black spots in pool

[danacc]

Usually a concrete/gunite pool has plaster or a plaster/pebble mix or some sort of coating on top of it. Gunite by itself is porous. Is yours bare concrete/gunite?

(I do not think it is normal to have grit in the pump basket area, but my pool is gunite with a plaster finish.)


Edited to add--oops, I should have refreshed myself with your thread before replying. I remember now that you're the one with the pool that you believe is panted with some sort of decking coating. It is not normal to have grit in the pump basket area, and it sounds like the coating on your pool may be breaking down. But I am certainly not an expert on your type of pool.

 

[ronipooh]

So now I'm looking at my pool really really closely and I'm trying to figure out if this pool has been resurfaced once already. I'm hoping these pictures are sharp enough for you guys to see why I'm saying this.
See how the steps are kind of a sand color, and the majority of the pool is kind of a light aqua color.
The sand colored Part of the coating has an aggregate in it. I was looking at samples of diamondbrite and it looks very similar to that.
Having the two different colors and textures is why I'm asking is that probable. As I have said earlier in this thread, the house was built in '88 or '92 (conflicting info from the property appraisers office and deed records) and that makes the pool at least 21 yes old. The fact that it was foreclosed on 3 times and not cared for makes me sure that a lot has happened to this pool that I know NOTHING about.
And yes I determined previously it had been painted because it looks so much like the deck does but on closer examination I find it is NOT paint.
No it is not bare concrete it is definitely coated with an aggregate finish that is dissolving.

I am going to need a huge dose of pool owner patience because I have discovered that I have even bigger problems. My septic tank and drainfield are right outside of my pool enclosure and they are flooded at this time. I can't do a partial drain because there's nowhere for the water to go.

 

[ronipooh]

Sorry here are the steps. It wouldn't upload in the previous post

 

[ronipooh]

When I have my multi position valve set to both main drain and skimmer neither 1 seems to be very effective. When I have it set to skimmer only for the purposes of vacuuming, suction is very strong. I also seem to have a lot of stuff floating on the surface that i can't seem to hand skim out to my satisfaction. My question is this...should I leave the valve in the skim only position for more effective surface cleaning and vacuum the floor more often? I am still new to pool ownership and only know what I learn from all of you here on the forum. Thank you for all the help I've received so far.

 

[jblizzle]

Floor drains do not usually do a good job of sucking much debris in ... they are designed to not have a lot of "suction" for safety. I would suggest putting your valve mostly on skimmer maybe just a little on the floor to keep a little water moving. See if that helps the floaties and vacuum more as needed. I take it you do not have any type of automatic cleaner?

Do you have a weir door on your skimmer? That can also have a big change on the skimming effectiveness.

 

[ronipooh]

I have the pop up In floor sweeper system and I have an orbit (similar to a kreepy krawler) but I don't use the orbit as it doesn't seem very effective and it would be left in the pool for days at a time because of my work schedule. The pop up in floor isn't very effective as far as I can tell either. It provides circulation but doesn't really push it to the main drain. I'm guessing the main drain is really only to actually DRAIN the pool?

To answer the question about the weir door, no its missing. I know I need to get one and get it on there

 

[jblizzle]

You should add that you have in-floor pop-ups in your signature. I am kind of surprised that the 1HP Superflo is strong enough to effectively run the pop-ups.

 

[ronipooh]

Do you have a weir door on your skimmer? That can also have a big change on the skimming effectiveness.[/QUOTE]

Replaced weir door on skimmer, found that the module was not in the canister for the pop ups, bought that and now the in floor sweeper works much better. I still don't have it all figured out yet. A 1HP pump seems to be handling things ok though, I am also surprised . One of my return lines in the wall does not put anything out now that the in floor is operating properly but there is enough flow through those pop ups so I'm not going to worry about it.
There does seem to be an awful lot of gritty substance collecting near the deep end around one of the stationary pop ups. I'm thinking with the increased pressure and flow with the new module I might be getting wash out from behind loose tiles and cracked grout???? What are your thoughts?