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Well, to make a long story short.... 10 pounds of soda ash and 1 gallon of 31.5% muriatic acid apparently cancel each other out, and I am back at a pH of 7.2%, haha. For now, I will use aeration if I want to increase the pH. And I need to go test TA again as I bet the acid stripped it out...

Good point. I was mainly doing it due to all the warnings about a super negative CSI in the Pool Math calculator app, and looking to see what I could do to lower it (something like -1.75 last I remember). Waiting on some refills from TF Test Kits so I can see where calcium hardness and CYA are.

Ever have one of those days? Uncovered the pool (by myself) last Friday, got the cover cleaned, folded and stored. Then working on lots of backwashing, scrubbing and skimming to get things pretty going into May. Decided on Monday that since the pH was 7.2, to bump it slightly to 7.6 to get...

As a followup, I ended up cutting all the plumbing about 3" above the ground, and was able to re-work everything on the concrete pad so that there are exactly 4 90 degree elbows in all of the above ground plumbing. Get this - there were *11* 90 degree elbows around the pump and filter before...

I'll chime in and say yes - you have your analysis right. You can program the Pentair to go to different speeds at different times of day - it would just not be integrated with the rest of your automation.

Thanks for all the advice guys. I ended up going with the Hayward simply due to warranty concerns. I'm putting this in as a replacement pump, and bought the pump online (Amazon). If you dig into the Pentair pump warranty, you find that it is a 2 year warranty if you have an "authorized" pool...

I found a company in an industrial part of town here that sold not just motor parts but complete motors - at about half the price that they want at most of the local pool stores. I would check around your area before going through a pool supply - look for somewhere that repairs or sells...

Ok I think I just answered my own question. Rooting around in the Intelliflo information I can find online, it appears that it really needs a 2" suction line due to higher HP and higher maximum flow rates, and my 1.5" plumbing would lean me to the lower powered SuperFlo VS or the Hayward. - - -...

Thanks for the replies everyone. As an engineer, I do think its cutting from 3450 to 3000 that saves the first 50% in energy. I've done the math based on measurements, and at the approx 12 cents per KWh I am paying, calculate that my current pump is costing me $155 a month if I run it 24/7...

I just got hit with a power bill that was over $500, and am out to fix as much as I can that is inefficient. Right now my pool is running with an old Sta-Rite pump that is at least 30 years old. I've replaced seals and impellers on it, and motors 2 or 3 times in the 21 years I've owned the...

Good grief, I've replaced spider gaskets in multiport valves 8 to 10 times over 20 years, and never saw one stuck like that! Then again, I usually put mine in with a thin coat of silicone based gasket lube from Leslie's. That stuff is hard to get off your hands too...

I’ve had a frost free yard hydrant at the end of the sprinkler main supply line near my pool for 15+ years, and have always usd it for filling the pool. No issues. It’s all coming off the same main supply at the street, the irrrigation meters are just not charged a sewage fee is the usually...

He should at least see the DE washing off in the sight glass when the multi port valve is set to backwash. I’ve had the spider gasket in my Hayward multiport valve fail and cause this in the past. I would pull the top off the valve and make sure the gasket is intact.

I think pool chemicals are hard on the fabric and stitching of the grids, and the plastics. Maybe these were not sewn in the bottom, but glued or something instead, and the glue disentegrated. That said, I didn’t replace the grids on my Hayward DE filter until they were over 10 years old, so...

It’s hard to believe ground water would push like that against all the water in the pool, but I guess it’s entirely possible. While you have a concrete, or more likely a poolcrete base (that’s what I have), the side walls on a vinyl lined pool are going to be metal or plastic panels usually...

I will tell anyone that will listen that the best things I ever did for my pool are: 1. Switching from a sand filter to a D.E. filter 15 years ago. 2. Finding THIS WEBSITE 3 years ago, and switching to using a good test kit, and bleach to chlorinate my pool. 3. Switching to a SWG 2 summers ago...

I think your pool guy just wants to keep selling you lots of chemicals you won't need once you switch to a SWG. My pool is within 8 to 10 feet of the main house, all the way down its length on one side (2 foot wide bed down length of house, and 7-8 feet of concrete to the water). I've had a...

Something I've not noticed in this thread is any mention of salt levels. With a SWG, you should really consider getting a salt test. I do that as part of my weekly testing, as over time, the salt level will go down, and you need to maintain an optimal level for your SWG. Salt will be lost any...

I filled when I replaced the liner myself last year (much easier than you think) using a hose that is on my sprinkler meter. The sprinkler water rate is $2.88 per 1,000 gallons, for a total around $78 to fill. The prior time the liner had been replaced it was done by two off duty firemen who...

Your pH test is unreliable when the chlorine levels are high while SLAM'ing the pool, unfortunately, so I would not worry about it much while doing partial replacements. I dealt with high copper for an entire summer, spending a LOT of money on chemicals to keep it in solution. Ultimately I...

Stick with it. Like others said, right now filtration is what you are waiting on. Keep the pump running 24/7. If you want to spend a little money and speed it up, you can add a small charge of either DE or a DE substitute to the sand filter, and possibly consider adding clarifier to help the...

I will toss my 2 cents in. I've seen the exact symptom (dirt coming back into pool returns while vacuuming) myself. Every time it happened, the "spider gasket" in the multiport filter was to blame. These gaskets on my Hayward filter tend to go out a couple of times per season, so I always...

Guys, I just wanted to let you know that Dave from TFTestKits called me, and we discussed my TA measurement issues, compared to the Taylor kit I have. Turns out after careful observation tonight, that the bottle of R-0009 in the new TF-100 kit was putting out slightly smaller drops than the...

Same place I bought mine, received last week.

I will comment on your high Total Alkalinity reading, as I just got a TF-100 test kit last week, and have been a pool owner for 16 years, and have tested TA all this time. There is something wrong in the TA test in the TF-100 I received. I've got a Taylor kit that tests TA as well (doesn't do...

Ok - thanks for all the answers. Makes sense that it is a percentage loss, versus a straight loss. I've got some granular Cyanuric acid that I can put in a sock to raise it to 50. I think I will monitor it this week though, to see how it goes. I worked hard to get the CYA down from 60. I also...

Here's another question. My FC dropped from 18.5 to 10.0 during the course of a sunny day, with a CYA level of 40. The Pool Calculator is recommending a range of 3 to 7. If I leave here for work tomorrow with a level of 7, is it going to be 0 when I get home from work? I am just looking at...

Yes. Forgot to say that. I have passed the overnight test the past 2 nights. Night before last, I had a drop of right at 1.0 overnight. Last night I had pretty much zero drop between 9pm and 6am (it was 18.5 when I got up this morning).

I am curious as to whether The Pool Calculator is being maintained by anyone? I tried to email a suggestion to add a drop down option for 121 oz on the bleach jug size, but email to "[email protected]" and to "[email protected]" bounces. The first one is the email shown on the...

I just want to thank you for the information in Pool School, and useful advice on this forum. A week into the BBB method and the pool is once again crystal clear! I'm coming off shock levels. Here are tonight's readings after a sunny day: TC 10.0 CC 0.5 (probably less - just a SLIGHT pink tint...