I'm a new home and pool owner as of December of 2016. My pool is 25k gallons, and yes, I get my water tested at Leslies. I still haven't found any reason to pay for a test kit when Leslies is 5 minutes away and does it for free. I've been able to maintain my pool and just fought, and I believe won, a battle with algae. After all was said and done, I finished raising alkalinity ( I know everything was done out of order ) by adding around 9 lbs of baking soda. Man! What a difference it made just visually. That baking soda makes my water look so much more blue! I'm going to get all my levels tested in the next day or so and add all my values into the pool calculator so I can add some borax. I need to raise my PH and I want some nice looking water, and the added benefits of borates to inhibit the algae growth. I know, I'm probably wrong on my though process and verbiage here, but I'm incredibly new to all this. My only real concern comes from my pump. It's a sand filter, although I'd have to double check on the model. I just know its a Hayward. We were told that the sand has all been replaced, but when we bought the house I found spare bags of all purpose sand in the yard. I'm concerned that the all purpose sand is what's in the filter, but all seems to be working fine. After a backwash, my filter's "baseline" PSI is 15psi. Should I go ahead and crack it open and take a look? I don't even know the difference between clean/dirty pool/all purpose sand.
Hello from Norfolk, VA!
- Thread starter j.howell616
- Start date
Welcome to TFP J!
The next time you pull a sample to test, pull one for the store 5 minutes away and another for the one 15 minutes away. Compare the results, then come back here and we'll have a good laugh and talk about recommendations for quality test kits.
Or, if your LPS is anything like mine, look back at the history of tests and watch how levels of things that MUST be added to increase in count, increase without you adding anything, or vice-versa...
The next time you pull a sample to test, pull one for the store 5 minutes away and another for the one 15 minutes away. Compare the results, then come back here and we'll have a good laugh and talk about recommendations for quality test kits.
Or, if your LPS is anything like mine, look back at the history of tests and watch how levels of things that MUST be added to increase in count, increase without you adding anything, or vice-versa...
Would I be able to save us both the trouble and just get the recommendation? Ha! I don't want to break the bank, but cover all my basics.
lol. Sure. Unless you're already disciplined in avoiding the sales pitches, getting a kit and following TFP principals will more than pay for the kit.
I like my TF-100. The Taylor K2006 is also recommended. The TF-100 is customed-taylored to suit the TFP methodology. Both kits use Taylor reagents.
Whichever you choose, treat yourself to a SpeedStir. It's a luxury, but you're being financially responsible by buying the kit, so you deserve it.
I like my TF-100. The Taylor K2006 is also recommended. The TF-100 is customed-taylored to suit the TFP methodology. Both kits use Taylor reagents.
Whichever you choose, treat yourself to a SpeedStir. It's a luxury, but you're being financially responsible by buying the kit, so you deserve it.
cfherrman
TFP Guide
All purpose sand will plug up fast, so you should know if it's in there. I ran home Depot play sand in my small sand filter when I first started a few years ago
I'm not too sure how fast "fast" is, but I can run my pump continuously for a couple weeks with my barracuda g3 intermittently and then back wash it. Seams reasonable, I think.
That seems reasonable. I probably wouldn't bother exchanging that sand under those conditions. Continuously running your pump... A two or variable speed pump I hope? If not, we need to talk about your next responsible purchase! (or adjusting your runtime...)
I have no idea. All I know is that it's a pump connected to my filter and I flip a switch. I don't think there is any way to adjust speed, unless I'm just missing what you're saying.
Single-speed pumps are very common, but I'd argue that they shouldn't be. I had one. It was loud, pushed a ton of water whether I needed it to or not and it consumed over 2,000 watts of electricity. When it started to make a bearing noise, I replaced it with a programmable variable-speed pump. I can run the new pump for longer periods but slower speeds, so the pool stays cleaner while producing less noise and using less electricity. A LOT less electricity. The consumption isn't linear, so half the speed uses less than half the electricity. Most of my run-time is programmed to be slow. It's almost silent and consumes 170 watts!
It's also possible that your utility company will offer a rebate if you upgrade. Mine didn't, but it's worth checking into.
It's also possible that your utility company will offer a rebate if you upgrade. Mine didn't, but it's worth checking into.