We are at just over 60 days from dig and they finally plastered my pool! We went with pebblesheen blue slate which comes with shimmering sea in it. Should I be seeing it already or not until they acid wash it tomorrow? Worried it won’t have the sparkle

Moved from HERE

I think I may have same issue. I have air bubbles in my strainer pot and only have a skim line for circulation. (I paid a company to find the leak in the drain side, but they couldn’t find one.) I replaced my skimmer pot because it was cracked at the bottom and put a new lid o-ring on. It’s better, but still have the bubbles. Last night I was hearing that “tumbling rocks” sound and as of now have mitigated that sound. These steps also made a gigantic improvement in my vacuum suction and bubbles in the discharge line.

I have attached a picture of what I’m seeing now in the pot. Ideally, there should be zero air bubbles in the pot, is that correct?

We are in our third season with our pool, and I recently noticed some wrinkles forming on one side of the pool where the skimmers are located (see photo). They are "squishy" when you push on them. We do have a high water table in the area where the pool is located, but I have a well point that collects water from a french drain in the deep end as well as from the gravel around the walls and pumps it to the woods. I double-checked that, and it is holding the level below the bottom of the walls. Any ideas on what could be causing these bubbles? Is it possible that water is entering behind the liner at the skimmers and I just need to tighten the screws on the skimmer plate? Anything else I can try to diagnose? Will they go away on their own? Any help is sure appreciated! -Wes

We recently purchased a house in S Florida with a pool that needs some serious TLC. I've already contracted for resurface, decking, lighting, etc.

I'm going to move and replace most of the pool equipment, but I am confused by a valve that makes no sense to me. See the picture below:
The valve that is circled in red looks like it either shuts off or possibly reverses the water going to the heater? The In and out pipes from the heater each have their own shut off, so if the valve in question is intended to shut off water flow to the heater, is it even necessary? I'd like to eliminate duplicity if I can.

Thanks in advance for your help!!

Clark

Good morning to all. First, thank you for the he site and knowledge all the members offer freely, it has been very helpful. I believe I am almost done with my SLAM, but have a few questions.

I have my water tests in pool math, if anyone wants to view them. I’m went from having a green pool, to blue and cloudy, and now I can see the bottom and it seems to be almost crystal clear. My OCLT has passed the last 2 nights, my pump is always running, and I keep the FC at 10-11. So I believe I am heading the right direction. When I vacuum the pool, I am getting what appears to be a light tan type dust, that gets all over my vacuum filter and makes the water in the vacuum chamber cloudy, I am assuming this is dead algae, since it is becoming less each time. I used to see little “puffs” of cloudy water when brushing the pool, not so much anymore. So the question is, do I keep the FC where it is until all this is gone, or do I end the SLAM, keep brushing and vacuuming, and let the filter do the rest.

Have been at this over a week now and happy to see the changes taking place, just getting anxious to use the pool.
Thanks all for the long read.

Hello all I’m in a area that I can only find Costco brand Member’s Selection Bleach 5.25%. Is this okay to use. Does it have additives that should not be used?
I have been following TFP with great results. We have the clearest pool in the country. Had to travel 10 hours round trip to get calcium hardness.
Thanks everyone

Before I put in the pool coping, I am trying to decide what to do with the skimmer lids?
1. Can use a “Hide” lid, which is s/s pan that accepts the same material as the coping (porcelain) to make a seamless cover. Pros: looks very nice and can be almost invisible. Cons: the lid will be heavy to lift every time you want to check the skimmers

2. is there an upgrade to the regular round plastic lid that looks kind of cheap when you are spending a fortune on coping and matching pool surround tile

3. stay with ugly plastic lid that looks worse each month with beating sun

We are adding 2 fire/water bowls to our pool and the brand the pool builder uses are Bobe. But I called and he said for the color we are getting (powder coated dark brown) you cannot have a salt water pool. The water would ruin them for some reason.
I was leaning toward a salt water pool and wouldn’t necessarily want to have to do chlorine because of the firebowls.

SO, does anyone have any experience with this or any more info on this? Are there other brands of fire/water bowls that this wouldn’t be an issue?

Good afternoon! I hope you all are doing great! I’ve been dealing with injuries and mobility issues, so I haven’t been active here, and I’ve also let my pool get away from me, unfortunately.

We started the SLAM and see much improvement, but I got in today to brush and was surprised to find sandpaper walls and floor, as well as loose sand on bottom. From outside I just thought it was dead algae, and certainly that was part of it, but there is also quite a bit of sand. Yep, I’m thinking I’ve got a cracked lateral in my sand filter, which would explain the loose sand, but not the scale. And the scale is visible on my pool steps, same exact color as the sand. What the heck?

Latest numbers:

FC 12
CC 0
PH 7.5
CYA 30
CH 300
TA 100

I need to lower PH a bit to get TA a bit lower, but the numbers don’t seem too bad. So what the heck is going on with the scaling??

Photo of sand included for funsies. And unfortunately, I won’t be able to tackle the sand filter until I can get someone to help, so it will be a few days.

Hello, New pool owner here who made the mistake of cleaning my dirt crusted automatic pool cover with SOS pads (the pool cover is 3 years old). At the time, I could not budge the built up red dirt of Southern Utah. Yes, I feel foolish now!

After using the SOS pads, the light gray cover was spotless for days. Then after a heavy rain, brown and dark purple line and circular stains appeared. Next, I cleaned the pool cover with diluted 'Bar Keepers Friend.' This time the pool cover came out fairly clean, but days later similar stains reappeared.

I have no idea what I am dealing with but may be rust or a reaction due to the SOS pads? If rust, I read Clorox was not recommended. How about diluted CLR?
Any advice on what to use to clean next is greatly appreciated!

SOS pad Contains: Sodium Tallowate, Water, Glycerin, Sodium Carbonate, Sodium C10-16 Alkylbenzenesulfonate, Cocamide MEA, Sodium Nitrite, Fragrance, Sodium Hydroxide, Titanium Dioxide, Colorant And Sodium Metasilicate.
Bar Keepers Friends Contains: are feldspar, linear sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (DDBSA) and oxalic acid.

Has anyone replaced just the motor on this variable speed pump? Looking around the web it appears that motor is only sold with the electronic controller for $1100 for Hayward or about $600 for an AO Smith. I would just like to replace the motor and plug the existing controller into it.

Such a great site this is!!

Using this old thread I made my own DIY saddles and they came out great!


With inflation since 2016 everything cost me approximately $50

Oh and.....pool was already there when we bought the house in 2006, word of advice.....do not put bushes around pool

I am new to TFP, but not a new pool owner. I have enjoyed my pool for going on the 14th season. Recently I changed my automation system and pumps. I am contemplating switching from tabular chlorination to liquid. Recently I have had a harder time keeping my pool water free of algae. My pool care regime has relaxed over the years and I am reinvigorating my care and love for my pool and attached hot tub.

As to why algae is so hard to kill~!

Hi, we currently are having a pool company, which is actually a concrete company, installing our 12ft x 26ft inground pool. We have had issues along the way with voids in the concrete decking that were patched prior to sealing. The concrete color being brown vs white beige etc. However, today I got in the pool to inspect the floor and coping, and it is absolutely awful. Several voids and concrete dripped into the pool. They put a seam that separates the pool decking from the concrete coping in case of issues in the future. There is so much concrete on the liner that I am extremely worried about having them break the coping up and redoing it. In one corner there is actually duck tape sticking out under the concrete. The corners were square and for some reason they rounded them. Please help! What do we do to have them fix it? Do they break it up and redo it and will this tear the liner, or is there a way to put renovation pavers over it to hide all of this sloppiness. I have tons of pics if you would like more than this to help

Now that my other panel/actuator issues are solved (see my other thread!), moving on to getting my lighting working. The pool and spa lights are on a single relay, and the pool light works, but the spa doesn't. The spa is on a 12 VAC 100W transformer (pool is 12 VAC 300W), and voltage out of the transformer (Intermatic if that matters). The pool light used to just alternate between blue and purple on my old board when I did the on/off routine, but now with my new OmniPL it's cycling between several colors (haven't been able to figure out how to get it to turn on/off fast enough to change the routine). So the questions are 1. Can you identify the spa light model from those details and the pic? 2. Can the bulb be changed without having to run new wiring? (I really really really don't want to do that!) 3. How can I change the color routines of these lights? (I assume once I find out the answer to 1 I can search and find more info!). Thanks!

We bought our house mostly for a pool about 9 months ago, but have been having nothing but issues with it since. We planned on doing a '5 year complete rehaul' but now I'm trying to figure out the scope of what I want/can get, and price points.

I've reached out to some local builders but they're surprisingly difficult to schedule, so now I'm trying to 'level set' based on people's experience. And with that - I am curious if people wouldn't mind sharing what they experienced pricing wise for their pool/specs? People who did a reno vs full-build, esp.

In the past I've been quoted '50-60k for a gunite kidney pool' from a home builder. I am likely wanting something large, rectangular, top of the line pump/incentives, spa, and extending it into a firepit/kitchenette. So In my head I am figuring ~150K based on my research.

But if I can do the 'pool' sooner, for less, and do the rest later - I might go that avenue. But struggling with my research here.

Is there a preferred way to add Alkalinity Up to the pool - either sprinkling directly onto pool surface or diluting first? (Set aside the fact that we even have Alkalinity Up... I am now seeing that baking soda is basically the same thing but this was something our start-up crew recommended we get when we first got our pool, so working our way thru this supply!)

Hi everyone,
Hoping someone can help as I'm not sure what else to try.

My pool water has a green tint ever since shocking it after I had algae growth. The bottom and sides are clear aside from some sand and debris that needs to be vacuumed out. I did shock it, twice, and that cleared up the algae. It was cloudy. Now, it's still tinted green! I am on well water and have topped it off with untreated water (we know there are metals in the water). I suspect this is the issue after doing some online research. All chemicals levels are in proper balance.

I added Natural Chemistry metal free. I see no difference after 24 hours. Perhaps I did not add enough? I'm not sure. Any help would be appreciated! Thank you.

Hi. I am a new pool/spa owner and new to TPT. We have a new pool/spa just built and I want to add a spa blower motor to get more bubbles and better venturi jet action. I am thinking about getting the 2HP Silencer blower. I have room in my electrical panel for either 120v or 240v but have few questions.
1. Does the blower require a dedicate circuit in my Pentair EasyTouch4 panel?
2. Is there any reason to go with 120v or 240v for the blower?

Thanks,
DavidU

I am trying to replace a cracked union nut that connects 2inch pvc to chlorinator. Would like to use a split nut so that I do not have to re plumb this whole connection, but can’t seem to find anything online that fits. Anyone had any luck with this? Or do I need to just by the whole union tailpiece replacement kit and replumb connections?

i was away for three days and my chemistry is way off. We had a lot of rain, had to drain 3" of water. I tested after cleaning (not very dirty) and draining.
Any suggestions what could cause this. Never had this big of a swing.

FC went from 5.0 to 0.2
PH 7.6 to 7.0
TA stayed the same at 70
CH 270 to 260
CYA 35 to 25.

I'm glad I found TFP! My header connector for my Hayward tcell 940 burned on the main board. After reading some other threads here on TFP, I came to the conclusion that I needed to replace the Hayward Omnilogic T-Cell PCB Board | HLX-PCB-TCELL and the header. Of course, that means I have to remove the entire motherboard to remove the old header and solder in a new header. If anyone has advice on doing it correctly the first time, I'm all ears! ajw22 had a great post that helped me significantly! Here is the post:
The plug is a Molex 76650-0078 plug

The connector header on the pcb is Molex 00015246101, Digi-Key Part# WM7188-ND. EBay "15-24-6106 MOLEX CONN HEADER 10 POSITION 4.2mm VERT TIN" has been a source for it. It's an exact fitment except it's off white. It is also reported to be Mini-Fit BMI 42385

Drained most of my pool at the beginning of the year. Added about 8lbs of stabilizer over the course about a week. Pool store said I had a reading of about 60. Had to wait to get my new test kit, but when I tested myself, I am only getting about 20. I've tried the test a few times and I am still getting a low reading. The pool store and my readings are so different. Not sure if I should add more or not. Could it have vanished? I have had to add a little bit of new pool water due to evaporation. What readings do I trust?

Hello,

I’m in the process of designing the pool and the backyard has been demoed. My initial wish list included a water feature (sheer descent) pouring into the pool and automatic cover, which I really, really, really want. I live in the City of Trees, for Pete’s sake. The pool builder informed me today that the water feature would void the warranty on the automatic cover. My choices are to keep the water feature knowing that if anything happens to the auto cover, I’m SOL, or get rid of the water feature. Can someone make me feel better about getting rid of the water feature? Do you use yours frequently enough that I should think about putting a fountain somewhere else in the yard?

Thank you all for your thoughts.

Cheers,

CD

Good evening all. I checked my chemicals. Last night. PH is at 7.2. My chlorine was real low. I put 94 oz in last night. I check my levels an hour ago and it only measured at .5. I’m going for at least 3. Any suggestions? Should I add more conditioner?

We had issues with our pool plaster when it was first installed in November 2022. There was a lot of clouding on the pool surface (SCP StoneScapes - Puerto Rico Blend. We finally went with an acid bath(?) by the pool builder. The surface looked fantastic.

It is now two weeks later and the white is back with a vengeance. What is going on?! We are pulling our hair out. We should have NEVER built a pool. This is insane.

Photos attached:

During and immediately after install, after acid bath, and 2 weeks later (e.g, today)

I thought i read that the OmniLogic has the ability to have an emergency stop switch. Does anyone know how this is wired?
Thanks.

steve

I've searched high and low about this, doesn't matter if we use sunscreen or not. It's a new development the last 2 years.
The only different thing we are doing different is using more of the liquid chlorine.
Could this be the reason for the dryness?? I thought it was because we were getting older LOL.
We like to maintain 3 ppm all summer so we do use the liquid here and there but more often of course if it's rained a lot etc.
The water is sparkling clear!
It's kinda embarrassing when friends and family are over, they've noticed it too.
Thanks for your thoughts and input.

Vinyl Liner
Here are the latest test results.
FC 3
TC 3
CC .14
PH 7.6
Alk 130
CH 146
CA 39

I'm keeping my water balanced. TA is a tad high at 100ppm. FC is kept at 7ppm and CC at 0.5 or below. CYA at 60. PH is perfect at 7.6.

This yellow/green stuff keeps showing up daily. Not everywhere, but under the steps, a couple places in the shallow end, and in 1 corner of the deep end. I brush it every day and it clouds up into the water but the water is still quite clear. I'm running the sand filter 12 hrs per day. I don't think it's pollen because we are past that season here.

How can it be algae if I keep my chlorine levels good? I'm stumped. Any advice would be much appreciated.