Complete newbie with brand new pool. Please help me get started!

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bere said:
What are those? Are they homemade with PVC pipe?
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Yep. Just a threaded end that fits where your return's eyeball goes, then reducer to get down to 3/4", then 45° elbow, then T, 3/4" PVC in between, caps on the ends of the T. Then just drill a bunch of holes to suit. I think I used 1/8" drill bit. That would vary based on number of holes, number of returns, pump flow, etc. Requires a bit of experimenting. Start with a handful of small holes then increase size and/or number as needed. I didn't glue anything, so adjusting lengths and holes and angles is easy enough.

DeanP66 said:
I built my own from PVC from Home Depot. The parts ran about $20. I hook mine up either to a submersible pump or to the wall outlet for my polaris sweeper.
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Oh yah, pressure-side vacuum port!! I bet that worked great. I had mine converted to suction side so I had to use the returns. The downside of using my returns... I had to use all three to get enough even pressure for the aeration, which means I lost the circulation. I tried one and two sprayers, but they were so weak without the third equalizing everything...

I would take off a sprayer or two to let the MA mix in well, then put 'em back on a bit later. I thought about using a stand-alone pump, to solve for the circulation issue, and to run my main pump less, but by the time I was done pondering that my TA was in range, so I didn't pursue it.
 
Yeah, that's why I ended up switching to the submersible pump. My booster pump for my Polaris burns 3 to 4 times more energy than the submersible pump, and at several hours at a time to aerate, it adds up quick. I barely even use my Polaris anymore. I run it for maybe 30 minutes every couple of weeks.
 
I was trying to decide on a pump. I was looking for one that could do this aeration trick, but could also be used for emptying the pool, and for emergency circulation for a few days if the main pump ever gave out. All three might have justified the expense. But I got lost in spec's and didn't know what I didn't know about pumps: flow and rpm and volume and head, etc, etc. All greek to me...

What do you use? And could you empty/circulate your pool with it?
 
Dirk said:
Yep. Just a threaded end that fits where your return's eyeball goes, then reducer to get down to 3/4", then 45° elbow, then T, 3/4" PVC in between, caps on the ends of the T. Then just drill a bunch of holes to suit. I think I used 1/8" drill bit. That would vary based on number of holes, number of returns, pump flow, etc. Requires a bit of experimenting. Start with a handful of small holes then increase size and/or number as needed. I didn't glue anything, so adjusting lengths and holes and angles is easy enough.
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That sounds easy! Thanks!
 
My husband is impressed! His coworkers who have pools recommended their pool guys to him, but when I told him I’d do it myself, he seemed skeptical. I’m going to “show him the way” so he can help me and I told him to tell his coworkers about TFP.
 

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Dirk said:
I was trying to decide on a pump. I was looking for one that could do this aeration trick, but could also be used for emptying the pool, and for emergency circulation for a few days if the main pump ever gave out. All three might have justified the expense. But I got lost in spec's and didn't know what I didn't know about pumps: flow and rpm and volume and head, etc, etc. All greek to me...

What do you use? And could you empty/circulate your pool with it?
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Dirk,

I use a Superior utility pump that I purchased from Amazon. It's a 1/3 horsepower and works great. It has an adapter so you can use it with either a 1 1/4 fitting or with a standard garden hose. If you're gonna empty a lot of water, the 1 1/4 fitting is the way to go. It is much faster than the garden hose (3/4" fitting". I built a little extension with PVC that I attach to my home made aerator with a union so it's easy to remove.

https://www.amazon.com/Superior-Pump-Thermoplastic-Submersible-91330/dp/B000X07GQS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1521670210&sr=8-1&keywords=superior+utility+pump
 
Hi all! The pool is doing great and I've gotten the hang of maintaining it. I do have a question about my plumbing set up. When the builder sent someone out to show me how everything works, I noticed there was a spigot after the pump and before the filter, when I asked him what that was for and he said it had no purpose, that it was placed there by the plumber for something they needed to do. Is that right? Could it be used for draining the pool? Here is a picture of my set up, I drew a circle where the spigot is. It is possible to connect a hose to it to drain the pool if I ever have to?
IMG_2436.jpg
 
The adjustments to your pH (MA add) will slowly bring your TA down. As Texas Splash mentioned, the low CH and high TA help cancel any bad effects. Most important for now is to test your FC and pH at least daily and adjust as necessary. Start keeping logs of your measurements and you will find a pattern developing.

Your FC is 5.0 at 2:15PM. If it is a sunny day it might drop to or below 4.0 (your absolute minimum) by sunset. You should shoot for 7-8 in AM and see what it is after the sun is off the pool. Then you can start to track your daily FC consumption. pH is good but I'll bet is near 7.8 tomorrow AM with the high TA. Adding MA daily to a new plastered pool is normal.

You might want to measure your fill water and provide the numbers. It will help you, and us, understand what the fill water is doing to your pool water chemistry.

I love the "cocktail cove"!!
 
peirek said:
The adjustments to your pH (MA add) will slowly bring your TA down. As Texas Splash mentioned, the low CH and high TA help cancel any bad effects. Most important for now is to test your FC and pH at least daily and adjust as necessary. Start keeping logs of your measurements and you will find a pattern developing.

Your FC is 5.0 at 2:15PM. If it is a sunny day it might drop to or below 4.0 (your absolute minimum) by sunset. You should shoot for 7-8 in AM and see what it is after the sun is off the pool. Then you can start to track your daily FC consumption. pH is good but I'll bet is near 7.8 tomorrow AM with the high TA. Adding MA daily to a new plastered pool is normal.

You might want to measure your fill water and provide the numbers. It will help you, and us, understand what the fill water is doing to your pool water chemistry.

I love the "cocktail cove"!!
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Thanks! I've been keeping a log of what and how much I've been having to add daily so I can find a pattern. I'll try testing and adding fc in the am and testing again after sundown to see how much I'm losing.
 

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