Hey folks,

I am opening the pool for the first time and obviously the topic of algae is something I keep seeing and it's various forms (Green, Yellow, Black, etc.). It made me wonder, how does one algae bloom over the other? Are the colour/types of algae different stages of the same organism? Why would a pool have green algae instead of black? Does black require certain environmental conditions different than green? If left alone, does green algae become black algae?

For the past at least 10 years I have used a 90 day algaecide in my pool in the North Fl summer months. This past winter because of health issues I lost my pool for the first time ... Green/black a mud pit. Anyway all fixed for the past month but Ive not had the sparkly water Ive had all my pool use days. 2 days ago I put in my 90 day algae prevention copper based and my pool is super sparkly again ... finally. So Ive read about potential issues with hair, equipment and God knows what else. I don't want to start an argument but I find it much easier to use the "liquid chlorine" method (more forgiving) for taking care of my pool.

WHY should I not use Copper in my pool? Looking for answers. IS it dangerous in some way to my and others health? Oh I have a cheap ... cheaper than an in-ground pool 16x32 Intex pool that I love and have loved for 4 years now. Way cheaper and easier to maintain than a $45,000 hole in the ground.

I noticed on the the Pentair Pool App, there is no longer an option for SWG percentage for spa mode. I verified that my IC40 no longer produces when in spa mode. I know previously you could choose up to 20% during spa operation. I sent the question to Pentair support, but they never answered the question. Any ideas on why they did that?

Looking to bond my above ground pool. Because it is all resin except the shell, I have read on this site that you only need to connect to the seem. So I will run the copper line from the seem to the equipment and branch off and connect the pump, heater and anode. Correct?

Two questions.

1. Do I still need to loop around the pool? (Guessing I don’t because there is no other place to connect to the pool, only the seem)
2. Do I need to connect the bonding copper wire to a copper rod that’s in the ground?

When I start getting lowered output in my returns, and a small bubble appears in the basket closest to the pump:
So I know that the less output in my returns can be clogged filters??
The bubble in the basket means air is not getting purged out(routinely there is no bubble in the basket, so probably an incomplete seal??
When I open the cartridge barrel, under these circumstances, my cartridge holder seems to always be tilting off its normal position.
Why does it do this? Am I doing something wrong? Incoming water pressure too high??
I have already confirmed the barrel itself is sitting level.
Please help.

Long story short, I mowed over my power cord for my above ground pool. The pump is an intex SX3000 series, and has the GFCI plug on the male end. I'm trying to find a replacement cord, and am having trouble making sure i'm getting the right one. I'm not an electrician by any means, but I can replace parts just fine. I really just need to make sure I find a cord that is the right replacement. I don't even believe it has to have the GFCI end, as it's plugged into an outside outlet that is on a GFCI circuit (please correct me if i'm wrong,) but wouldn't mind having that if I could find one. Few questions:

Any idea how I can ensure I get the right cord?

This pump is 120v- so are the replacements on amazon pretty much universal as long as they meet that? If so, could I take the GFCI adapter from the old cord and put it on the new one if it doesn't come with one?

Thanks for any help you may be able to provide. I feel like this shouldn't be that complicated, but I'm dealing with electricity so I want to be safe.

I’m using version 510 of the app on an iPhone iOS 18.4.1

I renewed my subscription yesterday—App was working fine. Today, I went to log test results, entered the numbers, hit “done”. But when I hit the in the upper right corner, I get this error message

I “tried again in a bit” but got the same error. Also logged out and logged back in but, again, same error.
Any suggestions?

Hi! We bought house & pool in Dec. Pool was built in the 80s. We’re trying to learn all we can as quickly as we can!

Looking forward to learning from y’all!

Hi, I replaced a Hayward pump with a variable speed Pureline Pump in 2019 and it's been working pretty well except last summer, the digital display stopped working. My previous schedule had been saved so I was able to get the pool opened by using the override buttons to keep it running, but I'd like to get the display working again.

It's a Century /AO Smith V-Green 270 user interface controller. I removed the display from the pump and expected to see some corrosion from water seeping into the control board, but it's pristine.

Any other suggestions on what could be wrong? Or anything else I should try to get the display up and working. i already disconnected the display cable and cleaned it but again, it looked perfectly fine.

This is the controller info page, but it came with my Pureline PL2626 pump
A.O. Smith V-Green 270 User Interface - 2520652-001 - INYOPools.com

Pics attached also.
Thanks for any ideas you might have.

I recently purchased a home with a ~50 year old concrete pool in west michigan that has had multiple owners over the years. The former owner left no instructions/guidance, but I had their pool guy show me around during the purchase (before I knew what questions to ask). I'm mostly figuring it out on my own. I'm looking to install a new variable speed pump and salt water generator before opening the pool for the season.

Below is a picture of the current setup, it's all 1.5" plumbing. I'm not sure where the pipe with the broken red ball valve goes, but it looks like it hasn't been in use for a long time. Also, don't be alarmed, I took the dead front off the electrical panel so I could see how everything was wired, but everything is off.

As a newbie, I was just hoping for some feedback on my plan (positive or negative) and any additional considerations I should have. Here are my goals:

• Repipe skimmer and main drain pvc after ball valves, adding Jandy 3-way valve and repositioning new pump to ensure the minimum ~10" of straight pipe before intake (Is it overkill to repipe the return lines and should I just reuse the existing pump location? There's currently a tee right before the intake which seems bad)
• Repipe after heater with check valve > flow switch > swg and remove chlorine inline feeder
• Remove booster pump, add another Jandy 3-way valve after the swg to split between original return line and repurpose cleaner/polaris return
• Should I consider adding unions to the pipes exiting the sand filter to allow for replacing the media? Is it safe to assume that's never been done since there currently aren't unions?

One of my concerns is that the polaris jet seems to be at the waterline (see below) so I'm not sure that can actually be repurposed as an effective return jet? It seems like a waste to just abandon it, maybe I could just make it into one of those diy pvc "fountains" for the kids to enjoy?

I thought I would give a DIY automation a try. I originally started with some old compool parts and a pi zero w and a small electrical panel from Amazon. I was thinking small and compact, which was a terrible idea, think sun touch.
I don’t know python, but I know enough JavaScript. Using the onoff library I was able to get the gpio to control the 8 channel relay. This relay has a maximum load of 10amps. So good enough to handle actuators and higher load relays and fireman switch. The transformer is from cp3600, it steps down to 24, 18, and 12 vac. I should also mention the relay is a nc/c/no, so this works perfect for controlling actuators. The 24 vac was used to control the actuators. I used a ac/dc buck converter on the 20vac converting it to vdc to control the high voltage relays. On the 10vac I used another buck converter to drop it down to 5vdc to power the pi zero. The idea was to minimize space, I was trying to avoid having to add an outlet for a 24vdc power supply, and usb.
As far as the framework, I am using nodejs express onoff. The pi is running headless and serving up the ui using express.
Here is the repo if you like bad code.
The part that I didn’t realize would take so much time is planning the layout inside the panel. Creating dividers for high and low voltage, and making everything accessible and replaceable. I used blender and cura for the prints. If I was to do it again, I would just use a larger panel. Here is the progress so far, I’ll continue to update as I go. Please feel free to critique and advise.

I've cleaned the salt cell with water/muriatic acid combo and all scale was dissolved. New pool construction, built in July 2024. Pentair Intellichlor model #IC20. It's still not generating chlorine......any ideas to get this issue resolved? It was generating chlorine until around January 2025.

I have a 20' round above ground pool. I've used a sand filter + SWG for the past 8 years.

Backwashing and having to refill + add salt is kind of annoying, and with the addition of a Nautilus CC this season, I'd really like to make the pool as hands-free as possible in our short season (mid-may until mid september).

I was looking at getting the Hayward SwimClear 525 sqft filter but noticed the plumbing won't even match my current plumbing (2” x 2.5” vs 1.5") so made me take a step back.

Can I go TOO big with a cartridge filter?

Anybody have a good source for a deal on an IC40? Mine appears to be dead, shows 80% life, but the service cell light is blinking. I did the acid cleaning but that did not seem to do anything. The unit is 6 years old, so unless anyone knows any tricks, Im hunting for a replacement. Ebay has the older/original model for about $1100 and mine always worked great, so upgrading to the new model doesn't really solve anything for me and Id rather save the $$.

Opened a pool two weeks ago. The pool is fiberglass with a sand filter its only two years old and holds 20k gallons. The pool water was extremely green when I opened the pool, dark green. I have shocked the pool twice with cal-hypo which got rid of algae and green color, but now the water is cloudy and there is white dust on the shallow end steps. You can see shallow end bottom but not the deep end. Please help

Bumping this. I have a Jandy 2.7hp VSP and when running at 2400 RPMs it's basically fully primed with only a few microscopic bubbles here and there.

However, from 5pm to 9am I have it run at 1400 RPMs and the bubble grows slowly overnight so much so that it does stay primed, but the air bubble ultimately encompasses basically the whole translucent dome.

When it switches back to the 2400 RPM level at 9am, it eliminates that air bubble within like 5-10 minutes tops and operates full of water again. My nearest return also lets out a steady stream of very small bubbles after a while of operating at 1400 RPMs. Basically, once the bubble in the pump gets big enough (after a few hours).

This is all while I bypass the heater. When I have the water go to/through the heater, it doesn't get quite as fully filled with water in my pump at 2400 or 1400 RPMs as it does when I bypass.

Anything to be concerned about? I've tried saran wrapping and the hose trick on the lid, pump drains, and gasket leading into the pump; none of which seem to make much of a difference.

I have an IC40 that seems to only operate at 100%. Even when output is adjusted it continues to produce the most chlorine possible. As a result the salt is running out quickly as well. Any ideas on how to handle this? It is controlled by an easytouch.

Hi guys. I just took over taking care of my pool and it's been going okay, but I don't think the suction is working well enough as the pool has looked a little cloudy and there is detritus at the bottom of the pool despite the chems looking good (Leslie's testing).

The pool is about 12,000 gallons. I run my Intelliflo at 1500 RPM for 8 hours, then at 2400 RPM for 2 hours. At 1500 RPM, the crawler doesn't move and there is zero water moving through the skimmer. At 2400, the movement is okay on both. Maybe I'm misremembering, but I think the water used to flow pretty well through the skimmer when it was on 1500 RPM. The filter is clean (I cleaned it only about 2 months ago) and the skimmer and pump baskets are clean. I got a drain king and flushed the pipes fairly quickly, but didn't see any obvious problems. I flushed the air out of the filter and I backwashed for a minute or two a few times. I also unscrewed the valve that diverts the water to the skimmer or crawler and it was clear inside.

Should the crawler and skimmer be moving pretty well at 1500 RPMs? Any ideas to get the water moving better besides raising the RPMs? Thanks very much!

Ordinarily, when opening the pool, I manually vacuum all the silt and debris to waste and get the pool clean and balanced before using the robot. It's a miserable job that takes hours, so this year I decided (because I'm an idiot, a lazy idiot) not to do the usual manual vacuuming when opening up the pool, and instead I just netted out some of the big debris (leaves, piles of worms) and then put the robot (a Dolphin SX20, same as S100/E20 I think) in to clean it up for me.

That might have been a mistake. For one thing, it very quickly got clogged up with fine silt (this was with the regular basket, not the fine one). Worse, all kinds of debris is now sprouting out from every opening and even the joins between the plastic exterior panels - evidently crud and debris has got everywhere inside the thing once its basket got clogged - and I can't clean it out. I did briefly put it back in the pool and it seemed to still work OK but of course the water was still pretty bad so took it out again (and now attempting to clean up the pool the 'traditional' way!)

Anyway, I guess I know now that using the robot for the initial clean up is a bad idea.

But do you think (one I've got the pool clean) when the robot goes back in, the clean water will flush out the debris from inside the machine? Anyone else had this happen?

as the title says my FC is 30 (started out high when I closed and still 30 when I opened a few days ago) and water temp is cold, 65-70F how valid are other tests?

My Ph is 7.2 to 6.8 after a few days of testing. High FC mean Ph test is not valid?
CYA is 50
TA is off the charts. last fall was in 80's now 300. Is the test valid?

I'm leaving the auto cover open for our 70's sunny days trying to burn off the FC and the SWG has not been turned on yet.
I assume without pool use and cool cloudy days it will take some time to get the FC back down below 10?

Notice a small trickle of water today coming from the pool light junction box today. Looks like I’ve already lost a few inches of water over the past few days.

The junction box is 14-18” above the pool level. Trying to figure out why/how this happened and what I can do to stop it.

Searched the forum already and read things about plugging the top of the pipe. Any idea why it is now happening? Thanks for all the feedback and advice!

My pool pump took a dump and I am need of a replacement. I am needing some help trying to figure out what pump to get. I am not trying to break the bank with a $1000 pump. Here is my current setup:

-40,000 galloon saltwater pool

-Hayward SwimPure Plus SWP15 salt chlorinator

-Hayward Pro Series 30" sand filter Model S310S

-Current pump is Hayward SS 1.1HP 230V HST110 motor

I was looking at these pumps from Aquastrong, either the SS:

Amazon.com

or the VS: Amazon.com

However, after doing a bit a research, I think they may have too high of a flow rate. I am calculating that I can max at 98GPM due to the filter, and then 73GPM since I have 2" pipes. Am I correct on this? Looking for some tips!

Hey all,

I became a pool owner last year and have quickly turned into a full-blown pool nerd — and a TFP evangelist.

With the size of our pool, I couldn’t help but feel like the flow was just too dang low.

I wanted to share my experience doing some pad-side plumbing upgrades this past week, since it was something I contemplated over and over.

Background:

• Pool size: 44×22 ft, 50,000+ gallons, 11.5-12 ft deep
• Pool age: Built in the ’60s or ’70s (hybrid pool: gunite/plaster floor with fiberglass walls — still hanging in there!)
• Underground plumbing:
  • 1.5” skimmer line — One skimmer for the whole pool. It's rough with how many trees we have. Betta SE has been helpful.
  • 1.5” main drain line
  • 1.5" return line going to two returns
  • (Now previously) unused 1.5" line that was a pressure-side vacuum with booster.
• Pump: Pentair IntelliFlo3 1.5 HP (2” union slip fit, 1.5" inside fit)
• Filter: Triton sand filter (not sure what the model is, the sticker is wearing off)
• Heater: Pentair MasterTemp 400
• Starting flow: ~35 GPM at 99% RPM. 39 GPM on a really, really good day.

What I Changed:​

• Suction side:
  • Installed Jandy 4715 3-way valve to combine the skimmer and main drain into a 2” trunk (previously 1.5"). This replaced two seized up, basic ball valves that I'm sure restricted flow.
• Return side:
  • Converted unused pressure-side vacuum line into a new dedicated 1.5” return
  • Added a second Jandy 4715 3-way to split the 2” return trunk into two 1.5” returns (existing and converted vacuum line)
  • Installed full-port Jandy BVSU015 1.5” ball valves on each return line (no room on suction).
• Other:
  • Re-plumbed all pad piping to 2” PVC (pump ➔ filter ➔ heater ➔ returns)
  • Installed a flow meter (H2Flow) on the return trunk

Preliminary Results:​

• Flow
  • 65–72 GPM at 99% RPM (60-70% improvement)
  • 35 GPM at 65% RPM
• Filter pressure dropped:
  • From ~20-22 psi ➔ ~14–15 psi at the same RPM
• Turnover time:
  • I'd be lucky if I could get the pool to turnover once in 24 hours. Now, I can turn it over almost twice in a day if running full-blast.
• Usability:
  • I can now control the flow of both suction and returns much more easily.

----

At this point, I'm still dialing in the new return port's eyeball and the return Jandy BVSU015's to try to get a nice circulation pattern.

Since I’m still a pool novice, I’m not here to blindly recommend this — just wanted to share my numbers and experience as a bit of a “science experiment.”

Please feel free to pick this apart and tell me where I went wrong or what I could improve. In the future, I would love to add a SWG and go cartridge to save some space and make future plumbing projects easier.

Greetings!
Last Fall (2024), I received a used SX2800 Sand Filter and Pump from a friend who was moving. She hadn't used it since Fall 2023.

I want to test the pump before purchasing sand and filling the sand filter. My question...can I bypass the sand filter and directly connect the pump to the pool using the corresponding outlet and inlet connections to the pool. Will that damage the pump in any way?

Pool water is clean and balanced. Pool is covered with solar cover, so minimal debris.
Thanks!!

hi! the house came with an old concrete pool and these items in the photo -
heater, DE filter and 1HP pump.
i guess the pump was left running over the winter for a weekend without water and now it looks like its burned out and the pipes seem melted (photo below was taken 1.5 yrs ago when we paid for a pool survey). how that happened? i installed a wifi timer (this site helped me figure out the wiring!) and somehow it ended up engaging on its own or butt dialed, whatever it was i noticed 3 days later the pump was running after i winterized it.
I bought a

1. used 700sq ft cartridge filter Hayward C7030
2. new Pentair IC60 salt cell
3. new china 2hp pump (yes i know, but the price is crazy to not at least try)

The idea i have is to DIY the following:

1. remove the DE filter
2. Remove the multi-port valve
3. ramove the pump
4. install the cartridge filter
5. install the pump
6. install the salt cell

Question A:
the 2 white pipes coming out of the heater, i assume the right one is the return to the pool pipe? is that where i need to put the salt cell? is hot water going through the cell ok?
i read somewhere:

1. the chlorinated water coming out of the salt cell shouldnt go into the heater, get heated up then go into the pool - is that true? "needs to be placed "after" the heater? fyi the heater will not be on much, i assume a total of 14-30 days a year in the summer
2. the salt cell should be on a higher than the pump level

Question B:
the filter - should it have a bypass valve? for when i want to "back wash" or vaccuum the pool gunk? any advice on what valve to get?
Question C:
is removing the pump and filter and attaching new pipes, joints, gluing - is that easy to do with youtubing advice? i realize i need a cutter for the pipes, glue and primer and some planning skills.

Question D:
looking at the old photo - is there a pipe config you suggest given i am redoing most of it?
(misc status - the pool is a mess tiles are falling off, a couple of large water line cracks, plaster chipping, old lights were removed filled and painted on looks scary, and now theres a leak that lost 2 ft of water and stopped half way (i emptied the water to just below the return jets and over the winter it dropped 2ft! and stopped).

Trouble Free Pool Method Only! IS THIS CORRECT!
Starting the Slam Process on a 16x36ft. 3-8 ft depth with 5ft average. Approx 22,000 gallons correct me if I'm wrong on that.
Taylor K2006C test kit.
FC-0
CYA-0
PH-8+(unknown how high shooting for 7.2)
TA 120(shooting for 80)
CH-0
Ready to start the SLAM.
STEPS
1.Lower PH to 7.2(which will lower TA also)
2.CYA to 40-50
3.SLAM WITH 10% POOL BLEACH.

Hi all. Have a Hayward PowerFlow Matrix, manufactured 2020. At the end of last season, it seemed to be running louder than usual. Worked fine until end of season. Decided to do some checking (the mounting base was totally rusted - though I believe that's from skimmer water leaking and setting at the pump base - not a seal issue.

Anyway, I can't get the impeller off no how, and Im also not sure if there's too much resistance on it - doesn't seem to spin easily to me, and there is a slight scraping noise.

15sec video - Login to view embedded media
Do you guys think there is more of an issue here or just throw it back together and run it? No one locally services them it seems. Thanks.

Hello, looking for some more incite on an air problem I'm having with my system. Towards the end of the season last year, I was getting a lot of small air bubbles from from first in line return jet. This year upon opening the pool, it has gotten worse. I've had a hard time getting the pump to even prime and when it does, I have major air coming from the return. I have read the pool school blog on the subject and here is what I have done to try to remedy the situation and my equipment. side note: the only air I was able to find prior to the tried remedies was water coming from the fitting going into the basket when I would shut the pump off.

All new seals in basket, and back to the pump.
New pump (I redid my electric and when ahead and installed a brand new pump. Had air problem both before and after new pump).
Replaced portion of the above ground PVC going into the basket and from the basket up to the filter.
Lubed all seals, cranked down basket lid, flushed suction line going to basket.

After all this, I saw initial improvement when starting pump. After a several minutes, it returned to having the air issue and having a hard time priming. It is a Heyward sand filter system with no chlorinator. Just looking for something I'm possibly missing or something else to try. I do have air coming out where the pump mounts to the basket assembly, I have no idea if this is normal or not (seems to be coming from the external parts of the threaded holes). Free and open to answer any questions on anything I have posted. Attached are before and after pics of the plumbing and a video. Thanks in advance!

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Over the past few months, Ive been trying to figure out why my pool flow / pump output has decreased a lot since I first bought this house with my pool. At the end of last summer, I did replace the sand in my sand filter and installed a new primary pool pump with the same one that came with the system when I bought the house.

I have checked all of the obvious stuff:
-clean skimmers, pump basket, blockage/build up in pump
-I've tried switching to recirculate mode to avoid the sand filter
-I've tried only pulling from skimmers and then only pulling from main drain to see if that changed anything.

I have had some pebbles from my spa start to come loose last year so I am not sure if they are stuck somewhere in the system causing flow issues. Some of them got into my multi valve on the sand filter making it hard to turn it so I had to remove that and clean the pebbles out.. so wondering if that is causing lot flow issues somehow.

My sand filter PSI seems to stay at 10psi before / after backwash. It is a 500lb sand filter and when I replaced it, I did put in a full 500 lbs.

Another issue I notice which may be a contributor is when I run my aux pump which is used for the pool cleaner... after this runs for a while, my main pump flow gets even worse and my spa overflow slows to a trickle.

From when I first got the pool, i'd guess my current flow is 20-40% of what it originally was just by judging the overflow from the spa waterfall.

Would appreciate any advice you have in helping me figure out the issue in my system. thanks.

Few pics of my system:

Does anyone have any experience with Pool Pure or Future Way replacement cartridges. When we installed the pool almost five years ago we used OEM Hayward filters. They have been great. Obviously the off-brand filters are much less expensive. I've often found you get what you pay for, and I can't really complain about getting 5 years out of the Haywards before they started falling apart, but just thought it might be worth asking about these brands because they get good reviews on Amazon. Thanks!