My husband and I really need help with our pool, where in the world do I start? We live in Southern California, pool use to be no problem, last few years we have dumped hundreds and hundreds of dollars worth of chemicals, pool sweeps, hoses, pumps and such in it. We need some serious help. Do they have pool Doctors?
do all couples fight about pool maintenance?
- Thread starter overit
- Start date
IkeRay
0
the people on this forum can be considered your pool doctors, they really know their stuff.
first and foremost, read the stickies, lots of GREAT information in there. Also, do yourself a favor and get the TF100 kit offered by duraleigh, great guy and a great kit. Finally, and most importantly, stop listening to the pool store guys, use your test numbers, apply only what is truly needed (per jason's calculator and the experts' advice).
Cost last april, per pool store recommendation, $90. Cost this april, per this website advice, $40. on top of that, my pool has never looked as great as it does now.
first and foremost, read the stickies, lots of GREAT information in there. Also, do yourself a favor and get the TF100 kit offered by duraleigh, great guy and a great kit. Finally, and most importantly, stop listening to the pool store guys, use your test numbers, apply only what is truly needed (per jason's calculator and the experts' advice).
Cost last april, per pool store recommendation, $90. Cost this april, per this website advice, $40. on top of that, my pool has never looked as great as it does now.
Welcome! You will find all you need for easy, inexpensive pool maintenance here at TFP!
Read the stickies in my signature, and get a good test kit, and take your pool into your own hands!!
We're here to help!
Read the stickies in my signature, and get a good test kit, and take your pool into your own hands!!
We're here to help!
Welcome aboard. TFP as the name says for itself, is not only about how to keep your pool sparkling but at the minimum cost and effort. You'll be surprised how enjoyable it will be, to maintain a pool when it's sparkling clean with all the fight in the filter waiting to be backwashed.
well.....I read some of the stickes and some of your chats and to tell you the truth, I think you are talking another language. I think I have a SWG???? salt water? gizmo?? and were do I get this TF100 kit? I don't see it in the "Store" section of your site. My once beautiful pool looks like a swamp!
My wife lets me be the boss of the pool and the lawn. :lol:
In your next post, tells us alittle about your pool. size, depth, salt water or not, pump and filter size and what is wrong with the pool. When you get a good water testing kit, also post your results.
In your next post, tells us alittle about your pool. size, depth, salt water or not, pump and filter size and what is wrong with the pool. When you get a good water testing kit, also post your results.
Go here
http://www.tftestkits.com/index.php?act=viewCat&catId=2
You want the TF100 kit
Probably want the salt test if you have a swg.
He will ship quickly, but from the east coast, so it will take a few days before you get it.
I bought a magnetic stirrer at the same time I ordered my TF100, makes it easier to perform the tests.
Do you have any test kit at all right now? Can you post what readings you have now?
Randy
http://www.tftestkits.com/index.php?act=viewCat&catId=2
You want the TF100 kit
Probably want the salt test if you have a swg.
He will ship quickly, but from the east coast, so it will take a few days before you get it.
I bought a magnetic stirrer at the same time I ordered my TF100, makes it easier to perform the tests.
Do you have any test kit at all right now? Can you post what readings you have now?
Randy
thank you guys so much. husband is working 7 days a week, 14 to 16 hours a day (farmer). Yes we have old kits, I will go test it now and post what numbers I get. Just ordered the kit and the salt thing. I'll let you know. Again, thanks
If you are confused and unsure of yourself, take a sample of your pool water to a pool store and let them test the water for you and have them give you a print out or write down the results. Do not buy anything from them yet, tell them you have to consult with the spouse(boss). Post your results here and we will tell you what those number mean and what you need to add. Save those results and then take another sample the next day to the pool store (after you added the chemicals we tell you too) and have them test again. Post those numbers and then you can see what effect the chemicals you added to your water test results.
Fight over pool maintenance? 99% of my time doing pool maintenance involves me having a beer or cup of coffee in my hand. It's not hard, and if you'll just stick with us for a short while it will be easy for you too.
free chlorine .04
ph 7.2
total alkalinity 180
He has some lilttle dip sticks, so I tried one.
It's numbers were:
free chlorine 0
ph 7.2
Total alkalinity 120
cyanuric acid 150
Our Clormatic in no longer working, needs some cleaning and new parts I think. He gets the pool sparkling clean then two days later it's back to green and black sides. Two pool stores have said we need to change the water but he doesn't think that will help. I don't want to fight with him, the pool is his area and I don't mind (lord knows I have enough work). But I do want to help him and
I don't know what to do. I see the clorine is low so I will go to HomeDepot and get some. What else can I do?
ph 7.2
total alkalinity 180
He has some lilttle dip sticks, so I tried one.
It's numbers were:
free chlorine 0
ph 7.2
Total alkalinity 120
cyanuric acid 150
Our Clormatic in no longer working, needs some cleaning and new parts I think. He gets the pool sparkling clean then two days later it's back to green and black sides. Two pool stores have said we need to change the water but he doesn't think that will help. I don't want to fight with him, the pool is his area and I don't mind (lord knows I have enough work). But I do want to help him and
I don't know what to do. I see the clorine is low so I will go to HomeDepot and get some. What else can I do?
Welcome to TFP 
Do all couples fight about pool maintenance? Well, dunno, what's your definition of 'fight'? :lol: :lol: :lol:
(don't answer that!)
You have come to the right place. We have lots of pool gurus that will walk you through the entire clean-up process.
Until your TF Test kit arrives, you can take your 'swamp' water to the pool store and have it tested. Then post your results here. (Resist the urge to buy any 'magic' pill or the tons of chems they suggest.)
You can add all your pool and equipment information in your signature. This will be a great help to those trying to help you
Just like you, many of us have had to deal with the 'green swamp' thing.
If you have not found it yet, here is a link to Jason's sticky on "turning your green swamp back into a sparkling oasis".
http://www.troublefreepool.com/sticky.php?s=4147
Someone will help you with any questions you may have. Don't worry, it will be nice and 'sparkling' again soon.
We're glad you found TFP!
Do all couples fight about pool maintenance? Well, dunno, what's your definition of 'fight'? :lol: :lol: :lol:
(don't answer that!)
You have come to the right place. We have lots of pool gurus that will walk you through the entire clean-up process.
Until your TF Test kit arrives, you can take your 'swamp' water to the pool store and have it tested. Then post your results here. (Resist the urge to buy any 'magic' pill or the tons of chems they suggest.)
You can add all your pool and equipment information in your signature. This will be a great help to those trying to help you
Just like you, many of us have had to deal with the 'green swamp' thing.
If you have not found it yet, here is a link to Jason's sticky on "turning your green swamp back into a sparkling oasis".
http://www.troublefreepool.com/sticky.php?s=4147
Someone will help you with any questions you may have. Don't worry, it will be nice and 'sparkling' again soon.
We're glad you found TFP!
IkeRay
0
ok, first and foremost, you DO need to drain the water. with a SWG I believe the CYA (stabilizer) recommended is 60-80, but not 100% on that. so you need to drain ~1/2 of your water, so depending on your water table, you can either do that all at once, or do it 20% at a time.
secondly, you need chlorine in there pronto, that is the reason there is algae. I can only guess that you are still using the tablets from the pool store. if so, they contain CYA, and you are just adding to the problem.
finally, need to brush almost daily if you have algae. I suggest getting a wall whale, I got one for christmas and it really helps brushing.
OH, also to add....leave this forum up one night, on the main page where all the pools and scrolling by, and also leave open a window on the BBB. hopefully hubby will stumble upon it and read up, then you can have a friendly conversation with him over how the pool should be maintained.
secondly, you need chlorine in there pronto, that is the reason there is algae. I can only guess that you are still using the tablets from the pool store. if so, they contain CYA, and you are just adding to the problem.
finally, need to brush almost daily if you have algae. I suggest getting a wall whale, I got one for christmas and it really helps brushing.
OH, also to add....leave this forum up one night, on the main page where all the pools and scrolling by, and also leave open a window on the BBB. hopefully hubby will stumble upon it and read up, then you can have a friendly conversation with him over how the pool should be maintained.
It sounds like your CYA level has gotten too high and algae has gotten started. There are a couple of steps to fixing everything. The first one is to get the CYA level down below 100. The dip strips are not very precise, so the actual CYA level might be a bit higher or lower than 150 but either way you need to replace some water to bring the CYA level down.
Told the hubby I was doing this and he said OK, we will do what ever they say. ( I think he's stinking tired of the whole thing too!) used you "Pool Caculator" and it said our pool was 56,300 gallons and that we needed to add over 3 gallons of chlorine. I will add 3 gallons, run the filter overnight and take some water to the pool place tomorrow and ask for a test. Do I ask for a specific kind of test? I'll pass on the word to "The Farmer" that the tablets are not good and if anyone knows anything about that ClorMatic and how to see if its working or not, let me know. Will post new number tomorrow.
overit said:
I appologize. The stickies are not in a logical order. It's going to take a fair bit of outside programming to set it up so that they can be organized in a logical progression.
For now, I would start with the "ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" followed by "Commonly used abreviations for pools," then "What to test for and what the tests mean," and finally "Water balance tips for an swg."
I'm sure you'll still have plenty of questions, but those should start to get you up to speed on the lingo.
Have I said I was blond???? re did the caculator and it said 38,800, (22 wide by 44 long 3 feet to 9 deep, but not oval, round or rectangular, more of a free form kind of thing). Anyway, I will add 2 gallons and go from there! I guess I really need to get that gallons number right.
If you currently have algae then adding three gallons of chlorine is going to be fighting a losing battle given how high your CYA is. At high CYA levels you need huge amounts of chlorine all at once to kill the algae and anything you add in small batches is essentially wasted. If you currently have algae you need to do some planning and approach this systematically. Lowering the CYA level is the best first step.
The ChlorMatic comes in two models, one for pools up to 15,000 gallons and one for pools up to 30,000 gallons. If you pool really is 56,000 gallons then there is no way even the larger unit could keep up. You can test to see if it is working by turning it on at 100% and getting a water sample from the return jet and testing that for chlorine. If the return has higher chlorine levels than the pool then the ChlorMatic is working.
If you don't currently have algae you might need more like 11 gallons of 6% bleach. The goal level for FC depends on your CYA level, higher CYA levels require higher FC levels. With CYA of 150, FC should be kept at 12 or higher.
The ChlorMatic comes in two models, one for pools up to 15,000 gallons and one for pools up to 30,000 gallons. If you pool really is 56,000 gallons then there is no way even the larger unit could keep up. You can test to see if it is working by turning it on at 100% and getting a water sample from the return jet and testing that for chlorine. If the return has higher chlorine levels than the pool then the ChlorMatic is working.
If you don't currently have algae you might need more like 11 gallons of 6% bleach. The goal level for FC depends on your CYA level, higher CYA levels require higher FC levels. With CYA of 150, FC should be kept at 12 or higher.