When using LC, I need to add cya - that much I know.

As of now I have used pucks for cya, but don’t want to use them in our new pool.
When googling for stabilizer in Denmark, only one type can be found.
But they have this warning:

“May only be used if HTH chlorine is used. It is extremely important that you only add the right amount of chlorine, otherwise a chlorine lock will form.”

Is it the wrong product to use?

Hello! My pool has been cloudy since I’ve opened it done everything including just replace the head on my Hayward filter in. Now it will not backwash? Help please

I am looking forward to learning how to care for my pool. Although I have had a pool for many years, I have listened to too much wrong advice from the so called experts and did not educate myself. I have a blonde granddaughter whose hair always turns green and green swimwear from an algaecide I used, and would like to know if the only option is to drain the pool. Right now that option is too costly. I am ordering one of the pool tester kits that are recommended on your site and I’m looking forward to frequenting those pool stores less in the future. Glad to be here.

After discovering 3 holes (one in the weld line) and a previous patch looking somewhat meh in our pool, I ordered a new one today - due to arrive next week.

I want to have a “virgin pool”, only touched by the good stuff , now I have the chance.
My thoughts are:

Check pH - lower if needed (tap water filling)
Add cya - to what level?
Add LC up to upper target value.
Swim

What do you think?

I’ve been fighting what I suspect is mustard algae since Memorial Day. The color doesn’t seem to be consistent with mustard algae though. I had thought was sand, but it does “go away” when I triple shock for the most part. One thing is I am constantly brushing when i am
Actively treating it so if it was/is sand it would be stirred up too. I feel it’a pretty dark brown. We have patched 2 holes several weeks ago. We aren’t losing water. I have also thought it could be pollen but mostly think sand or is it algae? I have never noticed it on the wall or stairs.

Hi!

My aqua rite was producing chlorine as expected and was displaying 2800-3300 salt which is accurate to my salt test strips. Suddenly and overnight, my cell is no longer producing chlorine and my salt reading dropped from 2800-3300 to 300.

Is this consistent with a dead cell ? Serial number is 3E15062-202851 if this helps determine age.

Thanks

Hey TFP'ers!

Just moved in to a house with a pool (details and equipment in signature). This is my first time owning a pool, and I want to maintain it myself and do it right, hence why I am here!

I have PoolMath installed and set up, and a TF test kit already on it's way in the mail. In the meantime though, I took a water sample to Leslie's to have it tested as a baseline. Here's the results:

FC: 0.18
pH: 8.1
TA: 80
CH: 206
CYA: 55

Temp: 90F
CSI: 0.32

As far as chemicals, I have 2 jugs of 20 Baume 31.45% and that's it at the moment. Would need to buy any other chemicals needed.

Questions that I have:
1.) what order should I remediate these in? Should I do pH first and then tackle the others?
2.) I measured my pool the best I could and estimated the volume to be 27k gallons. Is there a way to fine-tune this number as I go, perhaps using test results?
3.) Looks like the previous owner was using the Chlorine pucks. If I want to switch to liquid chlorine, should I do that after I get all of my levels remediated?

Thanks in advance for the help, I'm sure this is not the last time I will have questions!

Pool pic:

First, thank you all for the super useful info on this site. I wish I had discovered this site prior to having my pool built back in 2012, which leads me to these questions. I attaced a diagram of my pool layout. I "think" but not 100% certain is that the bottom drain was run with a 2" flex pvc pipe. All other plumbing was run with 1.5" flex pvc with the exception of the middle left return (it was a plumbed for a polaris pressure vac, but I repurposed it as an extra return. The pad is aprox 20 ft diagonally from the pool. Even though I think the bottom drain was run as 2", coming out of the ground the plumbing is all 1.5" PVC. To add to the cheapness of the PB they put in a 90sq ft cartridge filter.

I recently put in a VSP (SP3400VSP), and to get relatively decent/equal skimming action, I have it running @ about 2450 RPM with bottom drain 20% open, far left skimmer fully open and near left skimmer about 50% open.

Questions:
1. I feel like I should change the above ground plumbing to at least 2". Is it worth doing that? Should I go to 2.5"?
2. I feel relatively comfortable taking care of my parent's DE filter, so am thinking of moving to a 48sq ft DE filter, thinking 60 is overkill given my plumbing situation. Do you agree?
3. Should I try to dig down to where the 1.5 riser connects to the 2" bottom drain and go up with 2"/2.5" from there, or given that I am restricting the flow anyways to get skimming action I should not bother and just connect with the bigger pipe to the 1.5"
4. I may want to go back tho the presure vac in the futuere, would my 2x 1.5" returns be sufficient, or should I forget about the pressure vac and use the extra return?

Any other advice you would give?

thanks for all your help!

i've got a newly installed system by pool maintenance company ... intellichem, pentair salt cell and pentair acid tank ...
system is set up for "relay2 ichlor" ... tank is full but of course does not empty, when i try to dose manually the
motor does not turn on, i tested the voltage across the motor terminals and there is no ac voltage. the intellichem
daughter card with relay connections has18VAC (reading ~20VAC) - any ideas how to debug further or what
might be wrong?

Greetings! I'm in the midst of a largely DIY inground pool build - 36x18' rectangle with 90 degree corners and using polymer walls. Will be getting a contractor to pour the collar next week so just double checking everything. I'm off just under 1" corner to corner - would need to shift by about 1/2" to square perfectly. It's going to be some work to do that as I've got it all staked in at this point. Sketchup tells me that's 0.3 degrees out from 90 degrees. Is that an acceptable variance or should I suck it up and square it?

First time this has ever happened but added 2 bags of salt to my pool 2 days ago and now have stains on the plaster. This is the first time I have ever seen a stain from salt in 15+ years of owning a salt water pool. Wonder if Clorox Pool Salt was the wrong formulation or something. Any ideas?

This plaster is about 3 months old and didn't have any stains from adding 10 bags previously since it was replastered

Yard got mowed yesterday so please ignore all of the grass clipping in the pool

We have noticed we get a tingle when in the water close to the light and then on the other end with the rail at the steps. An electrician is suppose to come out this weekend to check things. Our light hasn't worked correctly since it was installed so I'm thinking it has to be that. However, with this electrician telling me to remove the ground to see if the current is still there because it should be bonded, I'm not very trusting at this point. Is there something I can put in the water to test or keep an eye on any current that may be in the pool? Just for safety sake? I found something called Shock Alert but I dont know how well it works. Any suggestions?

Just looking for opinions.

Getting ready to order my test kit and was curious if there is really an advantage or need for the ph meter

I have gone through two "rust resistant" aluminum umbrellas two years in a row, each with the same result: Rust that eventually covers the pole and fills the hole with a dirty mess that is obviously not ideal to have in the water. I'm concerned I'm just going to keep buying variations of the same idea that keeps rusting, as maybe the manufacturers are not expecting them to be continually exposed to water (with some salt content too)?

I really like the idea of a 100% Fiberglass "single piece pole no crank" where the only thing that's metal is the set pin at the top of the pole. The problem is they seem to be made by one company (California Umbrella), and they're out of stock everywhere on Amazon.

Lots of people here have sunshelfs, so how many of you have them lasting 6+ months in the water with zero rust? Looks like this same company makes one that claims to be "rust free" aluminum pole with fiberglass ribs (search B0072BCOAE on Amazon) - maybe that's a good option to try?

I've given Home Depot and Wayfair enough money in annual umbrella fees

Hi all,
My dad passed away last week and he was unable to care for the pool before he passed, so they had an algae problem. We are following SLAM. The issue I’m seeing right now is the pool is not circulating well and the filter pressure is nearing 40psi. It is a DE filter. We have been spraying out the filter daily (2 days ago very milky green, yesterday not nearly as visibly dirty). We backwashed yesterday. I cleaned the baskets today (poolside and the basket at the impeller; also checked impeller for clogs). Can you please help me understand why pressure is so high? I am attaching photos of valves. Please be patient with me…I don’t have a pool myself, but am trying desperately to help my mom, since she doesn’t have enough money for significant repairs after the death of my father. THANK YOU!

I have spent the last several weeks removing stains from the sides of our pool with absorbic acid and scale remover. My pool is crystal clear but my chlorine keeps dropping and failing the overnight test. Last night, I sucked it up and moved forward with SLAM. My water was crystal clear but is now a greenish brown. Target FC was 14 and I over shot to 17 (I failed to update the chlorine %). This morning it is 11.5 so I've added to get back to 14.

Test results last night
FC 0
CC 0
PH 6.7 (because I was working on lowering TA)
TA 120
CH 1100
CYA 35 (didn't know whether to round up or down. It's right in the middle)

PH this morning is 7.0.

While I am SLAMing, can I also add acid to continue working on the TA? Or should I wait?

Any feedback and guidance is appreciated. This is my first SLAM.

It's been blazing hot here in Fl last few weeks. Heat index pushing 110 and this is causing water temps to hover around 91 deg.
Does high water temps cause calcium to build up faster on your salt cell? If so, do I need to drop the PH below 7.4?
If not, then what else would cause a salt cell to accumulate buildup on it if your chemicals are balanced?
The attached picture is what is starting to form on the top of the cells about 2 weeks from when I last cleaned it.
Ph 7.4
Salt 3200
Alk 80
CYA 60
Calcium 450
Water temp 89-91°

Hey all,

Many of you noted that our concrete price at $13/sq ft was very high and we agreed. We are doing an 18x40 vinyl-lined pool, SWG in SE Minnesota and we found two concrete guys who came recommended at $6-7 sq. ft. They both said they have done "a few" pools but this leads me to wonder--how technical is pouring an in-ground pool deck? We are doing cantilever concrete right up to the edge of the pool, no aluminum rim, and concrete skimmers. We are also doing our automatic cover box lid as walk-on concrete versus the aluminum cover, so that it blends in better with our pool deck. Am I going to regret sub-contracting out the pool deck and these areas and not using the guy who works directly with the PB (PB said he's fine working with whoever we find if we can find someone cheaper which we did) or is it fairly straightforward? Will also ask the PB but wanted an unbiased opinion here.

I’ve had two contractors try to level my ground for me. They both tried to say the job was done and take payment before it was really done. It’s a long story but basically I paid the second guy because I thought the job was done, started to set up my pool, and now I see that one corner is 1.5” high.

How bad would it be if I dragged the empty pool off the high spot, leveled the ground, then dragged it back?

I have tarps I can spread on the ground so the liner won’t drag directly on the ground.

I’m trying to avoid taking the pool apart a second time and setting it up again a third time…

Hello,
Assistance needed if possible…I have a Hayward salt generator, T-15 cell. Everything works great except for one draw back. When my pump shuts down for the night, my average salt levels drop below allowable generating levels. In the morning with the levels low, my generator indicates low salt and due to this it is not generating chlorine. I know this is not the case because when I shut off the generator and turn it back on the instant read number is 3800. I then switch it to super chlorinate and back to auto so the numbers match. I have to do this every morning or else my average salt reading is too low to generate chlorine. I have cleaned the celll thinking that may help but no luck.
Any advise would be appreciated,
Greg

I’m very new at pool care. My husband takes care of the pool. This year he is struggling with what he believes is algae (goes away when shock is put on it, but then returns) that seems to have settled on the pool floor in the shallow end. We have a vinyl liner (28 year old Gunit in ground pool, 30000 gallons). There is a crack under the liner that has been there since we purchased this home three years ago and stubborn algae is in the crack. This has never happened before. Any ideas? He has been using test strips to get chemicals/levels correct, shocked the area directly several times and that stain has lightened but still persists. Any jguidance would be greatly appreciated. I’m asking him to join this forum as well.

I’m very new at pool care.

Good morning. Im new to TFP and have found this info all super helpful so far! My question is this:
We have self-installed our pool and put in the pool base a couple of days ago. It is sad time to harden and there are some spots throughout the pool where obviously, I rushed it and it's not as smooth as it should be.. almost like where the pool Creek folded up over itself as I pulled the travel back and left ripples in the base. Do i leave it alone as messing with it will create more trouble or do i skim coat over it and clean up those spots?

After reading in the threads here, im thinking the skim coat route. Any advice to make it baby bottom smooth?

So our pool is 25 years old. Bought the home a 2 years ago and had the pool redone. We had a leak when we moved in but it was repaired when the pool was renovated. Right now we are having several issues. The original leak was in the gunite near where the pool and spa meet. There’s a leak. Have done the test with the color being injected where the previous leak was but it doesn’t seem to be there. Losing anywhere from 1-3 inches of water a day. Have to add water every 24-36 hours. cannot get an appointment to find the leak until Aug 15. That’s problem number 1. Problem number 2 is continuous bubbles coming from the jets(eyeballs) in the pool. Sometimes a lot of bubbles sometimes only a few. Also bubbles in the spa. Problem number 3 the pump is now tripping its breaker every couple of hours. Are all of these things related? Is it worth getting a new pump before the leak is found and repaired? Thanks for any and all advice you can give me.

Hello Everyone,

Your support is greatly appreciated.

My pool was built in Nov. of 2021 in Cincinnati Ohio. Its a 20 x 40 inground with liner. I have used the pool for 1 season in 2022, and now into 2023. This year I found that the vermiculite is soft where it meets the steel wall in the shallow end in-between a light and return skimmer. I can push with my foot down and feel the give and probably push it further if I wanted, but was concerned. I would say it feel similar to sand or clay underneath the liner. I'm hoping someone could shed some light on my situation. How concerned should I be? Why is this occurring? What can be done about it? Would a leak at the light or skimmer create the problem? So many questions.... The worst area is in-between both skimmer and light, with about 5" from the wall being soft, as you move toward the skimmer it reduced to maybe 3". I didn't notice it last year, but not saying it wasn't there, just didn't do a check.

I'll be doing a bucket test this weekend to see if the pool is leaking, but wasn't sure if this would cause the situation.

Thanks!

At one time, our house had an in-ground pool which has since been filled in. I've always been curious about the pool and lately I've gotten a bit of pool envy so it seems like a good time to start exploring!



I don't have many details, but I believe that it was installed somewhere around 1978. The 1 picture I have (above) is from that year and it's same year the garage bathroom/changing room was built. I believe that it was filled in around 2000, but I'm not 100% sure. I was told that the previous owner was getting older and just didn't want to take care of it. The area where the pool is gets muddy in the Spring, but seems to dry up quickly so I'm hoping that the sides are intact and I'm just looking at a couple of holes punched in the deep end.

I’ve done some digging and exposed a corner of the pool, a section of intact concrete walkway, and the top stair step. The pool appears to have concrete walls, I’m not sure if it’s plaster or had a liner yet. It looks like the plumbing is PVC. The pump house is still there, along with the pump, filter, and subpanel but I realize that all of that plumbing/equipment would need to be replaced if I ever get that far.



So, I think my next step is to continue digging by hand to find all of the edges/coping and see if that’s all still intact. I'll be digging by hand, so I expect to chip away at this part slowly but I'll try to post my progress here. As I'm exposing the edges, I'm curious what you would all look for- specifically anything that would be a show stopper.

I'm performing the FAS-DPD test with a smart stir and I'm not sure exactly when I should stop adding drops. There comes a point where there is a sharp drop in color, and it looks clear while stirring, but when I pull it off the stirrer and look at it closely I can still see a slight red-tinge with red flakes. Adding a drop or two extra makes it even clearer.

Everything I'm reading says it should be completely clear but it also says the test should be performed fast and taking it off to closely examine the color adds time. So not sure if I should be going off the first sharp change or the more closely examined change.

Hello. I hope I can. get some informed answers here.
Hello I have the following:
18 Foot All resin and fibreglass above ground pool
Hayward 1HP pump SP5710 (can not see a bonding lug)
Hayward salt & swim generator
Raypak model 106 Atmospheric above ground pool heater.

My pool is not bonded. (It was installed by Pioneer pools in my town. They told me it wasn't necessary to bond it.

Anyways what is happening is when I touch the ground and the pool water I get a low voltage shock. It seems to be were cuts are on my hand.
I had an electrician check it and they couldn’t find the cause of the stray voltage. It reads 4.6volts on my multimeter.

Today I had the electrical company check it and while they felt the shock themselves, they couldn’t help.

To diagnose it they unplugged my meter rendering my whole house powerless and the shock still happens.
Any ideas about this?
Also would bonding the pool get rid of this Stray low voltage.

When I am on my deck I do not feel the shock. Seems only when touching cement or dirt on ground.

Thanks in advance.
Brian M

I have a Coleman 706 used spa I received. Everything functions, but the spa is always running to OHH. When I clear the OHH after enough cool-down time, it seems to work fine unless I shut down all the pumps. When I do, I hear what sounds like the water heating (kind of boiling/metal heating sound) from the area of the heater for like 10-15 seconds and then it kicks the OHH. Almost like the heater is running while no water is flowing. The temp is set low in the 90s and there is no heating icon on the display while this is happening. This spa is using an M7 Balboa Heater. The display reads temperatures, so Idk about the sensor(s) but maybe? Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

Ok I think I have been a pool owner for exactly a year now and we had a flood... it was BAD and the pool went over the vinyl liner and then some. I did turn off the filter before this happened, but the pool is brown and filthy. I am sure there is stuff in there but it is literally like a swamp. I'm lost... I ran the robot and drained the water to half skimmer level... but I don't even know where to start... is my vinyl liner done for? Do I test the pump somehow? I deleted the schedule and put it in service mode so hopefully it does not turn on. This is pretty rough!!! Please help! Thank you.