New Pool Owner with no idea of what I have or what I'm doing

[evad714]

We just bought a pool home in Orange County CA. It's our first house and our first pool.
I found this board and have learned quite a bit from it. I think I'm getting about a C to a C+ in pool chemistry.
Learning process.

However I dont know anything about my pool equipment. My assumption is it is outdated and needs to be replaced, and I'm not sure how much that would cost or if I can afford that.

I also know the pool has not been replastered in the last 10-12 years, per last owner. pool was built in 1986, so not sure if it ever has been.

pool is 30' x 15'. max depth of 8'. roman shape.
spa is 6' x 7'. not sure of exact depth.
I think it's about 22k gallons.

equipment from what I can read or tell:
WhisperFlow 1HP WFE-4
Teledyne Laars Series One (I think), Pentair 2000 Series DE Filter (best guess)
kreepy krauly
jandy valves

PROBLEMS:
I get a small amount of grey sand (which I assume to be DE). Why?

I only have two Jandy valves - in from pool/spa and out to pool or spa.
Can I put the valve in-between the two or does it have to be one or the other?

Sometimes the kreepy krauly stops clicking and just sits there. skimmer basket is clear. pump basket is clear. Not sure what else to check.
Ideas?

If I have the in from the pool and the out going to the jacuzzi, there is a spill over waterfall type thing when the pump is running. When the pump stops, water level of the jacuzzi slowly drops to the pool water level. If I change the valves to in from pool out to pool, the water level remains high in the jacuzzi. Why?

Aesthetically, the pool is nice from a distance. up close, I think it needs to be resurfaced or replastered.
How do I know if it NEEDS to be replastered (beyond aesthetics)?

The tile along the top of the pool line in the jacuzzi seems to be breaking apart or separating.
Any thoughts on how or what to do to fix?

And finally the spill over waterfall and various other tiles have some white calcium looking deposits.
How do I scrub that off or get rid of it?

Thanks for any feedback, thoughts, opinions or ideas you can give.
And thanks to all the other experts for pool school, pool math and all the other great topics on this forum.

David

 

[duraleigh]

Re: New Pool Owner with no idea of what I have or what I'm d

Welcome to the forum.

I cannot post my first chemistry grades as I will be booted off the forum!

It is difficult to answer a post with so many questions....I'll take one of them and let others chime in.

The grey sand - do you know for a fact it is sand? Have you scooped some up and rolled it between thumb and finger and it is clearly gritty? Does it appear directly underneath the returns and quickly resettles to the floor if you brush it?

 

[evad714]

Re: New Pool Owner with no idea of what I have or what I'm d

I dont believe it is actual sand, it just looks like it from the service.
It appears in front of the returns but does not settle quickly if brushed.
There is a return in the shallow end on the stairs and there was some settled there. I attempted to pinch some but it seems to get away pretty quick when I try. The little bit I did hold on to, seemed finer than sand.

I've attached another pic from when I first moved in and it was the worst I have ever seen it. It has not gotten this bad again since then, but there is still the same stuff on the floor just a smaller amount.

Thanks,
David

 

[duraleigh]

Re: New Pool Owner with no idea of what I have or what I'm d

Your description and that pic would indicate it is dead algae....a result of keeping your FC too low and has nothing to do with your filter. Can you post a complete set of water chemistry results?

 

[evad714]

Re: New Pool Owner with no idea of what I have or what I'm d

heres what I have from Leslie's testing my water (*** Test results were after I was out of town for 10 days - didnt know what I was doing before hand or now for that matter, but added a gallon of liquid chlorine before I left and pump ran for two 2 hour increments a day)

FAC = 0
TAC = 0
CH = 400
CYA = 50
TA = 120
PH = 8.0
TDS (total dissovled solids - I'd never heard of this) = 1300
Pho (Phosphates - I'd never heard of this either) = 200

FAC and TAC appear to be at about 2.0 currently according to my home depot test kit.

 

[duraleigh]

Re: New Pool Owner with no idea of what I have or what I'm d

Based on those results (you will manage your pool much better if you get your own good test kit.....it's the primary thing we teach), you need to lower your pH down into the mid 7's using muriatic acid. Next (as soon as 30 minutes after) you desperately need to get chlorine in your pool.....it is the PRIMARY additive you need to keep your pool clear.

Using Poolmath, I would dose it up to about 5 ppm and then you will need to add more constantly to keep it there.

Read "The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" up in Pool School. You will need to SLAM the pool very soon but you need a grasp of the basics of pool water chemistry before you start the SLAM.

 

[BoDarville]

Re: New Pool Owner with no idea of what I have or what I'm d

However I dont know anything about my pool equipment. My assumption is it is outdated and needs to be replaced, and I'm not sure how much that would cost or if I can afford that.

Your heater (Teledyne Laars Series One) looks exactly like mine. A house inspector and the pool service company I use for big jobs beyond the scope of my expertise (or my available time to do them) have advised me to hang on to that heater until it completely quits. Apparently, those heaters manufactured during that time period (80's to early 90's) are built like tanks.

 

[Isaac-1]

Re: New Pool Owner with no idea of what I have or what I'm d

On a separate point you may want to look at replacing that 1 speed pump with a 2 speed or variable speed to save on electricity, this may be a priority issues since you live in California and likely have high electricity costs.

Ike

 

[Patrick_B]

Re: New Pool Owner with no idea of what I have or what I'm d

On a separate point you may want to look at replacing that 1 speed pump with a 2 speed or variable speed to save on electricity, this may be a priority issues since you live in California and likely have high electricity costs.
Ike

I think it will be required in CA when replacement time comes.

 

[evad714]

Re: New Pool Owner with no idea of what I have or what I'm d

thanks for all the tips and help.

I was able to drop the PH into a good range. add some chlorine and things are normal so far. still have a bit more learning and reading to do before I attempt the SLAM

The heater works great... I think at least. heated the spa to the too hot point in about 30 minutes.

I'm always interested in saving electricity costs! I will have to look into how much a new pump would cost. Going to be a tight budget until the new year.

as for the sand / debris / DE
turned out it was DE getting through the filter at the top of the filters. no filters had holes. but the top spreader (I think its called - round thing holds the filters in place) that was warped. Sat further down in the middle than the outside. replacing that and securing the filters better eliminated the de in the pool.

thanks for all your help.

new question:
any good products or tips or trick to get the white calcium build up off of the tiles? very hard water where I live.

thanks again,
David