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Late followup - the leak was in the main drain line near the pump. We got close to the leak but we couldn't quite reach to repair. Under a small patio on side of house. Plugged the drain and closed valve at pump. No more leak.

yikes, on the staining. Didn't think about that. I found some dye at the pool store that is fluorescent. I tried that on the returns and could not see anything indicating a leak. Same for the light in the area I could reach. I couldn't reach or see on the bottom end of the light so will...

Well, looks likes after a weekend away the pool level still dropped. Over the 4 days gone, level in pool dropped almost 2 inches. The bucket level dropped by slightly less than 1/2". If water stays calm today, I want to try some dye testing. Any suggestions on best liquid to use. I've...

Pat - thanks so much for suggestion on getting gap fixed. I'm kind of disappointed that my pool guy that did the resurface work didn't see this as an issue. They are supposed to be the experts. Tstex- for the bucket test , I filled up using pool water and up to within an inch of the rim to...

I think I've attached a picture of the large gap between skimmer and concrete. This is where we lose when pool is full after hard rain. I normally don't fill that high. If someone can comment on wether this can be an issue long term I would appreciate. I do not know if this has been there...

I'll take some pics Sunday when we return or I'll try in morning before we leave for camping. Shouldn't take long to snap some pics. I can post as we travel.

I think We've found the potential leak source. Looking closer at skimmer , there are some small cracks. Water level is right below that now. So if that's it , level will stop dropping. We can't leave for camping till tomorrow now so I can check tomorrow. Or fill back up and do dye test...

Thanks for the tips pat. I think I have ruled out pressure side because I did leave pump off for 24 hours and had loss. I will increase FC before leaving. May be able to get some plugs for skimmer before I go. We got our kids a GoPro for Christmas. May come in handy for me. I may be...

We do not have autofill. I have to manually refill when level drops. I'm not 100% sure there is no overflow. I am 100% sure we lose about 2" almost immediately when Mother Nature fills to top or when I forget to turn water off. I have just lived with that and refill only to half skimmer...

I've been suspecting that our inground gunite pool may have a leak. I searched this site and found the suggestion to do a bucket test. I have done two bucket tests. The first one indicated that there was approximately an inch difference over 24 hours between pool loss and bucket loss. I did...

Thanks for the help. Based on the links shared above, maybe my CYA was borderline measurable. We did have rain so any dilution could have helped me get to a point that CYA would not register. I'll put some tri-chlor pucks in to start building it back up. On the positive side, going into...

Thanks for reply. I'm not sure if 40 ppm is "correct" since the reading is somewhat subjective with the black dot visibility. But the sample was cloudy in the test tube for the first test so the range is somewhere between 30-40 ppm. In the second test, the sample was clear. For both tests...

I recently added "stain wipe - ascorbic acid alternative" to remove iron staining on our gunite pool. Worked like a charm, stains gone within the hour. I tested the water with my TF-100 test kit prior to adding stain removal and tested again 24 hours later. The first test showed that I had...

Our pool was replastered a year ago (March 2014). I was told to expect pH increase and large acid demand as the plaster cured. Reviewing my notes from last year, I typically added 2 cups of muractic acid daily to keep the pH around 7.5. This was continued up into the fall. During the...

Thanks for info. We did order a gasket but I didn't consider lights.

Last week we noticed that the pool light had water inside the lens so we removed the light and opened. We inherited the pool when we bought the house last summer, so we didn't know that the light installed was a color changing light. Light worked but did not color change. I would like to...

Chem Geek, I finally understand the numbers now. Thanks so much. It wasn't a necessity to know to keep pool in good shape but just one of those things that bugged me. Also, "EastTN" above shared a link regarding chlorine losses to CYA levels. You had provided the chart in the linked post...

Thanks Chem Geek. I wasn't thinking of FC as Cl2. I was using same equation above but first I used only 3 Cl atoms. Then when that was too low, I thought that using the HOCl formed when dissolved in water would give me right answer. Still came up short. From an equation balance standpoint...

Can someone show me the math to calculate how much a 3" trichlor tab gives in free chlorine. I've seen the "results" that tell me but I was curious about the calculation. I can figure out the CYA portion and how much it contributes in ppm, but I am missing something with the Cl and it is...

Whew. Lots of info in that thread. We have company visiting next weekend and I'm almost afraid to try anything until after. See any issue with holding off a week?

Wow, just tried the Vitamin C tablet and it came off with ease. I'm just happily surprised at how easy it will come off. But what is downside...will this be a long term problem? Anything I can do to prevent? I'm sure this has been discussed on site, so I can search but what is most efficient...

Hello, My pool was re-plastered in early March. The pool builders took care of pool for first two weeks with daily brushing and chemical additions. After handing back over to me, I have brushed at least twice a week and kept chemicals balanced. Below is the latest test results pH = 7.5 ( I...

Yes I did read the article and had printed out for reference before pool re-plaster started. Good info and helped when working with builder over the 2 week period break in. I just needed some verification on the after break-in. I stopped running the pump 24/7 after 3 weeks but had read that...

Our pool was re-plastered in early March. The company that did the re-plaster took care of the start up. This included the 2 weeks of daily brushing and balancing of chemicals. After returning pool care over to me, I have continued to brush at least once a week, more like once every 5 days...

Thanks for the tips and the links. I'm going tomorrow to look at some of their replaster jobs that were tinted.

Thanks for the reply. The mastic is definitely in poor shape and will be replaced. I'm not sure if it was damaged when the patio lifted during the cold snap or was already in bad shape. I did not pay attention when weather was warm. I have asked one neighbor and they had same issue. Another...

I'm having pool re-plastered next month. The pool guy recommended that I tint the plaster to help hide any stains that may occur over time. I can't find much info on the pros and cons of tinting plaster. The most I've seen are cons which involve poor mixing resulting in uneven shades when...

This was my first winter owning a pool. The original owners did not close the pool during winter and after seeing the cost of the safety covers, I decided to try this route also. I found that very little was needed as far as keeping chemicals balanced, 6 cups of bleach once a week at the most...