Hey Everyone,
Just wanted to make a quick intro and express my appreciation for the community. About 9 years ago we had Anthony and Sylvan put in a 23,500 gal freeform gunite pool, pebble-tec finish, it was called a sports pool 4' on both ends and 6' in the middle. It has a 5 person hot tub w/ cascading spillway into the middle of the pool and a weeping wall / waterfall on one end. We live in a rural area about 60 miles east of Houston, so pretty much everything at our place is DIY, pool included. I have done OK with managing the pool chemistry and upkeep. There is always something to fix, circuit board in the heater, o-rings, no drain acid washing the pebble-tec, check valves, ect. So like it or not, I have learned a lot about keeping a pool running. This year has been especially challenging, in the 9 years we have had the pool we have never seen the trees shed leaves and "new bloom worms" like they did this year. We have 3 young , but mature oak trees in close proximity to the pool. We are usually able to keep up with it through the spring, but this year I threw in the towel and just waited for the trees to finish their business and cleaned up afterwards. It was so bad that we are actually looking into putting a pool cover on it this year. We just did our first drain and refill due to CYA. The CYA was around 180. We drained about 5k gals three times and the CYA is now around 50.
What brings me here is a combination of elevated chemical cost, and really just hoping to establish a CONSISTENT chemical maintenece program, that is good for the pool and the guy taking care of the pool (me). This pool is my wife's baby, we all know how it goes, if they're happy, we're happy. Of course the deal was when we put it in, that she would take care of it, and I would help with the big stuff. And we all know how that goes as well. I have followed different protocols found on the web, pool store, and friends experiences that have pools, but really up until now its just been "fix the biggest problem of the moment" instead of what really works, which is a good maintenance program. So I surrender and join the pool guru community, in hopes that I can do a better job of maintaining, and not fighting fires.
Thanks,
BudT
Just wanted to make a quick intro and express my appreciation for the community. About 9 years ago we had Anthony and Sylvan put in a 23,500 gal freeform gunite pool, pebble-tec finish, it was called a sports pool 4' on both ends and 6' in the middle. It has a 5 person hot tub w/ cascading spillway into the middle of the pool and a weeping wall / waterfall on one end. We live in a rural area about 60 miles east of Houston, so pretty much everything at our place is DIY, pool included. I have done OK with managing the pool chemistry and upkeep. There is always something to fix, circuit board in the heater, o-rings, no drain acid washing the pebble-tec, check valves, ect. So like it or not, I have learned a lot about keeping a pool running. This year has been especially challenging, in the 9 years we have had the pool we have never seen the trees shed leaves and "new bloom worms" like they did this year. We have 3 young , but mature oak trees in close proximity to the pool. We are usually able to keep up with it through the spring, but this year I threw in the towel and just waited for the trees to finish their business and cleaned up afterwards. It was so bad that we are actually looking into putting a pool cover on it this year. We just did our first drain and refill due to CYA. The CYA was around 180. We drained about 5k gals three times and the CYA is now around 50.
What brings me here is a combination of elevated chemical cost, and really just hoping to establish a CONSISTENT chemical maintenece program, that is good for the pool and the guy taking care of the pool (me). This pool is my wife's baby, we all know how it goes, if they're happy, we're happy. Of course the deal was when we put it in, that she would take care of it, and I would help with the big stuff. And we all know how that goes as well. I have followed different protocols found on the web, pool store, and friends experiences that have pools, but really up until now its just been "fix the biggest problem of the moment" instead of what really works, which is a good maintenance program. So I surrender and join the pool guru community, in hopes that I can do a better job of maintaining, and not fighting fires.
Thanks,
BudT
LOL He main job is to mix up the water as he swims LOL. I do just about everything else.
Good year to have a pool in Texas. It's HOT! 
