Recent content by Knichols

I'm not sure. We are using the cartridges that came with the robot when we bought the house 12 months ago. So there is a good possibility that new cartridges would help. So far, we've only used him to pick up leaves and worms :( off the bottom of the pool. How often are you supposed to...

We are SLAMing, but the only time the FC goes down is during the day. Fc =12 Cc= 0 Cya=20 - - - Updated - - - We actually don't have a manual vacuum. We have a robot vacuum. So there is no option to vacuum to waste.

hello, We've been battling algae ever since we upgraded our pool equipment. We knew we might have some minor problems because the pump was off for several days while we plumbed a new pump, sand filter, and liquid chlorinator. Sure enough, we had a little bit of green on the bottom of the...

Ok. Thanks for the feedback. We should be able to use the shopvac for everything except the main drain, which we will blow out through the capped end.

Just confirmed. No threads on skimmer pipe. The previous owner did have one pressure plug in his closing kit. We're assuming that's what he used.

So that brings up another interesting question. First, you're right. I forgot the duck plugs are threaded. We planned to use duck plugs to blow out our lines without draining the pool. We would have to drain about 30" to get well below the regular returns. But when you talk about antifreeze...

I came back to post my newest crisis, and thought I would add a quick update on this topic. Swampwoman's advice was spot on! I've been managing my metal with the sequestrants. It only took one bottle and some patience for the metal to clear up. I added ~8 oz of metal magic weekly for...

Hello, My husband and I are attempting to close our pool for the first time. The previous owner offered to show us how he closed it, but given the state of the chemicals when we moved in and the stories from our neighbors, I think we are better off working it out ourselves. There are no threads...

Thanks Swampwoman! The stains are minor. So if I keep my PH in check and if I can get away with the minimum amount of metal magic, that's an extra $85-$135 per season. Not ideal, but I knew owning a pool wouldn't be cheap. At least this site is keeping it from being a budget-buster. I'm...

Ok, read some more articles now that i know we are talking about iron. I saw a note from Jason lion that high ph is can trigger staining. The fill water did test at 7.9 ph. Can maintaining a ph between 7.2-7.4 help avoid more staining?

Yes. There's definitely metal. I was just thinking that determining what kind of metal might help point towards some alternative options. Although if the testing is unreliable, I suppose it won't help much. I guess I will have to weigh the costs of sequestrants vs clean fill water in my...

Hmmm... No mention of iron levels in the water quality report. No signs of staining in the household plumbing either. Perhaps I should brave the pool store for metal testing?

I was hoping to avoid the expense of sequestrants by draining. :( If I understood correctly, AA dislodges the metal from the vinyl, and it will stay in the water until you add more chlorine. I would only need sequestrants if I didn't drain. I spent $40 on Ultra Stain Free in the first battle...

Having trouble getting a good picture in the light rain. It's slightly more noticeable than it seems here.

**sorry for the long post. It's been a journey.** Please help! I was lucky enough to find this forum weeks before closing on my new home with my first ever pool. (Except my awesome 10' kiddie pool. But I'm in the big leagues now.) I've probably read half the posts by now, and I really...