Everything that I click in the Pool School just goes back to the same main page. Is anyone else having this issue? I am a newbie with pool care and want to go through and see what info it has to offer.

We have an in ground salt water pool with sand filter. Anytime I turn the pump off and back on whether its to back flush or vacuum dirt shoots back into the pool through one jet. We have two but dirt only shoots out the one. Not just residue it's quite a bit of dort and it's frustrating after vacuuming the whole pool.

I recently had to replace my Intellichlor after it started tripping the small breaker on my Easytouch. I initially had trouble with my new SWG not making enough chlorine, but figured that out with y'all's help (chlorine level was too low to catch up).

Now I have an issue with my IntellipPH. As you probably know, the acid feed goes in before the SWG, an disables (shuts off, stops - whatever the correct verbiage is) the SWG while dispensing acid. When it's done, it reactivates the SWG.

My problem is the last step. recently, the IntelliPH has begun failing to reactivate the SWG after dispensing, leaving my pool without any chlorine being generated from that point forward. When the pool shuts off for the night and comes back on in the morning, the SWG works fine, until the Intellichlor dispenses. It stays that way until I restart the motor.

What's the deal? Which part(s) can I test & how?

Hello everyone! I just stumbled upon TFP after neglecting my pool all spring. I purchased a home with a pool late last year and had no knowledge about taking care of a pool. I'll admit, I didn't do any maintenance on the pool this spring and I've been tackling a swampy green algae pool for the past week now. I did a lot of reading and finally got the chemistry levels correct. I've shocked the pool with at least 12 lbs. of Cal-hypo and the water turned from dark green to cloudy blue and now I can finally see the bottom in certain areas!

Now that I can see the bottom of the pool in the shallow and middle areas (still can't see the bottom at the deep end), I'm seeing this yellow like powder on the bottom. When I run a brush through it it clouds up. I've tried vacuuming it but I think I might need to get a different vacuum because its not picking it up.

Technical Specs of my pool:
36,000 Gallon Salt Water Pool
SWG: FSOFT1400 Jandy
4 cartridge filters
Located in South Carolina

Current Levels: Tested with test strips
Total Chlorine: 10
Free Chlorine: 20
PH: 7.8
Total Alkalinity: 120
Cyanuric Acid: 20

My question is:
1. what is this powder like substance? is it dead algae? How do i get rid of it?
2. How do i get my total chlorine levels and free chlorine levels to drop so i can eventually swim in the pool?
3. How do i get my pool sparkling clear and blue?
4. A lot of different places recommended Cal-hypo instead of liquid bleach. Is there a difference?

Thanks everyone!

I’m trying to convert a friend to the TFP method. Leslie’s test just came back with a cya reading of 199! Is that even possible? Wouldn’t she not be able to hold chlorine if it were that high?

And how did hardness magically drop from 175 to zero in a week?

Image 6405 is today. 6332 is 8 days ago. What else is wrong with these results? 18000 gallon vinyl in ground. Used only liquid chlorine this past week. Central Indiana.

Hey all - I was getting a hang of the pool stuff but I think I need help… the past week chlorine FC levels have been dropping fast.

9:30am on 6/13, zero FC chlorine

10:30am on 6/13, added 3 gallons of liquid chorine at 10% bleach. Sand filter backwashed

Noon on 6/15, zero FC chlorine, 0.5 maybe of CC, hardness 175, alkalinity 75, pH 7.8, CYA I think at 30

I have 7 gallons of 10% bleach on hand and 4 lbs of stabilizer. I would like to try and do what I can this afternoon as I can’t leave the house.

Per pool math to get to 10 FC, I’ll add 3 gallons bleach, then a few hours later can I start adding about 4 lbs of stabilizer? Then later tonight I will backwash filter again. Keep backwashing all week and doing FC testing.

Anyone feel different about these CYA readings per the TF-Pro test kit?

Any other advice or can I proceed?

Hi guys!

Any idea on what I should use to clean this stain off the liner?

Hello. I need some help from the community here if possible.
I need to get a Pentair Globrite Light Body sent to me. It does not need to be functioning. In fact, I'm not sure why anyone would want to send me a functioning Globrite, because they're expensive. (They also aren't likely to be functioning for very long, lol). So, if you have recently or will soon be replacing a globrite light and are willing to ship the broken one to me, I would be glad to pay shipping for you to do so. I do not need the wire, just the light, so feel free to clip the wire as short as possible and ship it as cheap as possible. Also, I really only need the lens, so if you're up to hack-sawing it off (without damaging either side), that's fine too. I just wouldn't ask anyone to do that unless they wanted to.
For the record, I would like to take this opportunity to say that these lights are complete trash and if you're building a new pool, RUN...don't walk away from Pentair Globrites.
Thanks for any help and I have provided a couple of pics to show what I need.

Amazon Link to Light

I just purchased an older home in Florida and trying to get the pool sorted out. The pool light is not working so pulled it to the surface. Found it had been spliced at the light with the original cable being about the size of a garden hose spiced to a newer 12 volt Hayward light. I want to replace the light with a newer multi color LED. Problem is the power cable seems to be sealed to the back of the niche. Is the common in older pools? Is my only option an underwater splice with a 12 volt light? The pool was probably built around the time of the home in 1970s.

Plan is to remove existing material with dremmel and or small angle grinder, then replace with Sakrete mortar mix while avoiding doing damage to anything. Probably 10% of the stone joints need redone.
Should I be using a different material?
Thanks in advance for any comments.

Hi everyone. I’m a new member from the Philadelphia area that is currently getting my first pool built. We are building an in ground gunite pool.

We excited to learn from the forum and enjoy the pool when it is finished.

Hi Everyone,

My pool is relatively new (9months) and something happened to my aqua link last week. It froze up and then it basically turned off my swcg for 1-3 days (not sure) and when I checked the cl level I was at basically zero. I boosted the pool running the swcg for 100% at 24 hours and it got the chlorine back to 2-3ppm.

When I went out today, CL was still in that same range but I noticed this spot along with some white stuff on my bubbler tube. I swear the bubbler tube used to be clear but it is all white and chalky now. I have never seen this orange spot and I think it had some black/green edges until I scrubbed it with a brush. Any further scrubbing does not affect it at all.

Can you guys tell me what you think…is this spot rust/algae and is the white stuff indicative of anything? The water is crystal clear and I can see all the pebbles on the pool bottom.

Hi, new member here. My pool install is getting underway and I have some ground water questions. When they dug the pool some ground water was encountered in the deep end( 8’ deep pool). It would settle at about 10” or so of water. We kept it pumped out so that it would lead to any wall erosion before the shell was shot.

The shell (gunite) has now been shot and as we are waiting for curing the ground water (~10”) has come back through the open holes in the bottom of the shell. I’ll talk with the pool builder, but is this a concern?

I am in the process of upgrading from Easytouch to Intellicenter. I have done the upgrade and have all of my previous equipment reconnected. However, I want to add connectivity (phones and computer). Everything is referencing the wireless equipment which came with the upgrade. The Intellicenter board has an ethernet port. Can I skip the wireless and just plug it in to my network? I have a hardline run to the building that the Intellicenter is attached to for my Sonos system already.

I was told to try adding DE to my filter to help with clearing cloudy water. I have the intex 12x24 agp, sand filter, swg. How and where do I add the DE? I have a skimmer basket that just hangs over the side of my pool. I am deep cleaning the sand today and will have the top off of the sand filter do I just add it to the sand right away?

Also, I took apart the salt cell yesterday and cleaned it, it had some gooky salt stuck on it, but when I put it back together now I am getting code 90 "low flow filter" did I put it back together wrong? the flow is good so unsure why I am getting this code.

I just had my Pool&Spa resurfaced with StoneScapes Mini Pebble. The start up procedure calls for reducing Alkalinity to 80ppm and reducing pH to between 7.2 and 7.6 on day One after Pool is filled.

The issue is my potable fill water has a pH which is in the range, but the Alkalinity is 180ppm.

Fill Water Results:
pH: 7.5 - 7.6
Total Alkalinity: 180ppm
Calcium Hardness: 180ppm
Salt: 410ppm (digital meter)

After the fill, I added 2 gallons of 14.5% Muriatic acid which decreased the pH to below 7.0 and decreased Alkalinity to 130ppm

My question is, when starting up new plaster, is it okay to reduce Alkalinity in the usual slow way, whereby you add enough acid to decrease alkalinity while only decreasing pH to 7.2, then aerate to bring back pH while retaining the Alkalinity levels, and repeat this process until Alkalinity is in range?
The instructions make it seems like you are supposed to do this in one day, on day 1 of start up. Won’t adding that much acid in one go to decrease Alkalinity from 180ppm to 80ppm decrease pH to severe levels?

When I do my water testing I can never get the color to turn Blue. I have went as high as 30 drops of reagent and still doesn't turn from the pinkish with purple particles. I have even tried the directions recommendations by adding a certain # of drops first, then proceeding with the test. I have emailed Taylor questioning about it several times, but no response. Any suggestions?

I just wanted to change power cord and wires got mixed up, can anyone figure this one out? The green and white coming from motor were together, there aren't many options, It didn't have a connector unit Thay were just twist tied together.

Morning folks. I noticed a small piece of rebar showing thru Gunite in the spa right where jet plumbing run is.

Should I ask builder to cut this out or cover with hydraulic cement before pebble is sprayed in?

Sorry for the bad photo I will take a better one once back from work.

Thanks!

Hello. I am not sure what this part of the pool is called, but it is the edge/ledge of the pool. When swimming, jumping in, the water splashes up in this corner and erodes the finish. Grout also eroded. Any advice on what to do here? Last thing I want is someone getting cut on a sharp edge. I’m totally new to pool care, but I can patch this if I know what materials to get.

Hi everyone!

Started a SLAM a couple of days ago because I had CYA and FC levels that I could not maintain. Water has been completely clear, but I did notice a few growing algae blooms around the pool that are hard to get off of the plaster.

Now that I'm a couple of days into the SLAM, I've been watching my CYA levels continue to fall (started at 70, now 30 in about 1.5 days).

Should I be testing both FC and CYA each time I test and adjust the FC to whatever the current CYA level is (or just continue to maintain the 28 FC when I started with CYA at 70)?

I want to make sure it's still safe for the kids to swim in the pool while this is going on.

Also, do I need to keep CYA above 30 or just let it fall to 0 to not feed whatever bacteria is feasting on it?

Thanks.

Bobby

Hi everyone, we had severe weather in GA yesterday and had a lightening strike which fried our surge protector on the pool (Intermatic Surge protector, which was installed 4/2020, just outside their 3 year warranty!). The panel will not turn on, nor pump and filter. The pool company cannot come for a week to inspect and fix. I started a claim with USAA, but in the meantime need to keep our pool balanced with no filtration, no salt cell, and no pump.

As of yesterday it was balanced FC 4, CC 0, salt 3500, ph 7.4, TA 60, borates ~50

Any ideas for keeping pool chemistry as level as possible? This AM we added 1 jug of bleach and brushed for 10mins.

We have a pool cover but are expecting more thunderstorms.

21000 gal vinyl pool with Pentair Intellichlor IC40 SWG, Intellichlor Power Center, Intermatic 2 circuit control panel Model PF1202T with Intermatic Surge Protector PS3000 installed a few years ago. Sand filter. Pentair Superflow VST installed spring 2022.

Please don't stone me when I ask this! I'll give you some context first. My laws need some help with there pool. They're elderly and it's a little difficult for them to do daily maintenance. I can typically get out there once a week when we have Sunday lunch with them. Could I use a tablet a week to sustain the chlorine levels for them and then liquid bleach once a week? Or maybe I replace some water once a month as CYA gets too high...

We live just outside of Memphis so we're pretty humid and get okay rainfall during the summer.

Basically I'm asking if there's some type of hybrid system...

I'd love for them to switch over to salt...but
Honestly they are not in the best financial situation... But this is where we are.

(They currently use a pool guy who uses tablets and dumps algaecide in once every other week) I can no longer pay this guy...

I just purchased a new-in-box off ebay and replaced an existing T101 that the clock stopped working. This one's clock also does not move and there is no clock hum when I provide power to it. I have the two little clock wires installed to the far left and second from the left like the one I was using had and they are receiving power. Anything else to do/check to get the clock working? Thanks!

Louise, from Ireland. Only have a 10ft easy up pool but my 3 boys love it

Hi. I just put up a Bestway pool. The one side of my pool has a hillside. I intended on doing a drain first but they didn’t think I needed one. I have very little room between the pool and side of hill . What can I do to help drainage of the rain water? I have tarp and landscape cloth down and put some hole in it on th down side the other day to get the water away from my pool legs. Thank you

I can see a bright future for pool shops in space

Long story short, I own a 22 year old pool and just started replacing the Intertech "stuff" with nodejs-poolController. My SAM light is the old skook one with mechanical wheel, and the motor is toast. Is there a reliable replacement to the SAM light that doesn't cost a fortune? I have no problem making a DIY LED light, I'd just prefer to buy something that won't leak or die in a few years, if that is even possible. As best I can tell my SAM light takes 120V in, but is well potted and converts it to 12VDC? If I were to go DIY I'd probably violate building codes here, and while I think the safety risk is something I can manage (I'm an electrical engineer), I really just want something off the shelf in this area that just simply "works", if such a thing "exists". 12v or 24v low current LED is preferred, trying to make house more energy efficient is my primary goal, not singularly focused on pool, yet. All decent advice is greatly appreciated. This may be my first post here. I've been lurking a while. Thanks in advance.

Hi all - looking for some ideas as we get into full swing on our 2nd summer with our new pool. Since switching over to the salt cell last summer, I've been maintaining the pool myself and its been going well. I've noticed after coming out of the cold weather and into Spring and early summer, I've been having to turn my salt cell up higher, but it doesn't seem to really increase my FC significantly. On top of that, every time I bring my pH down (w/ Muriatic acid) it isn't long before its right back up again. I also have the white calcium flakes coming through the jets, settling on the pool floor, which I vacuum up pretty quickly as I am pretty regular on brushing, skimming, and vacuuming. No other real issues I've noticed (yet) with the pool, but I'm basically in this cycle of dosing the pool with a good amount of Muriatic acid to get the pH down, then setting my salt cell on "boost" which runs it at 100% for at least an 8 hour pump cycle to get my FC up. Within a couple days, I check readings and they are similar to what I've attached here, which was taken earlier this evening. The last time through this cycle, rather than kick up my salt cell to 100%, I left it alone and dosed the pool with liquid chlorine to get my FC up to where I wanted it (around 5-6ppm). What else can I share? I have cleaned my salt cell at the start of the summer, and my filter pressure is checking out okay (though I do believe a filter rinse/clean is due, which I may tackle this weekend along with any recommendations you all may have). I really appreciate any input, and while I know some level of higher pH and even these calcium flakes comes with the territory having a salt water pool (from what I've read here anyway), I feel like things were a bit more stable last summer and I'd certainly like them to be! Again thanks!

Hello all-

My spillover spa is suddenly draining into the pool when the pool pump is on.

If I put it in spillover mode, it fills enough to not drain, but never increases the water level. It just maintains instead of just draining.

If I put it in spa mode it works fine. Water level stays consistent.

If I have everything off, the water level does not drop.

I tried replacing the check valve, but somehow ordered a check valve cover and flapper assembly that was too small. I took it off anyway to inspect and don’t think that it was in bad shape, rubber seemed fine and spring was fine.

I also replaced the shaft and cover o-rings on the diverter.

What am I missing?