thread sealant or silicon or both? I have seen multiple answers. Thanks for any help.

First time posting but i've been following the methods here for a couple years now and have always had good results, until now.

Two weeks ago today i uncovered my pool and found a dark green, almost black swamp. I've been bringing the pool to slam level (cya 60 so slam level 24) at least 3 times a day since then, every 2 hours on days i don't work, and daily brushing and vacuuming. After 2 days it was a very light green but it hasn't gotten any better after that. It's using about a quart of chlorine a day now to stay at slam level, when i first started it was about 2 gallons a day. I'm wondering if i should keep on with the slam or should i give up on that and drain and refill. It would have cost less if i would have just done that in the beginning.

Trying to hook up the low voltage control line for an intelliflo to an easy touch. The J20 port on the board is already filled with a wire that goes back to the other control board. Do I double up the connections? Or do I need to use 'COM1' or 'COM2' on the rear board? They appear to be identical and go the the same chip on the board

We are looking at getting a stand alone cleaner for our pool. It's a free form, 5 foot max depth, sun shelf, and up to now has been manually cleaned.

I have been considering a Dolphin, like the M400 (or equivalent) but don't want to spend that much unless it's money well spent.

We do have a lot of trees around and although not directly overhead, there is a lot of debris that comes in the spring and fall. Need something that will pick up leaves, acorns, tassels, etc.

I want to make sure we spend enough to get a good cleaner but not overspend without improvements in cleaning ability or life of product.

What are some of your personal experiences with cleaners regarding brand, price, cleaning ability and life of product? I don't want to keep cleaning manually but at the same time, don't want to underspend or overspend to get a good cleaner.

Thanks,

Hey all,

Were starting to decorate the accent wall on our pool. We had our first pot tip over and make a mess in it, so we're looking at options to secure these pots (plastic pots) to the concrete deck and prevent tip over.


Yes, we've considered using fake plants instead but we're leaving that as a last resort, we really want to give a fair shot to live plants on the accent wall. I've tried rocks, pavers inside the pot and other weighted options, no luck. Planter is 15in wide.

What options do I have if I want to go this route? Is it worth it to drill on the concrete and anchor the plastic pot to the deck? Kinda want to avoid drilling a hole on the deck, but Ill do it if its the only option. Any way to attach it somehow to the tile on the side? or to the screen enclosure aluminum frame behind it?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

V

So I have always had this rock under the liner when it was replaced five years ago. I was hoping it would never poke though, but it did today. So I patched it with some left over vinyl from the instal. Only problem. The sun has faded the liner a good bit in the last five years. Didn’t realize the extent until I already put the patch down. In hindsight I should have just reinforced this spot when I first noticed it, and it would have matched and faded with the liner. Question, and I have looked but not found anything. Is there a patch that looks like those mosaic insets for plaster pools? If I could paste a few sea turtles or starfish on the bottom, I wouldn’t be so upset as I am right now. (Also this is the problem withTFP if I had a cloudy pool no one would know….)

Just noticed Lowe's is now selling Kem-tec 14.5% concentration muriatic acid instead of the 31.45% version for about the same price. Buyer beware.

Folks,
This motor will run for about 10 seconds then cut out. About 20 or so seconds after that there is a click which I think is a thermal reset. At that point you can start the motor again for another 20 secs and the motor is getting quite hot.. I'm not sensing any rough bearing noise when I spin the impeller manually but it sounds rough when switched on? Thoughts? I'm thinking it's not the motor capacitor as the motor does run but it would be nice if it was something as easy as that.
Unfortunately I cannot upload a video, wrong file type apparently.
Thanks

Hi all,

So, previous house, previous pool was fiberglass and I usually just dumped the dry CYA into the deep end. Brush it around a couple of times a day and after a few days, it was dissolved to the point of not being visible. I was never that concerned about hurting the surface of the fiberglass pool and never had any problems.

But now, new house, and new pool being built. It will be a 20x40 vinyl liner pool with 2 Aqua Genie skimmers (my builder uses them and I haven't seen any argument against them) and a main drain. I don't think I'd be comfortable dumping CYA onto the liner. I notice the AGs have a little compartment for chlorine tablets which I will not be using as I'll have a salt system, and I was curious whether anyone's ever put CYA in there? Am I being clever? Or is that not going to work very well?

Disclaimer: as I said this pool isn't built yet, so I haven't actually seen the AGs in person...

Also: thank you to everyone who posts here, I've been reading the forum for years and I've learned so much!

It's that time, landlord had a pool guy come open it up. Pump up and running, 2gal chlorine & some pucks in, and a beautifully dark green swimming pool.
I'm woefully underprepared as he came earlier than expected. I have no chlorine and no R-0871 reagent. Yay

Already backwashed it once because it almost had no pressure 30-45mins after initially running. Yuck! I tried to test anyway but I know without my FAS-DPD it wont be accurate for chlorine. It's above 10 I know that haha!

Trying to remember a few of the things I learned last year for a smoother open. From my CYA test I'm getting practically no CYA at all. I think I closed with an estimated 40-50 CYA last year, so I guess it all just degraded over the winter? Also, pH test is inaccurate when at SLAM levels, yes?

For my sanity of a smooth open this is the game plan:

Get a ton of bottles of liquid chlorine ASAP, With 0 CYA keep FC levels above 10 or more to sanitize/slam.
Need to add CYA? Via powder shock? Or the chalky stuff.
Don't worry about pH until water is clear.
Backwash when pump pressure is low (I don't have a working gauge so I have to just watch the jets.)

Right now should just be adding chlorine and can focus on other chemicals when water is clear, yes?

Excited for another pool season and appreciate this forum!

I inherited a sand filter and when i went into replace the sand the whole lateral assembly came up and i cannot detach the multiport from the white pipe

previous installed must not have lubed it

can i remove or detach or fold the laterals and take it out ?

can i tap the multiport off the while stand pipe ? afraid to chip/crack it ?

WD40 ?

please help.

I'm completely suck

here the manual : https://waterlinetechnologies.com/c...elus_Owners_Manual_English_French_Spanish.pdf

What would the pump motor do it the Centrifugal Switch were to be hitting the terminal board because I didn't get the terminal board over the lower mounting stud?
It gnawed a bit of the edge of the board but didn't hit any terminals.
It's on a pump I repurposed, and it runs fine until it gets primed and under a load then it trips gfi.
Hopefully my rebuild error is the cause.

Hello Everyone!

I am located in Vegas and run a CYA of 70 and have been shooting for 7.5 FC (I run my pump 24/7 and have been adjusted SWG Dynamically based on expected weather and swimmer load)

It's mostly my wife and I, no kids and pool parties with more than the two of us are relatively rare.

In PoolMath :
- Recommended FC Range for my CYA in Pool Math is 3 to 10
- Ideal CYA is 70-80

In the pentair SWG manual :
- Recommended CYA is 30-50
- Recommended FC 2 to 4 (listing than 4 may cause corrosion of metal components)

I have two questions :
- Why such a discrepency?
- With a range in pool math being so wide (3 to 10), with my pump running 24/7, what is the ideal (meaning sanitize properly but the least harsh possible) FC I should be shooting for?

Bonus question : I have a spill over spa, when in spa mode, should I run the SWG? is the temperature bad for the cell? (my wife likes it at 102...)

Thank you!

Hi there! I have a broken Venturi valve under the decking. The threads and valve broke free in my inground spa that the water returns after going out through the filter. When I try and use the spa it will get hot but the spa won’t circulate. I noticed if I put a restrictive nozzle on the return line and cover the Venturi air line located in th decking the water will circulate when spa is on. Is there a way to put a “on or off” type valve on the decking air intake! Ok permanently close the air intake line? Any suggestions?

Newer build. Yet the more I look at my setup. I scratch my head even more. Enough to go bald! Well more bald than before. I mean why 45 degree the skimmer side to the pump?

The rise and drop of pipe elevation after the pump and before the filter. Then from the filter to the future salt cell. No space for a check valve.

I’m thinking of moving the filter and turning the return.

Pump, filter, heater or at least prep for, check valve, salt cell, to pool.

They were supposed to plumb for a heater and/or solar. I’m thinking of a heat pump.

I’m also not a fan of the 2 way backwash valve. Need to replace the O rings already as we have an air leak. Thinking of a multiport valve.

Would love your thoughts and feedback.

Hi, we live in Los Angeles. Bought a house that had a neglected pool. Decided to redo the plaster.
25K gallons, single return line, brand new micro pebble surface, VSP, and we just installed a SWG (Pentair). The company filled up the water and now I'm testing/balancing it everyday. Haven't turned on the SWG yet. Was told to wait 3 weeks.

Got the MathPool app and started plugging in test results. So far a bit overwhelming but motivated to do this easily as the weeks go by.

I have a FNS Plus 60 filter. I bought new grids last year. The old ones started to fall apart when I was cleaning them.
I noticed the next time I took the filter apart that only the top half of the grids had DE stuck to them.
I’m opening the pool and cleaned the grids again and inspected them. They look good as they should being new.
Still the DE won’t stick to them. It’s all piled up on the top of the manifold and at the bottom.
I bought a new manifold just in case the old one had a crack I couldn’t see.
Still the same issue.
I’ve been doing this for 8 years with no issues till I bought new grids.
I’ve looked the. Over many times to see if there’s a hole. Nothing.
Every time I back wash there’s not a stitch left on the grids except top and bottom. My old grids always had some stuck to them.
Anyways I’m at a loss. It’s taking forever to clean the pool.

I have confirmed my Calimar 3hp VS pump runs the priming program at 12:00 am. My priming program is set for 3000 rpm and 2 minutes. That speed isn't programmed anywher else, or that length of time. I had a suspicion something odd was going based on comments from the neighbor and my wife. Last night I watched the clock rollover to 00:00 and the pump sped up making considerably more noise than my usual 1200 rpm at night.

Is this something I missed about VSP's?

Hi all. What is a safe FC level to swim in a pool? My CYA is 70 because my pool service was using Trichlor tabs. I cancelled their service and switched to liquid chlorine. Today my FC level was 10 which is what the FC/CYA chart recommends. Is that level unsafe to go swimming in? I have a pool party coming up in 6 days so if it’s too high I guess I’ll just hold off on chlorine until then. Obviously I will still check my chlorine levels everyday to keep track… weather looks like it’ll be full sun this week so I’m pretty sure the FC should drop fairly quick. I use a Taylor K-2006 test kit.

Hi TFO folks,

A pool company started a liner replacement. It was riddled with holes and rust was starting to show. While we were doing the work we figured we redo the pad with new everything, along with the plumbing, as everything was either broken, inefficient or sounding sketchy when running. Like replacing a non-functional in-line chlorinator (I'm a liquid chlorine guy anyway) with a SWG with Omni S3. I also had to repair a cracked step

Saturday was liner installation day. They also installed the SWG and replaced the plumbing. They pumped out whatever water gathered up from what we thought was from the recent rain. It was here they realized that the ground water is seeping in, maintaining a constant 1" worth of water, even with 2 pumps running. I do have an "excellent well" and I am the downward side of a hill, so it's not surprising I am seeing water seeping in.

There are two flexible pipes coming out of the ground, but trying to use them to pump, nothing was happening. They could be clogged, or no dry well is there. Or they may not be for a drywell, he doesn't know. (Photo attached).

The pool is about 20 years old. I'm not the original owner, we bought the house in 2023. From the two years we've been here, I'm finding either the builder cut corners or the previous owner did. Did 20 years worth of Crud gather in the well because he didn't do anything for it? Did the pipe collapse? Did a rodent make a home in the pipe? The pool installation guy believes he was here once before to repair a lifted liner after a heavy rainstorm, but not 100% sure. We've had some very wet winters where my sump pump was pumping out gallons every minute, yet did not have an issue with the liner when we opened in the spring.

At the end, the company is quoting me $4500 to install, pipe and pump the drywell. I'm stuck, because they will not install the liner with water at the bottom, and my backyard looks like a run down road side motel. That's still on top of the other costs of installation as well as tankers for water and the electrician to wire everything up. Then there's other, unrelated recent house work that also went a bit sideways. I'm just...exhausted.

The only bright side of this is that it may give me the opportunity to put in a bottom drain, as I only have 1 inlet and skimmer, both at the same area of the pool. That variable speed pump won't have to work as hard, and there would be better circulation, I guess. Still have no idea how much that would cost, but in theory it shouldn't be that much, it's just running another pipe, right?

I guess I'm here for everyone's thoughts, like is there anything I can do that I'm missing or wasn't explained to me properly? Or this is just something that has to get don

Or maybe I just need to vent and get a bit of emotional support, because I'm just about done with people...contractors specifically.

PS: Ignore my signature. It's about 24K gallons in a 12x24 pool. I just need to figure out how to fix it on a mobile device.

Hi all, I wanted to get some insights on the best setup for my Pentair VSP. I just moved to a new house and am learning the ins and outs of a saltwater pool as I go, particularly now heading into the summer swim season. First question, how reliable is the flow rate measurement on these pumps? I have the option to run at GPM rather than RPMs

I have an iAqualink RS and discovered that my pump is run locally so my options for automation include on/off schedules through the iAqualink or setting up schedules at the pump and basically having it run 24/7.

Right now my set up is running 2150 rpms from 12a-6am and this seems to utilize around 2-3 kWh. I've recently learned that it's probably better to run ata low flow rate most of the day and then have a few time intervals to run at higher rpm but can't find a consensus on how high that rpm should be and for how long.

My considerations are the following:
1) Time of Day Electric Pricing - I am in NorCal and the summer pricing is highest between noon and midnight with super peak pricing from 5-8pm and extra overnight incentive from 12a to 6a.
2) SWG is Aquapure 1400plc and requires a minimum 20gpm flow to work
3) Heater (likely to not use much during the summer) requires 40gpm to work
4) Pool Polaris vacuum has dedicate single speed booster pump. When VSP and booster pump are both operating at high RPMs I get significant valve release flow at the pressure release valve.
5) My spa has an overflow so running the pool constantly might increase pH via aeration? Not sure how big of a concern this would be.

All the above, I was considering the following setup on my Intellipro VSP:
1) Program 1: Manual constant run at 20gpm (or slightly above to ensure SWG cell is getting enough flow).
2) Program 2: Schedule RPM at high speed (2150 rpm chosen arbitrarily; open to suggestions if this should be higher or lower) for 2 hours from midnight to 2am.
3) Program 3: Egg timer to run slightly over 40gpm to supply heater. I would turn this on manually on the select nights we are using the hot tub.
4) Program 4: There is an additional slot (also programs 5-8 for scheduling) but I don't see much use for this at the moment.

This set up would get me about 3x volume turnover each day. Additionally, I would set up my iAqualink to run the booster pump for vacuuming from 2:30am to 6:00am.

The only thing I could do that would increase my efficiency is set the iAqualink to turn off entirely from 5-8pm on weekdays but since the iAqualink is purely "off" or "on" for this pump, I am not sure if this would effect the time on the VSP when there is no power running to it. I calculate that turning off at this time would save approximately 20-30 cents per day at my estimated power usage for 20 gpm.

Once I have this all ironed out I can figure out my ideal SWG cell chlorination percentage.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this, and I look forward to your insights.

I searched the forum here for thoughts on a 110/120v heat pump and didn't find much in terms of actual usage / review, so I've gambled and bought this 35K BTU one from Amazon for $1,360 that should be here today. This is our 2nd year with our 9x18 Intex XTR and what my wife and I found last year was were just a few degrees cold from using our pool for much of the season. Our pool gets shaded around 5:30pm, so whenever we were getting home from work around this time any breeze made my wife too cold to want to stay in (she likes it near 90). Since our intention wasn't to extend our season, but to make our season less susceptible to the daily heat fluctuations, I hope that this 35k BTU heater can keep our pool temps to the upper 80s more of the time. I'm still considering adding the Asurion 3 or 4 year ($130 / $170) protection plans to the order (I have 30 days to buy), since this might be a risky purchase. Thoughts or suggestions on my gamble? Anyone own an Aquastrong products?

First off... really hating myself right now, because I opened this pool back in early march and left the cover on it, and it was balanced and crystal clear before I pulled the cover off. I stupidly didn't pump the water off the top of the cover and let it fall into the pool which instantaneously caused the biggest algae bloom I ever saw in a crystal clear pool within an hour.. Next year... ill buy a pump.... lesson learned.

I've been slamming for 7 days. Bleach only.

K2006 test results:

CYA 45
FC 22
TA 120
PH 7.4

I've been adding two bottles of pool bleach a day to keep this thing at slam level, and it's still green and cloudy with little to no change daily. Pool math says 18 is slam level, been keeping it in 20s and 30s.

Out of desperation, I poured a gallon bottle of chlorox algaecide from walmart in today at noon, thinking maybe the chlorine just needed a little help as I've read some algae is chlorine resistant. Looks worse. Pump has been running 24 / 7 since I started slamming. Backwash every evening and I keep robot running.

My thoughts are is I'll keep slamming for a couple more days... if it doesn't clear up then I guess I'll start draining unless you guys have something else you think I can try. I hate to drain it. Not only is it a mess but it'll cost me $120 in water... but i'm already $60 dollars in bleach plus $15 for algaecide...so....

Thoughts? Thanks!

PB setup forms and had the pool filled and backfilled in the morning. It looked great. I got down low and looked the distances early in the AM before leaving them to it and heading off to work. It looks great, very straight, square and level. I came home in the afternoon and immediately noticed the warp along both long dimesnions. I called him and he answered the phone with, "Don't you love it?!". I said the texture and color are great but it's massievly warped. He said "wait until the forms come off, its the best we could do. Its fine". It's a few days later and I just hate it and think it looks terrible. I'm also worried about the longevity of the pool and what underlying strain may be on the plumbing. Also, is this even acceptable by RiverPools installation requirements. I couldnt find specs on wall variation, only leveling tolerances...

They already broke an LED housing somehow and took 3 days to sort out the leak. This was after partially backfilling more.. The walls were straight and somehow during the pour, or before the backfill shifted and the walls are flexed in. The middle coping measures 19" at its widest point. The far corner is 16". I told him 3" variation is ridiculous and unacceptable. The center of the pool, wall to wall is somewhere around 4" narrower because the walls are bulging in. I know it's fiberglass but on a brand new install I feel like this is garbage to he expected to accept this. We're meeting tomorrow to look at it together. Not sure how to handle this but it just absolutely tarnished the whole build for me and I'm really bummed.

I like supporting local family run business and I think we need more of them in our towns. There is a local pool store , family run by the 2nd generation brother and sister, where I buy liquid chlorine, muriatic acid, salt, and small stuff I need like the tail scrubber for my Polaris cleaner.

I opened my pool a few days ago and used the 4 gallons of liquid chlorine and 3 gallons of MA I had leftover from last season as I described in...


I was on my way to an appointment that took me right by the pool store and had an extra five minutes to pickup some liquid chlorine and MA. The pool store would be closed by the time I was done with my appointment. But they are usually empty around 2PM on a weekday so I figured I could breeze in and out.

I walked in, said hello to the gal, put my credit card down and said I need 4 cases of liquid chlorine and one case of acid. She rang it up and then we walked to the stack of liquid chlorine cases where she was going to help me carry it out.

Now it being April and they closed over the winter I assumed their liquid chlorine would be reasonably fresh. They had a stack of cases 4 high and 4 deep ready for the season. As I reached down to pickup a case I glanced at the date code - 24 241. Uh oh! I did not need to take out a calendar to figure out that chlorine is close to seven months old.

I walked around the stack of boxes hoping it was just an old case but they were all the same date code. I called the gal over and pointed out the date code and explained to her what the 241st day of 2024 was approximately. 120 days before the end of the year, 4 months, and we were over 3 months into 2025.

She did not know about the chlorine date codes or that chlorine degrades and after seven months it probably lost 20% or more of its potency. She was honestly surprised, grateful for the discussion, and said she will discuss it with their distributor.

I asked for a refund on three cases and I would take one case now and check back with them in a few weeks and see if they got a fresh supply.

I will see if I changed at least one pool store a bit for the better.

And check those date codes on liquid chlorine.

I just upgraded from Screen Logic app to Pentair Pool app. I am not able to find egg timer or something equivalent in the new app. Anybody know if there is a way to do so?

thanks

We currently have an 18' round above ground pool that came with the house and are interested in getting a bigger one at some point. I found a listing for a 16x30 above ground pool on marketplace. The owner says it's an Esther WIlliams pool from the mid 80s, it's already disassembled, and he says there's no holes or corrosion. Comes with a sand filter, a hayward heater that may or may not work (was worth $3k when purchased), and needs a new liner. He doesn't have the assembly instructions but says he took photos from when it was disassembled. He wants $6,500.


Are these pools even worth buying since it's almost 40 years old? And is $6,500 a reasonable price.

?