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Regarding removing the scale, when I mentioned it to our guy, he said he'd bring out some biodex 300 to take it off. Good idea? Bad idea? Here's a pic (I have no idea how I didn't notice it before yesterday).

Thanks, all! That's kind of what I figured. We really like our pool guy, but it definitely sounds like he wasn't doing a great job. The convenience is really nice, but with a brand new surface on our pool, I don't want to take chances long-term. I was doing chemicals myself before we hired him...

Long story short: we had new pebble-tec installed a year ago. Since the fall, we've had a guy taking care of the pool. We've had some algae over the winter (not bad, but some on the tile/grout mostly). Today, I noticed a pretty major calcium line. It turns out auto-fill was off, too. Is this...

No spa at the moment. *I'd* like one some day (my wife is indifferent), but who knows when that will be. :) I'll do some more reading on the Suntouch vs Solartouch. (Side note: I see you mentioned installing a heat pump. Is there any reason to do a heat pump *and* solar?)

I did, and frankly, I think it made me even more confused. It describes solar mode and pool/spa mode as two separate things, and stops mentioning solar in pool/spa mode.

Okay, so, I think I've got the panel installation figured out. Ordering the parts I need from solar discounters. Now I'm looking at controllers. It doesn't look like there's a Jandy-specific solution that would make sense, cost-wise (I don't see a way to get into iAqualink for anything south of...

Looks great! I'm still considering going gator. It'd be about $25 per pair x 14, so $350ish (good lord) just for the clamps, but they do sound like they handle expansion/contraction better.

According to their product search, Home Depot doesn't sell z bar of the right size (1/2 inch tall, 1 inch leg for the bracket), but Lowe's does! $8 for 10-foot lengths.

Thanks, surf! Is yours gator clamps or z-bar? I've got lots of info on gator clamps. Z bar install is what I'm fiddling with.

Called Solar Discounters. The woman I spoke with was very helpful, and it sounds like I have all the clamps I need. And I'm just realizing I forgot to ask about the clips for tightening the clamps down. I have a bunch of them (enough, at least), but they're a little loose on the empty clamps. I...

I'll see if I can get some info out of them. I was planning on ordering the gaskets and PVC connectors from there anyhow. The lip of the z bar is about an inch long, so if it's not super tight when I put it on (70-75ish out at the moment), I'd imagine it'll be alright in the winter. Still...

A z-bar goes on both the top and bottom, so the panels can expand horizontally, sliding along the z bar. /edit: at least, I *think* that's how it's supposed to go. The Heliocol install manual doesn't have instructions for the mounting sleds.

The ones not connected to the mounting sleds are the same as the ones in the mounting sleds. All the clamps are identical. Some are just clipped into mounting sleds. I'm not even sure how they would be used for anything other than connecting the panels together. I don't have the adapters for...

Yeah, I'm looking at the solartouch now. Seems solid. It almost sounds like the Suntouch could turn on/off my water feature (I think it can handle two actuators), but since the box is going to be right by my equipment, that's a little pointless. My Jandy control box has simple inputs for...

So... I was leaning toward the Hayward GL-235, mostly for price and better ratings on Amazon (though, I do realize that pool equipment is niche enough that Amazon ratings are too small of a sample group to really trust). I'll take another look at the Pentair stuff though. Then I started down...

Awesome! Thanks for the info, all. It sounds like it's all pretty straightforward. I'll check out your pics, pooldv. Oh, and I'm planning on doing an electronic controller.

So, I just picked up seven HC-40 (IIRC. 4'x10.5') panels for a song (friend of a friend just bought a house and didn't like them. Had them tested by a local installer, who said they're in great shape with no leaks). They came with the connection clamps, but it looks like I'm going to need to...

I'll see about getting in and holding a puck against the area. Honestly, I'm not sure if the light area or the dark area is the discoloration (and I'm not terribly excited about jumping in the pool to test. It's a bit cold). I've got a stainless steel wire brush, and have tried brushing both the...

Okay: FC: 5ppm CC: totally forgot, and am just about out of reagent. Need to order more. pH: 7.6 (I tested away from where I added the acid. Hoping it's mixed enough over the last two hours to be accurate) TA: 70 CH: 240 CYA: 55

So, they did balancing for the first month. I'm not sure what they put in then. I'm assuming calcium carbonate, baking soda, etc. CYA, too, I'm sure. They had a floaty with tricolor in there for a month. I just added some muriatic acid to get the pH down (from almost 8) and a gallon of 12%...

So, we had our pebble tec done at the end of May. Since then, it's been fantastic. We had a great summer and probably swam more this summer than the last two years combined. Within the last month or so, though, I've noticed some discoloration in one part of the pool near the shallow end. Here...

Update: Now a month after our pool refinish was "completed" (and, unfortunately, our final payment made), and there's still a hole in our yard with expose plumbing, we're still missing the float valve in our skimmer, we haven't received the extra heads for our water feature, and said water...

I think he's coming out once a week or so. He could have come twice one week. I don't know. He comes when I'm at work usually.

I actually think I'm going to make my own heads for it, if I can get the screw-on part to attach them. A 20-footer will probably be in the mix. :)

Run another hose from a different faucet on your property if you can. It won't double the full speed, but it helps. Water feature wise, We got a Parascope: Parascope - Paramount Pool and Spas I'll get more pics up shortly. :)

Hah, sounds about right. Ours looked splotchy, but mostly evened out. Now, our only issue is the corners. I would have been ****** if they pulled a no-show on our pebble tec, since I took a day from work to be here for it. We did pay a decent amount on the card, but it was like, almost two...

No change, really. Our PB (sales rep) came out today to look at it while we were at work. He sent an email saying it "looks pretty good to me", comparing it to the finish on his pool, whatever that means. I'm going to be unavailable for a couple of weeks, but he mentioned meeting to discuss it...

Sounds like the normal output can handle the water flow from the lower speed, no problem, so no pressure builds up. Switch over to the water feature, and it's a smaller opening, so, boom, pressure. Thanks, all!

Cool, thanks! And yeah, the water feature works with surprisingly low RPM. Though, they made it too tall, so it sticks about 2-3" out of the water (rather than just below the surface, to do the cool turbulent bubbling thing) and shoots water about 10-12' in the air. Which is fun, but not quite...