1st Time Pool Owner

Mrs.D

0
Aug 22, 2015
3
Edmond, OK
I'm new here and new to pool ownership after closing on a home 3 weeks ago that was built in 1984, as was the pool. We hired a pool company to take care of the pool once a week and it is now green after being crystal clear and blue when we moved in three weeks ago. :( It is a plaster below ground pool, a picture is attached. Here are my issues:

I don't know how many gallons the pool is. The previous owners say 35,000-40,000 but the 3 pool companies who have come out say more like 25,000. It has a diving board and slide and Google Earth measures it 41X22 at its greatest widths, although it is much narrower in other places, for instance the deep end at its narrowest is 14'.

The cartridge filter, I'm told, has capacity for 1,000 gallons. I know this sounds incredibly ridiculous, but multiple pool companies as well as the pool inspector have told me this. The previous owners (both electrical engineers who did everything themselves) ran a bypass PVC for much of the water. I don't understand how they kept the pool clean and clear. They left me a Polaris 9400S. Maybe they ran the Polaris several times a day? So, my first priority is getting the right size filter, but back to point 1, I'm not sure how many gallons the pool is.

We have a 1.5 hp pump which seems to be working fine, although it has to run 24/7 every single day and gets incredibly hot on the surface.

My husband is very interested in converting to saltwater, but not this season. So this is a factor in what filter to invest in if we may not use it long.

I would like to use the BBB method, although we are still utilizing weekly "professional" pool maintenance. I bought and received the Taylor test kit.

Any feedback is welcome and much appreciated!
 
Welcome to the forum. :wave:

You are not getting your money's worth. Your pool water is very uninviting and can be crystal clear if you are willing to learn how to care for it yourself.

read "The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" up in Pool School. That's a good basis for what we teach. Then, other articles will further your knowledge.

Up front, you need to know that you MUST have a precise test kit to test your water. We'll teach you how to care for your pool based on the precision of that testing. You'll have to give up on your pool companies.....they are the ones who got you here and "here" is not where you want to be based on that picture.

So keep reading the hundreds and hundreds of success stories and decide if you want to make the commitment. You'll never look back.

EDIT: I overlooked you purchased a test kit. Are you using it? What model is it?
 
Welcome to the forum!

I'm not sure what they mean by the filter having a 1000 gallon capacity, but that isn't right. Although possible, its pretty doubtful you are at 35-40K gallons in this pool. Great to hear you got a good kit though. That, and a little knowledge is all you need to make your pool perfect.
 
Thank you for the greetings and encouragement. I purchased and received the TAYLOR TECHNOLOGIES INC K-2006 TEST KIT COMP CHLORINE FAS-DPD from Amazon. I have not used it yet.
Any tips for calculating the number of gallons in the pool?

Here are some pics of the cartridge filter and equipment set up. Note the bypass around the filter.