Fiberglass pool reclamation project

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@zea3
Just added 10 ppm chlorine to the pool that had 2 ppm, gave it a good 10 minute brushing(remember haven’t yet fixed the pump) and my chlorine now reads 9.5 ppm. So roughly an 80% immediate chlorine retention rate, better than the 50% rate you mentioned earlier. Do you agree the ammonia isn’t an issue and it’s ready for the CYA?
Thanks for the help,
Shell
 
Yes, you are good to add CYA and start slamming. You might want to get a submersible pump to help you circulate water until your regular pump is working again.

We have quite a few threads where people have had to battle ammonia. We don't have an article on it. It is actually a fairly rare phenomenom and we may see 4-5 cases of ammonia conversion per season. This conversion usually happens to a closed or untreated pool when airborn bacteria drops into recently warmed water. When conditions are right this bacteria consumes CYA and leaves ammonia as a waste product. At this point if you add more CYA you are just feeding the bacteria. Chlorine will kill the bacteria and oxidize the ammonia, but it takes a lot of chlorine. We don't have a test for the bacteria, but we know it is gone when the ammonia is gone. Once ammonia is gone it is safe to add CYA and start slamming to kill anything else in the water.
 
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I'd actually used an aquarium test on my pool before I started my SLAM.

Good luck Shell! Keep us posted on your progress.
 
dianedebuda said:
I'd actually used an aquarium test on my pool before I started my SLAM.

Good luck Shell! Keep us posted on your progress.
Click to expand...
Wow! That brings back memories :) I managed a tropical fish store when I was a teenager
@zea3 outstanding explanation, thank you
 
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I had to have my circa 1984 fiberglass pool recoated and could not even get a return phone call from the first 17 pool/repair companies. I finally had mine recoated with an EcoFINISH product, AquaBRIGHT. I am overall happy with the end result, but the devil is in the prep work and then having an experienced applier.

Even though I am in the lowcountry with a relatively high water table, I fortunately did not have to have well points installed to keep my pool from floating. It is a relatively easy process if they are required.
 
Added enough CYA today to get the pool to 30 ppm, 2.5 lbs. brushed it in, finishing around 230pm. Added chlorine at 4pm to raise it to 20 ppm, just checked both at 930 pm. FC was at 4.5 ppm, CYA registered around 25 ppm. I’m about to raise the chlorine to 25 ppm for overnight. I will check the CYA at daylight to see if it finished dissolving and ended at 30 ppm, I will add the last 3/4 lb if needed then. Daylight comparo pic also.
I removed the pump today, changed the seals, swapped in the new motor and reinstalled It only to find out I have a crack in the housing. I’m not sure how bad this crack is, it was getting dark. I think it might run between the lid and the top port, that would be BAD. Maybe beyond JB weld territory.
And I suspect the bottom pool drain line is plugged. I’m gonna try to back flush from the pump inlet.
All in all, still happy with the day, been waiting a looong tone to get into this project.
 
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Good morning accountability partners. Numbers are looking better, showing progress.

0630 this am, FC was 18, CC was 3, lots of insects to clean out. I added another gallon of 10% LC, should bring it to 28 ppm or so.
CYA registered 40, undoubtably an elevated indication due to some cloudiness in the pool. Chose not to add any CYA since there was already enough to help preserve the Cl overnight.
I’ll check things out again around lunchtime.

I’ll use some epoxy to attempt to repair the pump housing this morning once the sun breaks through. Dank out right now, 100% humidity.

Heres the comparo pic, nothing pretty yet…
1308C1DF-154A-45C3-B6A2-5C1082C3CC58.jpeg
 
Noon FC was 12.5 + 3 CC. Things are happenin. 🙂
I will add a jug of 10% to raise it back to 22-23 ppm.
I JB-Welded the crack, inside the housing where I could, and outside. Unfortunately, very little of the areas overlapped, I don’t have a lot of confidence in the repair. I did lightly sand and cleaned with alcohol prior to using it, hope it will adhere. Plugging the holes in the plumbing from the old Liquidator install now. I’lll try running the pump this evening, it will have been curing for 10 hours at sundown.

I’m considering a Pentair product for the replacement and leaning towards now, rather than later.
Need to decide if I want a two-speed, or one of the VSP pumps they offer, either the SuperFlo or the Intelliflo.
From what I gather, the intelliflo will integrate into their automation better than the superflo. Not sure if that matters to me. I don’t have any water features, so my automation needs would be a daily schedule, plus a remote pad near the back door to kick it on while I swim. Might add a Polaris in the future, but may go with a robot instead so I’m not sure if I need to plan to be able to control a separate booster pump.
Would I be better off with the cheaper two speed?

Edit- I started a discussion over in the pumps section to get some more eyes on it.
Thread 'Help me decide between VSP or 2-speed?'
Help me decide between VSP or 2-speed?
 
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shellsingleton said:
Noon FC was 12.5 + 3 CC. Things are happenin. 🙂
I will add a jug of 10% to raise it back to 22-23 ppm.
I JB-Welded the crack, inside the housing where I could, and outside. Unfortunately, very little of the areas overlapped, I don’t have a lot of confidence in the repair. I did lightly sand and cleaned with alcohol prior to using it, hope it will adhere. Plugging the holes in the plumbing from the old Liquidator install now. I’lll try running the pump this evening, it will have been curing for 10 hours at sundown.

I’m considering a Pentair product for the replacement and leaning towards now, rather than later.
Need to decide if I want a two-speed, or one of the VSP pumps they offer, either the SuperFlo or the Intelliflo.
From what I gather, the intelliflo will integrate into their automation better than the superflo. Not sure if that matters to me. I don’t have any water features, so my automation needs would be a daily schedule, plus a remote pad near the back door to kick it on while I swim. Might add a Polaris in the future, but may go with a robot instead so I’m not sure if I need to plan to be able to control a separate booster pump.
Would I be better off with the cheaper two speed?

Edit- I started a discussion over in the pumps section to get some more eyes on it.
Thread 'Help me decide between VSP or 2-speed?'
Help me decide between VSP or 2-speed?
Click to expand...
One thing about the VSP’s is that you can turn them down low and run them 24/7 and use lots less electricity than the old 1 speed.
 
Alright, the pump is running. The crack squirts a stream of water 10’ high but that’s ok, I put a washrag over it and added about 12” of water in the pool. I will wake up every three hours tonight to check on things. Just like a good brisket smoke but not as fun. I’m excited to see what difference it makes in the morning.
Onto the numbers. After I added the water, 10pm, FC was at 15.5, CC at 3.5, doing work.
I added a jug of 10%, should raise it to around 25 ppm for the night.
The water has too many particles in it to get any kind of an accurate CYA reading. I’m sure I will need to add more soon with the leak and make-up water.
I may be on the hunt for an intelliflo or a superflo pump locally tomorrow. I don’t think this housing is repairable, even for the short-term.
 
Good morning, numbers are the exact same now as last night, coincidentally. The pool used the entire jug of 10% LC. Just added another jug. Going to vacuum straight to discharge, and then I’ll add the CYA.
Not much difference in comparo’s either but notice the little swirly effect in the water… that’s called current, very nice to have! 😎9AEB04F9-1BD8-410B-8B18-9CB894E2122F.jpeg
 
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Just spent the last two hours vacuuming with continuous back flush. Probably the most helpful thing I’ve done, aside from the chlorine. The reason I say that, aside from the obvious, is that I found out that the sand filter’s internal water supply pipe(that feeds the spray bars) has a pretty huge crack in it. Which means the water isn’t really even being filtered through the sand. That crack just allows the water to push the sand over to one side of the filter and then return to the pool. All I’ve got right now is circulation.
I did get a lot of debris from the bottom though.
I’m looking at getting a pump locally and swapping in that, plus the cartridge filter now, rather following my original plan of swapping to the new gear once the water is clean.
 
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shellsingleton said:
Just ordered a Pentair 1.5HP SuperFlo pump from Inyo. Said it should be here middle of next week, was in stock. Noon FC was 17 ppm. Added another jug to get it through the afternoon.
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I just brush it, I would like to have a robot or Polaris again though. The pump is running, it just leaks. The 1.5 Hp rips pretty well now that the lines are clear. I’m making plans to install the cartridge filter tomorrow, just need to figure out how to save the work i.e. - not have to redo it next week when the new pump arrives.
 
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Your pump repair attempt brings back memories. I think by the time we replaced our 40-year old pump, it was more JB Weld than orig metal. :laughblue:

When I did my de-swamp, I bypassed the filter by using Recirc and then daily vac-to-waste for 7 days of my intense 15 day SLAM. Don't know if that's available for you, but it could save wear and tear on your cartridges.
 
Hi Diana, yeah, I’ve had great luck with some really odd repairs with JB Weld but it won’t do it this time. Really hoping the new pump comes quickly.
At 6pm tonight, FC was down to 10 ppm so I threw another jug of 10% in it.
Then I started looking harder at the sand filter and got the cartridge filter out of the box. The inlet and outlet for both filters were the same distance apart, and they used the same unions!
The old filter was a pain to break loose, had to disassemble the upper inlet from the inside.
I really didn’t intend to swap filters this evening but it happened! My 10 year old son and I just kept easing deeper and deeper into it and it all worked out. We had to build a 5” pad to make up for the height difference of the filters but everything else fit just right.
Sooo… I’m actually filtering tonight!!!
The gauge started at 5 psi, will be interesting to see what it reads in the morning.
Really good day today. Vacuumed the pool this morning, spent the afternoon at an amusement park, changed the filter with my boy this evening. My kinda Friday. 🙂
F77A67EF-D53F-40B1-A5BF-20B76BEDDA83.jpeg
 
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