Hey all. Huge thanks to all who helped me, especially @Texas Splash !

Finished filling pool last night, added bleach and cya this morning. How long do we need to wait, if at all?

My wife and I just bout our first pool, an above ground 18 foot round. The summers in south MS can be brutal and we wanted a bit of respite in the backyard. This is all new to us so we have questions about pristine bule and installation. I look forward to being able to help in the future but for now it is going to be all questions. Cheers

I recently had a warranty replacement on my SWG cell. The water is crystal clear, zero CC but lost about 1 FC in an OCLT test. Previously I had the SWG set to 30% but with the new unit it is currently set to 70% and barely keeping up. When checking my CYA it was low at 50 (target is 70) but hadn't raised it in the event I needed to SLAM the pool. Could the low CYA being the source of the FC loss, could it be algae, the SWG being faulty or something else? To note, I did an AA spot treatment (Vit-C pills in a sock rubbed on certain areas) to a couple places on the pool about a week ago. I'm in Florida and has been 90+ the last week. TF-100 results from this morning below:

PH - 7.6
FC - 4
CC - 0
TC - 4
CYA - 50
TA - 90
CH - 350
Salt - 3200

My system doesn't have a backwash to "waste" setting only run and backwash. Can I remove my filter grids (so they dont get damaged) and set me system to "backwash" and use my vacuum to to section out the heavy "moon dust". I would also turn on my hose to add water so as not to let my water get below the skimmer line. Currently replacing my booster pump for my shark that would normally take care of this.

Hi,

I have only one return jet working but it’s very high pressure. My return side has a jets valve and a water feature valve. My water feature works fine but only one return jet is working with great pressure. The nearest return jet to the working one has s a tiny bit of negative pressure/suction. Any ideas?

Thank y’all

Ok, let me just start out by saying that if i wasn't in a dire rush to get this pool clear by the 4th of July I wouldn't even be posting this question. I totally know and agree that I should just stay the course of the SLAM process but I don't think my now cloudy pool will be clear by July 4th if I do. I'm having people over that day, AND my kids are already super bummed that they have not been in the pool yet. SEVERE mom guilt for not starting this process end of May like I normally do.

SUPER bad swamp when we opened up a week ago. Followed SLAM and got all the algae dead. Brushed/vacuumed/No debris. Passed OCLT the past two days.
Water is still cloudy blue and doesn't seem to be clearing. In years passed it has gone much quicker than this once the algae was dead. I have rinsed the fingers off with my hose (the water seems to drain out fine - no fingers look damaged and they get pretty white), and continuously bump, backwash, recharge my filter. At first my Hayward wouldn't keep good pressure for more than 25 minutes, but at this point in the SLAM, I've got cycles of one to two hours before I have to bump or backwash. So THAT part seems like I'm headed in the right direction, but I am seeing really no improvement in the water's clarity yet. It is totally possible I need to clean the fingers with muriatic acid overnight as my husband did run the filter without DE when he first put it together. It could also be I need more patience and it is just going to take more time. Normally I am willing to do that...BUT I'm in a bit of a time crunch. What's also slowing me down is running the filter overnight is useless once it gunks up. So I'm losing all those hours of filtration time.

I need clean clear water by July 4th . Should I bite the bullet and get the floc so I can let this dead algae settle and vacuum to waste? If so, I've never used it before. What is the best way to do it? Is clarifier better? Should I drain some water/refill? I'm so torn and confused as I feel like I'm committing a TFP sin but I'm racing against the clock here! (Filter specs in my signature)

I just purchased a Air Supply 1HP, 240v, 3.5 amp blower.
Can I be safe to assume a double pole 20 amp breaker, #10 wiring, and #8 bond wire be sufficient?

Always a crowd favorite. Let's see your fur-kids in action.

1. On the first of each month, a contest "theme" will be announced (i.e. water clarity, family fun, decking, custom features, lighting, scenery, etc)
2. Members have 10 days to UPLOAD ONE image for consideration; Photo must be related to the thread titled theme for that month.
3. Per general TFP rules, nothing profane, political, or insulting.
4. The first 10 days is the submission period. Posts are limited to ONE image ONLY. No discussion posts yet. This will make viewing much easier for all.
5. Days 11 - 15 the thread will be locked and is for voting only. No more uploads. Viewers now have a final opportunity to vote (or modify their selection) for their favorite upload.
6. Members are encouraged to use an emotion icon ("Like" or "Love") to vote for their favorite upload; it will be tough, but select only one favorite.
7. On day 16, emotion Likes/Loves will be tallied for a winner. In the event of a tie, we will create a poll on the thread to make a final selection.
8. Once a winner is announced, the thread will be unlocked and comments/discussions are welcomed. Winner and nominees can tell us all about their pool/photo/event.
9. A member can only be selected as winner once per calendar year.
10. Winner will receive a $50 gift certificate from tstestkits.net! Oh, and maybe some bragging rights.

This should be fun. Tell your furry family members it's time to go swimming. Let's see your pets in action! Have fun and good luck to those who apply!

There are some people that don’t want daily, or close to it, pool care. There are some people that don’t want to consume the pool school and learn the chemistry, or even basics, to ensure their pool is balanced. And that’s fine.

So is there a non-TFP model that makes sense for these people?

From a pool store or product perspective all the chemicals are generic and you can’t patent (bleach, acid, etc.). So they’re forced to market magic potions which are a mixture of things you can get at the grocery store. And none of the combinations are stable enough for the average user. There aren’t any ways to extend chlorine addition without adding CYA or CH.

Pool Companies are in the same boat. The average monthly cost for weekly care is what $150-200? How could you possibly effectively treat a pool and make a profit with the TFP method at that competitive price? It’s no surprise that they cut corners, they need to make money.

So it begs the question, is there a non-TFP method that makes sense? How can you own a pool if you aren’t willing to dedicate the effort (as minimal as it is) to its care?

Curious to hear people’s thoughts, it seems like everyone who doesn’t want to follow the method we all are committed to are destined for green pools and unsanitary conditions.

I've thought about this before when taking about things I've learned here, thought about it again while thinking about issues addressed here, but sometimes when I'm talking about how pool store water testing can't be trusted and how they just want to sell you potions, and then more potions to fix the problems the previous potion caused...

Well, it just sorta feels like I'm in on some kind of conspiracy theory thing! Like, I've "done my research" and Larned something that "they" don't want people to know!

Except for the part where I have been able to learn how to take care of my new-to-me pool with the knowledge I've learned here, really, honestly almost trouble free!


I threw in some magic shock potion the pool store sold me back in early April as I was anxious to get things going, and did buy some of their overpriced salt then too, but that is it! Around the time I had to cancel them coming out to help me open the pool, I found this site, and never rescheduled!

Good evening! First time pool owner here. I recently started diving into this pool stuff and am getting ready to tackle my first SLAM. I opened another thread in the algae channel about that. I started running the pump on filter mode in advance of the SLAM though and noticed my filter is leaking quite a bit. It is an older steel case filter with a fiberglass bottom. It doesn’t even have a pressure gauge but I am guessing it is either sand or DE as it has a side-mounted multiport. Is that a safe assumption? There are no stickers or any identifying information on the filter itself. I posted a couple of photos of the equipment and can provide more if needed.

My question is, should I even run the filter while it is leaking? Should I just wait to do my slam until I can get the filter fixed or replaced? If you would recommend replacing it, any preference on type? I believe my pool is 22-25K gallons and is a vinyl lined in-ground pool. The pump is a HST110.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Let me know if you need any other information about the pool.

First post here. Been reading through and learning.

So my wife and I are considering building a pool. We had our first consult and worked through a design. Got the quote and were blown away at the cost.

Here's what we are looking at:
We are located in north texas 3 kids early elementary
Rectangular pool with autocover (non negotiable)
Salt water
Heat pump/chiller
No spa
Raised beam/water feature
Sr smith slide
1050' of decking
Pentair products, vsf, automation (but old system need to talk to them if we move forward)
Ect

So after getting the quote and seeing the cost it's got me rethinking everything. do we need a slide, do we need a raised beam, do we need a pool!

The pentair 140 h/c is 10k after installation. I am hesitant to use gas because we have buried propane that is our central heat and is expensive. However, maybe with the cover and being Texas I could use gas and use it to get the temp up earlier in the year and with the cover use it sparingly.

Then I have gotten on a tangent that if I am going to use a gas heater maybe I should look at a spa as well. Wife wants a spa, I don't care. I think it might help with resell down the line. But of course adding a spa probably won't reduce my already sticker shocked price.

if i get a spa, with the cover, should we do it sunken into the pool interior? Or raised?

Then I think maybe no heater and see how it all works out. But then running propane or electric later would be under a huge amount of new concrete.

Now maybe I'll just scrap the whole pool and take another vacation!!!! Analysis paralysis. Give me some help please

Good evening! My name is Mike Stocker. I am a first time home/pool owner living in the upstate of South Carolina. I just want to say that I am happy to join the forum and that this website and forum are awesome. I am so glad I found it before I spent hundreds or thousands of dollars having my pool opened and maintained by a pool company. Although full disclosure, I did have a pool company attempt to open the pool for me recently and it didn’t go so well. I posted on the algae thread about that as I could use some help with my first SLAM.

Other than that, I like to golf and travel. If there are any fellow golfers in the upstate, I am always looking for new playing partners.

Thanks for having me and I am looking forward to future conversations with the group.

V/r,
Mike

Hi! Can any tell me the correct way to set my valve so both the skimmer and main drain are open? We have a spa and pool combo. Please Correct me if I’m wrong but the spa valve is on the far left and is currently closed. The far right is the main drain also closed and the middle is the skimmer which is open. But how do I set the valve so the main drain and skimmer are both open? Do I turn the handle facing up?

Has anyone with an AGP had an issue with snakes under your pool liner? I’ve found a couple of entry points around the perimeter and we can literally feel them move under foot when we step where they are. We have two tarps down and the liner and can still feel them move!

I know there are snake deterrents out there but I’m afraid if I put it down they won’t come out. Help!

Should I tackle the CYA or the TA first?

TA says I should add 41 lb of soda!! Any guesses on how much muriatic acid I'll probably need to add?

==========================================
------------------------------------------
Build Type: Vinyl
Volume: 44000 gallons
------------------------------------------
Latest Test Result Summary:
FC: 3.0 (8 hours ago)
pH: 7.0 (8 hours ago)
TA: 0 (8 hours ago)
CH: 130 (8 hours ago)
CYA: 100 (8 hours ago)
TEMPERATURE: 90° (8 hours ago)
CSI: 0.00 (8 hours ago)
==========================================

Specs: in ground 30k freshwater pool. No CYA, pH7.5, TA60, everything else within range per pool match app, except FC. Not adding CYA until I'm sure no more algae.

I've been slamming my pool bc of algae (pump/filter issue that is now resolved). Water is now clear and has been for a few days but FC keeps coming in at zero when I test at night so I slam more. It's hot here in Texas so I assumed it gets burned during the day (but I've never experienced it this bad). Figured I still had algae somewhere. I got suspicious after week 2 of slamming (costs a lot for 3 bottles a day) and threw out my old fas dpd and ordered a new one. Tested with new Taylor powder and still clear. I added at least 6 full scoops. Nothing. I thought I was crazy so I tested it with tap and some chlorine. Still nothing. Am I crazy??

Hello from Massachusetts

Good evening! New user here (and new pool owner), I’ve been scouring this website and forum for the past couple of days and it has been incredibly helpful in learning about how to maintain a pool. I’m still a bit confused on some things though and could use some advice on how to tackle my first SLAM.

So when I bought this house, the pool cover was torn. I had it removed the other day by a local pool company. They also tried to open the pool for me but were unsuccessful. They cleaned the pool, shocked it and then sprayed this stuff called Revive on the surface. The Revive was meant to coagulate the algae and drop it to the bottom (if my understanding is correct). The pool actually started turning blue right after the initial shock. 24 hours later though and it was green again. The Revive treatment didn’t seem to do anything so the pool is still very swampy. Given that they charged me almost $300 and the pool is still a swamp, I am opting to try and tackle this myself, now that I know about the SLAM method.

Today I took a water sample to my local Leslie pool store and the CYA measured at just 5. Is that possible? Also the pH came back very high at 8.5. Finally, copper came back at .4. How concerned should I be about the copper? It is a pretty large in-ground vinyl liner pool. And can I trust the CYA and pH results? I have a Taylor FAS-DPD testing kit on the way to confirm those measurements myself.

If it is safe to assume the above measurements are correct, how do I approach my SLAM? Do I need to lower my pH first or increase my CYA? Will adding CYA lower my pH enough as to not need muriatic acid? If I do need muriatic acid, do I add that first before the CYA or vice versa?

Finally, once my pH and CYA are where they need to be, do I just start adding chlorine to shock levels while running the pump on filter mode, and then brush, skim, vacuum etc. while maintaining the chlorine at shock levels?

Apologies for the long first post and thanks in advance for any help you can provide! And please let me know if you need any more information about the pool.

-Mike

Does anyone have experience with this filter cleaning tool?

$350 is a bit pricy:

you tube video:
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I cannot find the valve to shut off the telescoping pool fountain. It has been retracted to the bottom of the pool for the three years I owned it, and recently popped up to the surface when the pump went on. There is no valve anywhere to shut off the flow of water to it. It appears it may have been epoxied/glued into place at the bottom of pool, so perhaps that explains why it always stayed down (you could feel water pressure coming up from it when the pump was on, but it stayed down at bottom of pool and didn't telescope upwards).

Is "gluing" the head back down with putty or something similar recommended? I can't think of any other practical way of getting it to stay retracted down when the pump is on.

Attached is a picture of the type of fountain I'm describing, and the collar that is screwed in at the bottom of pool where the fountain telescopes out from.

Spa has been working great. Our power went out briefly last night due to thunderstorms. I turned filter and heater back on this evening but the water is not heating up.

Temp on control says 91* but it feels more like 75-80. When I turn the pump and heater off the temp climbs to 98-99. When I turn it back on it goes down to 91.

I tried the reset method of unplugging and then holding power button for 10seconds wait at least 3 min and then tried again. No dice. Put brand new filters in and water flow is good at outlet.

I've had Maytronics Dolphin pool cleaners for the past 6 years. There design is pretty simple and I can disassemble the whole unit in about 2 minutes. Problem is THEY DON'T SELL INDIVIDUAL PARTS. When a motor or motor bearing goes out the only solution is purchase a new motor assembly for $450. My new Dolphin Advantage Ultra which I purchased in April for $850 has stopped working. They are covering the repair under warranty. A lot of good that does me - by the time I get it back pool season will be over. Is there a brand of robotic pool cleaners that sells individual parts and is easy to repair yourself without sending it to the repair center. Looking at the Polaris NEO which is similar in design to the Dolphin robots. Any advice is appreciated.

Brand new I unpackaged it plugged it in. It finds it but the weird part it says “Bathroom” then Bluetooth logo. I go next and it says Motor unit serial numbers does not exist. See attached pictures. Is it used? I’m thinking g if just ordering another new one and returning this. Customer support said it might be the power supply and it would take weeks to get to me. Sounds Ike it’s the Dolphins Motor not the power supply. And why does it say Bathroom?

The pool store provided my results which I have attached. I'm concerned about the high tds at 3800 which they told me to remove and refill water but looking at precious threads seems like that I should not be concerned? I have approximately a 15,000 gallon plaster pool. They said I have a high pH 8 1 and low cya at 12. I just don't know what to do first. Also have yellow mustard algae growth which I have removed from walls but now Want to start the process of balancing my pool but again don't know in what order. Also do I shock the pool after?

Hello everyone, I’m looking forward to learning from this site!

does the pre-12/2019 stuff interchange on these 2? 407A/408A
seems neither is actually any better in the end but the heat exchanger (cupro-nickel) is $300-400 less for the 407, and easier to find.
thanks

I cant test it again because a party is starting and my wife is done with me messing with the pool, but I have this issue. Pool seems to be very low on chlorine every evening and to keep it in check I am supplementing with real chlorine. I really have only done this one time, and 7 people have swam in the pool today. BUT, checking everyting out it seams my salt is way high 4600 but the generator said 3000. Someone once said just use the generators estimate over your own, but something seams off here.

We have the same Hayward TigerShark that we bought when we built the pool in 2008. For the last year we have had to baby it to get it to run. I think it's an issue with the power cord connection, but hubby is not convinced it's worth fixing because of the age of the unit. Sometimes when you put it in the pool it won't start, but if you play with the cord or reverse the handles it usually will start. Reading through the forum, the concensus seems to be the robot cleaners only last 3-5 years, so I guess I should be thankful this one has only required new filters on occassion, one set of new belts and roller covers. I like that it manages the rounded corners, you can adjust how high out of the pool it comes to scrub the waterline, has a long cord, cleans steps and bench with no problems and picks up fine dust as well as leaves. So looking to replace it. Because we has such a good experience, we are considering buying another one... however perfromance of a 2008 model may not be reflective at all of 2023. So looking for anyone who has any experience with a recent purchase and which other robots should I consider?

My CYA went low due to tons of rain causing my overflow to kick in. So I added stabilizer to raise it to 70 as measured by my Taylor kit. But now when I test my FC, it’s nearly unreadable. Maybe .5? The test result has next to no color.

After adding CYA, I didn’t change my SWG from 20% (where my FC has always held steady at 3) so increased it to 40% yesterday with no change.

Should I bump up my SWG even more? Reduce the CYA? I’m in central FL but the pool is on the north side of my house so it gets a good amount of shade.