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Today I sign the purchase agreement for a new (to me) condo. Unfortunately, that means this will be my last few months with a pool and checking in with TFP. The pool has been good and bad but overall, I’ve enjoyed it. The bad is that I spent a lot of money to install it in the hope that it...

Opened my pool a few days ago and added chlorine. Today I got around to doing a full test. FC 14 pH 7.3 (somewhere between 7.2 and 7.5) TA 50 CH 50 CYA 30 Salt 1800 Clearly I need to add stabilizer. I'll get on that first. I'll probably also get some salt in there. Not sure what to...

I got the following message today. Unfortunately, I can't figure out what's being recalled. Not sure if it's the entire pump or a part of the pump. Email below: Would appreciate any help. If it's just some elbow, I doubt I'll deal with it. The pump has been working fine for 5 years. If...

This small basket (sorry, I don’t know the correct term) is right before my SWG and right after the heater. The cover has a flap that I’m trying to figure out. The first time I took the cap off, the flap was perpendicular to the water flow, basically doing nothing. That’s the way it was...

I need some more Magic Lube. What I have came with my pool. Is there a particular brand to use? Is there any place that has it for a good price? Seems like it might be best to find it local because Amazon looks pricy. Probably because of the shipping.

I asked about this before, but I was focused on a temporary fix. Now I'm working on a permanent fix to be done after I close the pool (or before I open it in the spring) while the pipes are empty of water. The leak is at one of the elbows coming off of the actuator (the right one in the...

I’m looking at one of those battery operated pool cleaners that look like a hand held vacuum. Besides the times when I just want to pick up a small amount of debris, my main purpose would be for cleaning my ledge. The ledge is only a couple inches of water so the robot doesn’t go there. Also...

I have a leak in my plumbing. It's a very slow/minor leak at one of the joints. See the picture where I've circled the joint and have an arrow pointing to the crease that's leaking. History - The leak was discovered two years ago and the pool builder tried just spreading some PVC glue on the...

Did a full set of tests today and the TA and CH were very low. The CH has always been low but I didn’t care given that I have a fiberglass pool. My TA is low now too. Last year is was around 100 but this year it’s 50. Seems like I should increase the TA but also wondering about the CH. In...

Couple questions/observations: I opened my pool and my CYA was between 30 and 40 so let’s just say 40. When I closed my pool it was closer to 70. I thought CYA didn’t go anywhere (I’ve read stories about draining a pool to get CYA down) so why did it go down over winter? I did dump a few...

How do I get my weir door off so that I can fix or replace it. The styrofoam on the back keeps coming off so it’s not operating correctly when that happens. I tried to identify the skimmer using the code on the lid but it doesn’t look right. The lid is a Sta-Rite U3 skimmer 08560 but when I...

Is there a set set of steps for opening a pool? In my case a green pool? For example: Drain water to proper level Start filter Test water Slam Vacuum/brush I don’t want to make extra work for myself or use unnecessary amounts of chemicals by doing things in the wrong order. My nature is...

I use a Hayward CS200E filter cartridge. I got a genuine Hayward filter with the pool and I bought a Pleatco filter a couple seasons after that. I could not tell any difference. I'm about ready to replace both filters (I like to have two so I can swap one out when they need cleaning.) and I'm...

About ready to close and have a question. I blow out my pipes through my skimmer. I use a pipe and screw it into the intake hole at the bottom of the skimmer. In previous years I’ve used Teflon tape around the threads. I’m wondering if there is a better product to use to seal that connection...

I have a Latham mesh safety cover. I cannot find the recommended water level is at closing. I know I’m not supposed to drain too much because the water is support for the cover if there is a lot of snow. I thought I found the recommended level earlier this year, but now I can’t find it. Any...

I think my pool is in very good shape chemically speaking. A friend came over today and sat by the pool and commented that my pool doesn’t smell like chlorine. My wife opined that it doesn’t because it’s a salt water pool. I explained the salt to chlorine process but I really couldn’t explain...

I’m getting ants in my pool. They’re coming from the space between the top of the fiberglass pool and the cement coping. Is there any product I can use to get rid of them? Obviously, I don’t want to be spraying poisonous chemicals around my pool. I have a call into the bug man but I trying...

I bought a solar cover two years ago and it is already falling apart. I started seeing plastic in the pool a couple days ago. I looked at the site and the cover is warranted for 10 years however it seems to be basically worthless. The first two years they will replace it but after that, the...

I’m not sure what it’s called but it’s where the small strainer basket is connected to the pump. Mine keeps getting air in it. Is this normal? It only gets air when I run the VSP at a lower speed (I usually run at 50%). If I run faster, the air is pushed out and it looks normal again. Hoping...

How sensitive is ph to aeration? I want to bring my ph up just a little without using any chemicals. I’m just over 7.2 and would like to see 7.6. I’m thinking about just turning one of my jets up so it breaks the surface. Can anyone help me with how fast that might raise ph? Would it be...

Among a few other things the pool builder did, the holder for my pool handle was not put in level. Therefore, my handle leans pretty bad to one side. Strange is that the first year when they originally put it in, it either wasn’t that way or I some how just didn’t notice (doubtful). The...

My SWG manual states that salt should be between 2700 and 3400ppm. I tested today and was at 2200 and I just put in a bag of salt which should get me up to about 2500. Another bag should get me to 2800. Is there any reason/benefit to going higher in the range? To get to 3400 would take a...

We opened the pool early (live in Michigan). We had some great weather this week so I went ahead and heated the water and we swam. It was fun and worth it, but now we're going to get at least two weeks where the overnight temps will go into the low 30's. My water temp is at 80 degrees right...

Opened today. Haven’t vacuumed yet, but got the cover off and am draining some water. The water height got pretty close to coping over winter but stayed under. A little disappointing that I have a small amount of algae. I don’t understand why since I still had chlorine in the water. Also, not...

Was thinking of an early open but just read something that said the SWG won’t work until the water temp hits 60 degrees. Is that true? If so, is there a corresponding temp for when algae starts to grow? Looking under the cover, the water looks clear. In S.E. Mich, we still looking at mid...

I just got an e-mail about the test kits going on sale. Wondering if someone could comment on what the differences are between the three different refill kits. I know when I bought my original kit, it came with the salt level test. Is there a particular test kit refill that would be best for...

We had a very nice warm fall so far but tomorrow the bottom drops out and it gets cold here. I have some chlorine left over (two gallons) that I was thinking of adding to the pool which I closed about a month ago at slam level. Probably over kill, but I figured a little extra won’t hurt...

Used a couple new products today. Bungee Plugs - If these hold they will be great. Last year I hooked up the Cyclone and after all the returns were bubbling, I called them off with a plug. I had to reach down into the water, while the air was blowing out and the pool water was being churned...

I was reading another thread about failed anchors use for a safety cover and thought it might be wise to do a little maintenance on mine. Mine go into concrete so I’m not concerned about them coming loose, but I do want to keep the threads clean so they don’t seize. I was thinking about taking...

At the beginning of the season (around May) I bought 2 cases of chlorine and only used 1 so I have four gallons left from then to use to close my pool. Question I have is, does chlorine degrade over that amount of time? If so, does it just get weak, or does something else happen? If it just...