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Hey all. The pool has been looking great this year, which is why I haven't checked in here for a while. TFP recently released a memo that, among other things, says that the ideal Calcium level for an in-ground vinyl pool is 50-550, while 0 to 650 is "acceptable." I stopped testing for Calcium...

Hi all. Here in Canada's Pacific Southwest, it's a short pool season at the best of times. Yes, we need to invest in a heating system. It was my wife (she does most of the swimming while I do most of the maintaining) who decided it was pointless opening the pool this year. We had a long, cold...

Hello everyone. A new problem, noticed only today after several days of leaving the solar cover off. 20 or more of these black, comet-shaped marks, ranging from an inch to 4-5 inches in size, in one corner of the poll's shallow end. They do not vacuum off, and they do not brush away! Please...

Out of desperation, due to cloudy pool water and inability to find "heat treated" or "pool grade" DE, I used the garden variety DE. And now, of course, it seems the pool is never going to clear. Is pool grade DE the answer? Now I see an online source for the pool grade DE, but it's in a 50 pound...

Hi all, Such a great forum. I found the answer to my first question in an old thread: Chlorinating liquid 10.3% is pretty much the same as Concentrated Bleach 8.25%, but 25% stronger. Should have been obvious, maybe. A recent missive from TFP cautioned against using Bleach with Chloromax. May...

I've read the 2016 thread on this subject. My issue is that my (not quite impermeable) winter cover has a large lake, a depression 12" or more deep, that I can't get rid of. The Little Giant™ pump takes the water level down across the entire surface of the tarp, leaving the lake still present...

Hello all. We've reached that time of year when the solar panels are not keeping the pool above 21°C (70°F) so I'm thinking about shutting down for the winter. Some threads on TFP advise "close late, open early" which is the opposite of what I've always done. So what if the pool water is green...

Just when I was getting comfortable with the TFP ethos, and starting to think I knew what I was doing... 3 days ago, after swimming for a week or so in beautiful clear water, we noticed a thin layer of dead brown algae on the pool bottom. I brushed everywhere, and started leaving the pump...

Hi bathers! Is this the first post in the Startup & Closing thread? Weather has been cool and wet here in Canada's Pacific Southwest, so we've not even removed the winter cover yet. Once I do, and get the pump started up, what's the next step? I found detailed information on TFP's main page...

You folks south of the 49th must get tired of reading about how we Canucks have trouble obtaining the Taylor Test Kit. Months ago, one of you recommended a seller in Ontario. I decided to wait until closer to the upcoming pool season, so that the reagents will have a little longer shelf life...

Hi all. Time to shut down for winter. We're just back from a month's vacation during which the house-sitters allowed green algae to make themselves a home. I'm slowly transitioning to the TFP system. I will finally have a Taylor test kit in 3 days (when I take a drive to Bellingham, WA) and I've...

Hi all. I'm just learning the TFP system, and have not been able to get into it yet. I still have about 60 chlorine pucks that I bought earlier this year, and I can't just send them to the landfill! Today, after 2 days of cloudy weather and some rain, I uncovered our vinyl pool to find several...

Moved from here. Responding to this 13 month old thread, in search of clarification on the question of adding chlorine. I'm still doing things (what seems from Pool School and some messages to be) the wrong way, with chlorine pucks and occasional shock. The pucks are in the skimmer basket, 1...

Happy to have found a forum where pool users can share the pain and the joy of owning a pool. The in-ground, vinyl pool came with the house, and when our kids were 7 and 9, the effort, compared to the enjoyment made it all worthwhile. Not so much now that they're grown and I'm in my 70's. So...