Yeah... lucky me! Have a 10K gallon saltwater pool in St. Petersburg. Waterline of pool is about 7' from the bayou. Pool completely flooded with bayou/gulf water. Lots of shells and sand in pool. One company is telling me I have no choice other than to fully drain pool, scrub pebble tech and tiles, and refill. And that's necessary because the seawater will destroy everything in the pool (including pump systems) and will stain pool. Others have warned me too much risk the pool will pop. High tides are very high and water is saturated from storm, so this scares the living sh*t out of me to do that. Another company is telling me to pump out 25%, refill with fresh water. Treat with chemicals then retest for salt level. Repeat process until salt level in control. They claim minimal risk of staining.. and that can be treated anyway. Note, pool pumps were not impacted. Suggestions?? I'm getting two different suggestions from 'respected' pool companies. Both seem to have merit. Thanks!

I'm told we need to install new aluminum track to hold our inground pool liner in. New liner last summer and pool store used coins to keep liner from slipping out. Liner is still coming out and I don't know where to begin with repairing/replacing track. please advise.

We recently purchase a house with a pool, and I have been slowly learning and repairing the components - mostly with great information from this site. The one last item is this mysterious oxidizer. I cannot find any information about the maker or how it suppose to work. The very faint lettering on the front says "aquathech", "oxidizer chemical reduction systems", "Engineering for Excellence".
The tube is connected somewhere underground. I suppose it is going into the SPA, but where. How can I tell if it doing anything?

Thanks,

Ron

Hi,

My hose keeps springing leaks, even in newly replaced sections. Does anyone have tips on a few points?

Hose length - I see posts which say it needs be long enough to reach the farthest point. Should I measure this from the outlet valve to the pool floor?

Pressure release valve - I see some posts that there are different strengths of valves…but how do I know which is the right one for me?

Hose setup - is there a certain number of ball joints/pivot points I should have? Should the backup jet be in a certain spot (closer to the unit, middle, closer to the outlet in pool wall)?

Should the hose usually float? When attaching I keep trying to ensure it is full of water and has no air by dropping the cleaner in, letting it sink and then submerging the hose working back to the attachment point for the wall, but no matter when the hose seems to want to float up…is this normal or an issue?

Thank you

DD

I have a Rainbow 320, IG vinyl pool, 15,500 gallons with a VS pump I keep 24/7 at 2100.
I use the BBB method and all is great.
But when I go out of town, I use the Rainbow 320 chlorinator. When we went out of town this summer for 1 mth, I started using the chlorinator 2 weeks prior. I do as the instructions say on the chlorinator tube, and do NOT fill up with water, until after I put the lid on. Then I open the dial up. My chlorine was very low, maybe 1, even after I turned the dial to 5. There's very little water in the tube, so I guess this makes sense.
So, I looked online, everyone says, you need to fill the water all the way to the top of the tube. I did this, and chlorine was at 17 when I got home from vacation, yikes!
All looks good on the chlorinator, ie screen is clear, black tubes are not clogged, and the dial does put more water in when move from 1 to 5.
The check valve on the bottom of the chlorinator, rattles fine, so I assume is good.
Please, help me understand.....why does everyone says to fill the tube all the way to the top with water, when seems this just dissolves all the tablets and therefore over chlorinates.
Yet, when I do as directions say, I'm under chlorinating.
What's the solution ?? Please don't suggest a SWG, I've have an Ester Williams pool, and was told a SWG will eat the aluminum walls up!

Thanks so much !!!

Last summer I posted a similar thread around my CH and salt rising. I just ran the full test suite today and I'm seeing an increase in CH and salt again and I don't want it to get out of control like it did last year before I did a full drain and refill (on Nov 8, 2022). You can see my logs here.

Since that thread, I took the advice of what was written and had my soft water plumbed to my autofill and have been using that to autofill the pool this summer. On Nov 15 after the re-fill, i tested my CH at 250 and salt at 3200, keeping them at the low range as suggested. By Dec 11 the CH already made its way up to 300 (salt stayed at 3200) and it seemed to stay at that level a month later on Jan 14 (salt actually fell to 3000, but that seemed acceptable). I thought "Great! the soft water autofill is working as expected!" and that my problems had gone away. The Feb 18 test revealed the same readings so I was super happy and moved on with my life. On March 20 CH went up to 325, no issues (salt stayed the same).

April 16 tests revealed CH at 350 and salt back to 3200. May 27 readings had CH at 375 and salt at 3600, so I started to worry a bit again as we were heading into the dead of summer in AZ which is when i saw the dramatic rises last year. Sure enough, tests on June 24 revealed CH at 475 (salt went to 3400) and July 22 had CH at 500 and salt at 3600. Fast forward to today's tests and i'm at 575 with CH and 4000 with salt.

As suggested in the prior thread, I've been trying my best to keep the pH levels between 7.2-7.8, refilling 24oz of MA basically every 3-4 days (if I miss the 3-4 days I add more, maybe 30-40oz or so). I'm starting to grow a bit more concerned that something is going on with the pool that is not in my control, but I don't know what that would be. Why am I seeing such rises in CH and salt, especially having the autofill plumbed to use soft water?

There was one time when I saw my salt tank pretty low on salt so I immediately filled it, but overall i've been pretty good about keeping up with the salt levels in my WS.

I just upgraded to a variable speed pump that is pre-programmed to run at different speeds throughout the day. I have a Hayward H250ED2 gas heater thst was here when I bought the house 15 years ago. When the pump runs at less than full speed, the heater bangs loudly and vibrates so much that I end up turning it off -- which means I can only run the heater when I am home and can turn the pump to full speed. Any ideas on how to deal with this? I suppose I need a way to have the heater turn off when the pump is running at low speed.

I have an electric heat-pump heater that I may install next year to replace the gas heater. Would that heater have the same problem?

Hey guys,

Newbie pool owner here. I live in Las Vegas and have had my pebble tech pool with attached raised spa for about a year now and would like to make sure I am taking preventative measures and maintaining my pool correctly to ensure it’s longevity in lifespan. The pool is 28x14 and about 11,185 gallons, with the deep end being 5 1/2 ft deep.

Earlier this morning, I tested my pool water with the Taylor 2006C test kit and see that the calcium hardness and CYA levels are high. This is probably due to initially using chlorine pucks almost exclusively for the first year of pool ownership (I’ve now learned they add CYA which doesn’t really get removed from your pool), along with the hard water of Las Vegas paired with Cal Hypo shock treatments contributing to the high calcium levels.

I’ve now switched from pucks to liquid chlorine 2-3x a week. Not sure if this is related or not, but my PH level is always slightly high (around 8.0) even after I bring it down to 7.2 with muriatic or dry acid during my weekly maintenance, it’s right back to 7.8-8.0 PH the following week. Not sure if this is expected behavior or if the PH level should stabilize a bit lower with proper maintenance and more balanced water. I also have a Dolphin Premier robot vacuum that I run 2-3 times per week with the ultra fine filter cartridge. I also leave my pool pump on 24/7 when not using the robot. My CSI level appears to be around 0.2 when factoring in the temp of the water which is usually about 78 degrees.

Below are my test results after this morning’s maintenance:

Total ALK 85ppm
PH 7.4
Calcium hardness 525ppm
FC 8ppm
CC 0ppm
CYA 80ppm

I was thinking of draining some of the water and introduce some fresh water (200ppm of calcium from the hose) in an effort to reduce calcium hardness and CYA. My pool is equipped with a faucet (picture attached), so I was wondering if it would be feasible to drain a portion of the water by simply attaching a hose to the faucet and turning it on for a little while. I don’t want to damage the pump with air going into the skimmer when the water level gets below the skimmer line, so I’d assume this would need to be done by draining from the in floor main drain? If this wouldn’t work, would it be better to get a sump pump or would the faucet be in lieu of the pump?

Please let me know if any additional information is needed. Any guidance would be appreciated!

Best Regards,
Cam

Hey Everyone,

I just bought a Hayward 250,000 BTU natural gas pool heater. I am planning on installing the heater myself except for the gas line. The gas meter is about 25 feet away from the equipment pad so I did not except the cost to crazy. I called a local plumber and the quote was for $2,700! Is this absurd or the going price?
I live in south New Jersey so plumbing permits are required and are included in the price.

Thanks!

My filter is leaking out the backwash hose after I backwash and return to filter mode. Also, leaking down the side of the filter. I assume I'm correct that we need to replace the spider gasket. Pool store told me that because my old gasket is white that those models will always leak and I have to replace the whole top for $150 (or the black part the gasket goes into for $80). Is this correct??

Hello. Have been using walmart pool chlorine. and like it it's like 5.50 a gallon. But they put all the pool stuff away for winter. Way too early in my opinion. So I have been looking for plain bleach without fabric softner. Couldn"t seem to find it. So I went to ocean job lot. and bought some of there pool shock. The liquid stuff. active ingredient is sodium hypochlorite, 20 bucks a bottle. is this stuff ok to use? I also bought some powder HTHpool care shock cal hypo shock. it says a 6 pack. it says to broadcast over the surface of the deep end at the end of the day. When people our done with the pool. is this stuff ok ? I don't want to shock the pool. Just want to keep it sanitised. I thought i could take one packet and use a small amount of it? Or pour a little of the liguid stuff then check my chlorine level in a few hours. What do you think? Thanks ahead of time. filix.

How can I adjust the auto fill in the picture? I tried turning in the direction of the arrows but it seems like they are stuck and don’t want to rotate. The waterline is below where it should be and I don’t hear the auto fill running. When the start up company came out it had rained the day prior and the pool was a little fuller than it should be so I think they might have set it too high so it isn’t filling as needed.

I'm not sure what type of plastic the Intex 12864 cell housing is made of but I can't figure out how to repair the crack. I've tried flex seal tape on the outside, I've used JB PlasticWeld on the inside and outside, and I've tried JB Waterweld on the outside to no avail. The only other thing that comes to mind would be to spray it with flex seal but my local hardware store didn't have any. I can't find a new housing and if I switch to the newer clear plastic housing I'd also have to change electrodes. If this has already been answered, sorry, but I can't find the solution to this anywhere so any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

Hey guys/gals... at the title says, I'm looking for some recommendations from the Pro's on a Pool Heater. I'm still researching and investigating on my own as well, but I want to hear what you guys would recommend and I also want to hear what a "reasonable" price would be for my area.

Here is what I have:

1. I'm on the East Coast - in PA.
2. In-Ground 32 x 16 - Vinyl liner pool
3. 1 1/2 PVC with a Hayward 1.5 HP Pump and a FNS 48 Filter
4. Obviously I have electricity out to the pump/filter, but I do not have a gas line
5. I have Direct sunlight from 9:am till 8m with no tree's or leaves to deal with for the most part
6. Yes, I will have a pad for the heater and Tanks if needed

I'm only looking to use the heater to bring the pool up to a reasonable start up temperatures in the spring and later in the fall when the temps drop at nights. Right now, once the temp drops at night time, the pool temp will drop as low as 70 the next day. Although it might be hot out the next day no one wants to use it (or stay in it) at that temp, hence why I'm looking at a heater. My Nephew has a propane heater that came with his house. For whatever reason he likes to keep his pool temp in the high 80's...he has a lot of tress and shade though. I'm just looking to get it to 80 and let the sun take over from there...

Anyway, I want to get your thoughts...

Thanks,

Hello pool friends
My motor
died and I found this. Even though I only need one, does anyone look at this and go, hold on, can't be, like I did?
And when you go check out the price goes down to $88. That's a lowwwwww price, right? Any thoughts? Thanks !!

I just got done with a new pool renovation. Basically, all new equipment and plumbing. I went away once I got my chemicals set, and I probably increased my SWG too much. When I returned, I had to replace some water loss as well. However, I think I am in a better place albeit a little high pH (which I added some dry acid). I cannot tell if my Alkalinity is too high or if my CH is too low (based on different threads and pool math). To save words here, you can view my signature and profile for more of my pool information.


I have some questions about color changing. Are we looking for a color change at all (Green to pink), or a deep color change (Green to dark pink/red)? I have putting an extra drop to make sure the color change is complete (e.g., completely clear or completely red). I am loving the accuracy and consistency of my Taylor kit, but I am already running low on some reagents. I know I can cut some of the samples from 25ml to 10ml, but is it as simple of changing the multiplier (e.g., .2 to .5 for FC) and sometimes number of drops? As an example, should I still be using 2 full scoops of R-0870? Does it need to completely dissolve...even if I shake for a 30+ seconds, sometimes I can see tiny crystals settling at the bottom?

Any other advice on chemical testing would greatly be appreciated.

New pool set up, just finished a slow 3 day fill. I know very little about salt water pools. All previous experience has been with chlorine. Everything I read, says not to add anything until you have your pump on, but I’m concerned I will get life growing in my pool if I don’t put something in. Waiting for the electrician.

My salt readings don't match. In instant and average readings I also have a check cell and Check salt light on. I have cleaned my cell. I have a spare cell that I have cleaned and tried also. I have been to the dealer and had the water tested 5 times and my salt leave was 3200 in all tests. I have gone to a different company for a retest and they confirmed the results. The replaced the circuit board as I was told it was defective. Still doing the same thing. I have been lent there test cell from the company and it does the same thing. I have checked the T cell setting matches the T-15 cell.
I am at a loss. Any suggestions? The voltages and Amps show OK when the cell is functioning. It does work for a period of time until it recalculated the average salt then I get the warning lights then it stops generating.
I have also tested the cells on my cleaning adapter with pool water in the cell and it does bubble. But the issue seems to be with the sensor circuit.

I've got quotes for a mesh cover. Decisions are

* 91% mesh vs 99% mesh.
* Strapping every 5 feet or every 3 feet.
* Blue, Green, Tan or Gray Color

Is there data that says 99% is really any better for reducing Algae? That's the mfg claim.

Pool is small, 14 X 30. So not spanning super far. Will 5x5 spacing be sufficient?

Hello all,

Bought this house 15 year old pool. Concrete has settled around the pool and affected deck sloping. I'd also say we had a slow leak from the skimmer for a number of years that might have undermined the deck on the left side. Pavers on the left side have also settled ~6'' in that area. Many of the white PVC concrete expansion joints have either been removed or never installed, so I will have to repair some of those. Plan is to foam or mud jack the deck back to level, and re-do the pavers

1) Any experience with foam vs mud jacking the pool deck? I am considering doing a DIY foam jack.

2) How to repair / fill the concrete control joints? Mastic, poly backer rod, other?

3) Anything special I must do in the joint between the fiberglass and the concrete deck? this joint is not filled with anything?

Other tips / recommendations (Besides rip it all out and redo )

After all level and filled, I will investigate coating options (Epoxy or other).

Pics below->
Thanks!
-Pete

Hi Everyone,

After too much time without a current sensing relay, I finally added one to my system. I know I was living dangerously but life happens and this project fell down the list. Additionally, I struggled with the design limitations of the CR magnetic relays with an operating range of 1-10amps or 3-30, My pump runs from about 0.8 amps up to 6-8 amps, so I could have fallen out of the sensing range.

Recently came across a normally open relay that senses 1-50 amps and can handle 2.5 amps on the switching side at 240VAC which is enough power to run the SWG. Instead of a physical contact switch, the unit uses a triac for switching and can bleed current. I'm wondering if anyone has experience with a triac and if the current bleeding will have any long-term negative effects on the SWG electronics. Every time the unit starts and shuts off, it appears like the unit is experiencing a brownout whereas a relay should give a sharp on/off. Any thoughts if the triac will cause electronic issues?

Seems these relays are are often used to trigger dryer blower fans and some models are: Greystone CS-425-HC-5 and fantech ACCS40 to name a few.

Appreciate any thoughts on if this will cause me problems down the road.

Hi friends, brand new pool and loving it - got my Taylor test kit and learning a ton. The pool “pro” set up guy we had assigned from the builder was quite unhelpful. He set stuff up but didn’t really orient me to much and so now I’m left trying to figure it out. He set the SWG to 90% output in pool and 4% in spa. I’ve had low FC readings (.5-1.0) due to high bather load (ie kids) and so I’ve had to run the pump for longer. Right now 8 hours a day. Any advice to how to set up the SWG and maximize its effect? Sat readings are good at 3650.

If I can sneak in one question too…how come I have low TA (40) but high ph (8.0)? Just fluctuations? Going to get TA to 70 then reduce ph, right?

I've been battling algae this year and it's my fault because I'm just too busy to maintain this pool. I'm seriously considering going salt next year. But one thing that concerns me is how do I open the pool with such a high CYA? SWG needs like 80 CYA? SLAMming that is a nightmare. How are you supposed to open it?

Hi all !

I'm working on a program to estimate the pH from a picture of a phenol red based comparator test to help getting more precise result than with only eyes (and of course for colorblind people).

I've based my tests using the TF-100 Comparator Block and the results so far are quite good:




I would like to extend the detection to other pH visual test blocks and maybe add machine learning (AI) capability. For that I would need quite a lot of pictures like the one shown above with the actual pH result from a pH meter.

So, if you want to contribute, please send pictures with the real pH result in this thread
Thanks,
O.

Hi
I need some help on the best way to approach this decking issue.

My PB told me they do not do pavers when I asked to upgrade to pavers for my decking. Originally we were going to do concrete and then once we got started we were advised by a high end pool builder friend of ours that in our situation we could get a lot of cracking and he strongly suggested us to use pavers and not brushed concrete.

We upgraded to a sandblasted marble coping and really want to do matching pavers for the decking. We are now set on the pavers look. What options do I have?

1. Ask the PB to work with us on this and look for a sub for us and contract with them ( they use subs from Dallas for everything as they are a small Waco company) we are between Dallas and Waco,

2. Look for a sub on our own and ask the PB to allow us to take care of the decking ? Is this risky having someone else come in for part of the job? Gotta think PB's don't like that

3. Deal with concrete ( really don't want to )

We are completed with our gunite and about to start coping and tile next week , next step after that would be the decking.

Grateful for any help and ideas .

PCR said:

I have a 40,000 gallon pool in Maryland. We don't have the option of natural gas and so we have a heat pump - a Pentair UltraTemp 120 Heat Pump. It works fine to keep the pool at temperature - which for my family is around 86 or 87 - from May through September. I just leave it set to that constantly during that time. In October when the night temps start getting cooler, the heat pump only gets the pool up to low 80s during the day typically. I still swim, but the rest of my family doesn't at that point (I grew up with an unheated pool in upstate NY!). We do NOT have a solar cover - just too much trouble to put on and take off every day. But if we did, the pool would obviously stay much warmer and we'd probably be able to achieve the high 80s even into October.

Click to expand...

I know this is old but I'm in your situation and would love to know what you estimate your running costs to be to have the heater run all season. Also do you run your pump longer to make this work? I currently am in CT and run my pump around 8 hrs a day. I have 37,500 gallons approximately. Its one thing absorbing the cost of the heater running but if I need to increase the pump run time to say 16hrs that'll be a HUGE increase in my electric bill. Pump alone already adds $250 per month at 8 hrs a day.

Thanks!!

Just wanted to introduce myself to this group. Since buying our house in Jan the wife’s has not stopped talking about having a pool. After multiple bids and talking to a couple builders we settled on one and a custom design. A 40x18 that goes from 3.5ft to 9ft. We also have a built in spa.
This is the original design. We have since had the bench in the far side pushed out instead of in

Got an original completion time frame of 12 weeks but may actually be in it in 6.

as of this Sat this is the state with the plumbers and electrician coming this week.

Is there a non chlorine based winter closing kit that uses a non copper base algaecide?

I replaced the OEM Hayward filters with the Premium/Blue Guardian filters (via amazon)

The BAD news is that the end-holes of the filter are a few mils larger than the OEM product.
Being a bit oversize means they fit/slip easily on the fittings of the Hayward filter, BUT:
When the filter is full/clogged and you expect the pressure to go up to so indicate, it does NOT.
Instead the water leaks through the oversized end holes, and then the pool turns green...

The GOOD news:
A) the filters rinse clean very easily/quickly, the textured surface seems to help.

B) I found a 'fix' for the oversize holes: remove the fittings from the filter, dry, and wrap a layer of duct tape (~9 inches) around each fitting.
(see photo)
That supplies the extra mils, prevents the leak, and the filters work at full capacity. (until the pressure goes UP! yay!)

I am going to do the ascorbic acid treatment and sequestering agent to remove reuse stains in my pool. Is it better to drain the pool after treatment is done? Or, can you balance out your water after. It has been a couple of years since it has been drained and I believe my tds is runnng high. Do I need to replace my cartridge filters after treatment is done or can I just clean them? I plan on using Leslie’s stain treatment and metal free for sequestering agent.