Hola Peopolas!

[ZcottD]

I'm trash at intro threads but I'll give this a go.

Been taking care of my mothers pool for 2 years now, maybe 3. Had a pool since I was 2 and im 36 now so its about time I know what I'm doing I guess.

Its an in-ground vinyl pool, I figure between 15k-17k gallons, little tricky to calculate because of its shape. Pretty basic, it has an old Hayward 1.5hp Super Pump that can't spell energy efficient and doesn't know how to stop working, along with a Hayward Perflex EC65A, and a small Hayward offline chlorinator.

I first found TFP when I was researching automatic cleaners and saw everyone's love of robotic cleaners. We had a 1990ish Arneson pool sweep and my parents came to hate the booster pumps that were needed then for cleaners once old Arnie died. Ended up grabbing the Barracuda MX8 Elite on a good deal recently since my mother refused to let me put in a robotic cleaner that had a power cord. The thing does a great job, stuck a Hayward canister with a mesh bag in the line and its been solid this season for me.

The first year I was taking care of the pool, I did it just like I saw my dad do, and what my mother said he did. Went through a 25 lb bag of DE, half a 30 lb bucket of chlorine tablets, and a few things of algaecide/pH up in the season, which in New England is like 4 months or so. Thought it over after the season ended and was like, ok there has to be a better way. Google, TFP, and a good local pool place got me down to 10 lbs of DE, 10 lbs of chlorine tablets, and I didn't have to do anything with pH after I fixed my calcium hardness issue that I didn't know I had. So that helped me cut down the regular costs of having the pool. Learning the proper way to bump the filter back and thoroughly clean it was good too.

Every year my dad had an algae problem, my weak point was brushing and vacuuming the pool and thats where the barracuda comes in handy, I can be lazy and let it do all that.

So far this season the pool has been perfectly clear and has had no algae, and TFP can easily claim 33% of the credit for that. haha

Oh ya and I'm a terrible person cuz I don't own a test kit other than the little cheat strips, don't hurt me!

 

[domct203]

I'm trash at intro threads but I'll give this a go.

Been taking care of my mothers pool for 2 years now, maybe 3. Had a pool since I was 2 and im 36 now so its about time I know what I'm doing I guess.

Its an in-ground vinyl pool, I figure between 15k-17k gallons, little tricky to calculate because of its shape. Pretty basic, it has an old Hayward 1.5hp Super Pump that can't spell energy efficient and doesn't know how to stop working, along with a Hayward Perflex EC65A, and a small Hayward offline chlorinator.

I first found TFP when I was researching automatic cleaners and saw everyone's love of robotic cleaners. We had a 1990ish Arneson pool sweep and my parents came to hate the booster pumps that were needed then for cleaners once old Arnie died. Ended up grabbing the Barracuda MX8 Elite on a good deal recently since my mother refused to let me put in a robotic cleaner that had a power cord. The thing does a great job, stuck a Hayward canister with a mesh bag in the line and its been solid this season for me.

The first year I was taking care of the pool, I did it just like I saw my dad do, and what my mother said he did. Went through a 25 lb bag of DE, half a 30 lb bucket of chlorine tablets, and a few things of algaecide/pH up in the season, which in New England is like 4 months or so. Thought it over after the season ended and was like, ok there has to be a better way. Google, TFP, and a good local pool place got me down to 10 lbs of DE, 10 lbs of chlorine tablets, and I didn't have to do anything with pH after I fixed my calcium hardness issue that I didn't know I had. So that helped me cut down the regular costs of having the pool. Learning the proper way to bump the filter back and thoroughly clean it was good too.

Every year my dad had an algae problem, my weak point was brushing and vacuuming the pool and thats where the barracuda comes in handy, I can be lazy and let it do all that.

So far this season the pool has been perfectly clear and has had no algae, and TFP can easily claim 33% of the credit for that. haha

Oh ya and I'm a terrible person cuz I don't own a test kit other than the little cheat strips, don't hurt me!

Welcome to the forum, neighbor!

Don't be so hard on yourself, I'm sure your not a terrible person LOL.

If you should decide to take control of your pool yourself, and get a proper test kit, we will be glad to help with any pool chemistry questions/issues you may have. Eventually the CYA from those tablets is going to catch up to you, and make your FC ineffective.

Seeing that you have a vinyl liner, what was your "calcium hardness issue that you didn't know you had"? Your CH level really shouldn't directly effect your pH.

 

[Jezza]

Well you know the proper test kit might be able to help out even more because if you know what your results are you only need to give your pool the stuff that it actually needs. Testing with a proper test kit will also allow you to forsee any potential problems before they get worse.

 

[duraleigh]

Oh ya and I'm a terrible person cuz I don't own a test kit other than the little cheat strips, don't hurt me!

TFP is centered around accurate testing and then knowing what to do with the test results. I am glad your method is working for you but it is not what we teach.

 

[ZcottD]

What, another CTer? I didnt think there were enough of us to have more than 1 on each forum?

So my calcium hardness issue was from the fact that I wasn't checking it cuz its not part of the crappy test strips and so I did nothing to maintain it. We use city water to fill the pool up when its low and after opening/closing, and the town started putting phosphates into the water, another item not on the test strips, so when I took a water sample to my local pool place my hardness was like 20, and my phosphates would have been a record attendance at Madison Square Gardens. lol. After getting the phosphates out and balancing the hardness the pH and chlorine levels stopped jumping around so much.

I don't doubt how good an actual test kit is. Think its a great way to go, but I struggle to use them being red/green colorblind. There is a local pool company thats close that will test water for free and gives me a nice print out. So if things are going well I use the crappy strips and every couple weeks get my water tested for free.

 

[ship of fools]

Low calcium has no impact on a vinyl pool. Just sayin[emoji41]. And phosphates are irrelevant. As Duraleigh said it's good your pool condition makes you happy. I suspect you're trolling [emoji12]

As far as free testing goes just from the chemicals you bought that you didn't need that you mentioned in your post you could have paid for your entire test kit. It's funny how resistant people are too buying one (i plead guilty to it) even though it pays for itself in one season. Just this morning i saw a guy at the hardware store pay $43 for a jug of algaecide because his pool is green even though algaecide doesnt kill algae[emoji849]. That's 3/4 of a test kit right there and as i talked to him he told me he bought another one last week so instead of having a green pool he could own a test kit AND have a clear pool instead of still fighting algae. I suppose it's like leading a horse to water but not being able to make it drink!!

Good luck!

 

[ZcottD]

I'm not trolling. Only 2 things I did last year when the water was cloudy was to adjust the calcium hardness and use a phosphate remover, otherwise I was just keeping up on the chlorine. The day after taking care of the phosphates the pool had cleared up.

From what I've been told and read, low calcium is bad for the vinyl liner, high calcium can make the water cloudy, and phosphates are a good food or something to help algae grow. I've heard people say the liner thing is BS though.

I don't doubt the validity of the test kit, but unless someone makes a colorblind friendly one, I won't be too effective with one. The strips are easier for me to compare because I can have the one I used, an unused one, and the key on the container to gauge the difference in the colors, and even then I sometimes have to wait for someone else to be around and get a second opinion.

And wow $43 bucks for algaecide sounds outrageous.

 

[ship of fools]

The liner thing is definitely bs and you are correct about high calcium levels

 

[domct203]

Vinyl does not require calcium.

There are members here with CH levels up to 1000ppm, without cloudy water. With careful monitoring of their levels, scale is not an issue either.

If the pool is kept algae free with the proper sanitizer levels, 'algae food' is irrelevant..... that's like a buffet in an abandoned building filled with chlorine gas.

 

[ZcottD]

Thats something that I didn't think of, or think that way, in regards to the phosphate level being irrelevant. Maybe I'll relax my phosphate fears some. lol

 

[domct203]

Thats something that I didn't think of, or think that way, in regards to the phosphate level being irrelevant. Maybe I'll relax my phosphate fears some. lol

Absolutely.

Remember, FC to CYA is King, pH Queen.


[edit] Please don't get the impression that CC, TA, & CH don't matter, they really do in the symbiotic relationship with all things in the pool. After a while of routine testing with accurate and somewhat predictable results, you will develop a 'feel' for your pool. [/edit]