Install Day 1... to be continued...

[cramar]

That's a huge pool, looks great!!

 

[Speedo]

I'll post a newer pic (of mine) tonight so you can see the mini version!

 

[BethyM]

Would love to see one, Speedo! I don't know about mini, but mine does feel quite large. Fortunately the neighbors have a 33' so mine doesn't dwarf the neighborhood.

So, the water has just hit the bottom set of the screws in the middle of the skimmer. I've got drips going on where the hose hooks up to the pump basket and where the hose connects to the top of the sand filter.... thoughts?? Going to call the installer, fortunately he's a street over doing an install today!! I haven't turned anything on yet!

 

[Speedo]

I've got drips going on where the hose hooks up to the pump basket and where the hose connects to the top of the sand filter.... thoughts?? Going to call the installer, fortunately he's a street over doing an install today!! I haven't turned anything on yet!

Unfortunately it's probably best to stop filling and get them back out to fix the leaks before filling the rest and definitely before turning it on. Although you can close the skimmer valve, so as long as that will stop the leak. Maybe it won't matter if you continue filling while waiting for them to come check it.

 

[BethyM]

How do I close the skimmer valve??

 

[techguy]

How do I close the skimmer valve??

If you have one, it would be in the pipe or tubing that comes off the bottom of the skimmer housing that hangs off the side of the pool. This photo shows the skimmer housing on the left and the return fitter on the right. Niether hose has valve. Not all installations include valves. I don't have any valve in my piping. My LPS suggests not having valves as they can burn up pumps if left in the wrong position and your pump timer comes on.

Sometimes they look like this if they are mounted by the pump motor and filter.

 

[BethyM]

Bummer, don't have one of those. The upgrade to Pvc may happen sooner than later. Going to drop by his other install if i haven't heard back once we get done at library program.

 

[Speedo]

If you have one, it would be in the pipe or tubing that comes off the bottom of the skimmer housing that hangs off the side of the pool. This photo shows the skimmer housing on the left and the return fitter on the right. Niether hose has valve. Not all installations include valves. I don't have any valve in my piping. My LPS suggests not having valves as they can burn up pumps if left in the wrong position and your pump timer comes on.

How do you stop the water flow if you're trying to empty the pump basket, or any change to the piping, etc? (Do you use the tennis ball trick?) Even with that setup the filter can be closed if you want to damage the pump. :blah:

The standard valve they (Atlantis) put in is a push/pull lever under the skimmer, when the handle is pulled out it is open. Maybe they didn't install one. Obviously the main point here was that you should be able to close off the skimmer, if not there are ways to close it off. I've heard people mention using a tennis ball (w/o the basket, inside the skimmer) to close it off temporarily. Have you been able to get them back to fix the leak yet..?

Honestly - I would want PVC, but to get started I might favor making them come back and fix their mistake!

Here is the baby cousin!

Don't worry about the small headaches, it will all be worth it soon! And you won't have the "normal" problems everyone hates most... algae, cloudy water, etc. Replacing sand that is just fine, $300/mo pool store bills, etc. No one seems to ask me why I don't have any of these problems (even though in every pool discussion I try to advertise TFP). I can't push anyone who doesn't want to listen.

 

[BethyM]

Love the baby cousin They did come back. The O-ring at the top where it connects to the sand filter was smashed when the dude put it on. He didn't line it up right so it wasn't sealing. They replaced it. They also reseated the filter basket down by the pump. As for the rest of the fittings, they are these cheap plastic hoses with hose clamps... they tightened them but not sure it gets better so hubby is thinking he may just do the PVC this weekend and be done with it. I love the tennis ball idea -- he just told me to try to find a stopper that we could use so we could work on the filter without losing the pool water.

Yes, we have the shutoff valve below the skimmer right before the pump... pulled out is open, pushed in is closed. I closed it while I was waiting and it sorta slowed the flow When the electrician was back to fix the pump cord we got everything going.

SO... drumroll--- we've had our first swim!!! AND I did my first 'pool' water test. The swim was a balmy 75.... but the kids had fun. No pictures because I was the in water supervisor -- brrrr.

FC=.5
CC=0
PH=7.2
Here's where it gets fun....
TA=425
CH=550

I did the TA and CH test with the 'expanded' directions to save on reagent since I knew they were high. I did not test for CYA since all I have so far is the 1inch tabs. Going to get some CYA in a sock tonight and do another dose of chlorine... I added like 45oz of bleach this morning and put 5oz of trichlor in the floater.

One thing, this sucker is big!! You don't realize it til you're on one side of the pool and your kid is on the other and they look small Taking the solar cover off is a BEAST. I don't think I can get it back on myself so going to have hubby help me.

Much fun to come! Thanks for everyone's support!

 

[techguy]

How do you stop the water flow if you're trying to empty the pump basket, or any change to the piping, etc? (Do you use the tennis ball trick?) Even with that setup the filter can be closed if you want to damage the pump.

For me, I just remove the skimmer basket and stick one 4 foot section of the AquaBug hose (with the adapter cone) into the outlet of the skimmer. Now all I have is the water in the suction line hose to deal with and I just let the gallon or two flow on the ground. Any standard vacuum hose that plugs into the skimmer outlet would do the same thing. if the hose is in the water, it could start a siphon, that's why I use one section of hose. It flops over some but cannot start a siphon.

With the hose hanging out of the skimmer like a floppy soccer corner flag, it's easy to know it's there. When I remove the hose, most of the hose fills up and then I need to let the air out of the pump basket. I just open the lid slightly and "burp" out the air and a little water. If the pump basket is 80% water and 20% air, I can skip the burping, it won't lose suction. I have turned on the pump with the hose in the skimmer but you know very quickly (by noise) that the pump is dry.

I got this method from the owner at the LPS where I bought the pool. I have used it for 7 years with few hassles. I have never really ever considered going to PVC as I can move the hoses around to meet my needs in a few seconds/minutes. I have replaced my hoses a couple time in those years and I keep one spare.

 

[BethyM]

How do you stop the water flow if you're trying to empty the pump basket, or any change to the piping, etc? (Do you use the tennis ball trick?) Even with that setup the filter can be closed if you want to damage the pump.

For me, I just remove the skimmer basket and stick one 4 foot section of the AquaBug hose (with the adapter cone) into the outlet of the skimmer. Now all I have is the water in the suction line hose to deal with and I just let the gallon or two flow on the ground. Any standard vacuum hose that plugs into the skimmer outlet would do the same thing. if the hose is in the water, it could start a siphon, that's why I use one section of hose. It flops over some but cannot start a siphon.

With the hose hanging out of the skimmer like a floppy soccer corner flag, it's easy to know it's there. When I remove the hose, most of the hose fills up and then I need to let the air out of the pump basket. I just open the lid slightly and "burp" out the air and a little water. If the pump basket is 80% water and 20% air, I can skip the burping, it won't lose suction. I have turned on the pump with the hose in the skimmer but you know very quickly (by noise) that the pump is dry.

I got this method from the owner at the LPS where I bought the pool. I have used it for 7 years with few hassles. I have never really ever considered going to PVC as I can move the hoses around to meet my needs in a few seconds/minutes. I have replaced my hoses a couple time in those years and I keep one spare.

Interesting idea -- we have a Patriot Auto Vacuum -- haven't opened the box but I think that would work. Maybe we just need better hoses! Ok, here's what I can't figure out. How do you deal with the water at the return hole? Won't it drain out down to the level of the hole? Would be nice to find a way to deal with this without losing piles of the water I just put in there!!

 

[techguy]

How do you deal with the water at the return hole? Won't it drain out down to the level of the hole? Would be nice to find a way to deal with this without losing piles of the water I just put in there!!

First, plug the suction line using the skimmer and vacuum hose trick. Then, for the return side, I remove the hose leaving the filter and quickly loop the hose over the wall in back into the pool. If the hose is long enough, it should stay in the pool by placing a heavy pool toy on top of it.

If I am going to working on the filter for a bit, like when I change my DE, I first plug the skimmer, then I remove the suction line/hose from the bottom of the skimmer body and then I move the return line from the filter out connector to the bottom connector of the skimmer (where the suction line was). This creates a loop of hose from the skimmer body to the return fitting and the pool and filter are not connected.

When you remove the hoses full of water, you will get some rushing of water out of the hose but if you lift the end of the hose above the water line (about 5 feet in the air), the water stops flowing and you can move pretty easily. If you give it a quick move up before moving down to the fitting, you might get your self about 1 second to get the hose onto the fitting but after you have done it a few times, it's easy and not a big stress situation.

The gal at the LPS told me about these methods when I asked about which valves I should add to my hoses. Her answer...none. She had her pool for 30 years without valves. I asked why no valves, she said valves were the number one reason people kill (burn up) pumps. If you close a valve in a suction line, the pump cannot draw water and the pump gets hot, the seals fail and the pump runs dry.

I know it may be different for in-grounds and AG systems with more returns and drains and what all. I have a simple system. One skimmer, one suction line to my pump, the pump and filter are directly connected to each other with a union and the return line back to the pool. My hoses are between 3 feet on the suction side and 6 feet on the return side, both 1.5 inches flexible hose. WAIT! I have one valve in my system... a valve in the backwash connector of my filter... that is more hassle than it's worth. I just remove and clean my filter as opposed to backwashing it.

 

[supertune]

Really Nice Pool!
You'll be a Pro in no time hanging around here!
Here's what I use to plug off the water from my pool...
My "Swim N Play" 21' pool skimmer and the replacement Hayward skimmer under the basket has "1 1/2 fitting threads to use these Hayward winter plugs.
Use the tool to remove the ball seat in my return fitting and the plug screws in there also.
This is what I do to plug the skimmer and return from the pool any time I need to stop water to work on pump system or close up pool.
See here:
http://www.poolpartsonline.com/p-680-winter-plugs.aspx

Winter Plug - Plastic 1½In Raised Male W/O-Ring ASP1022C
Price: $1.45

Directional Removal Tool SP1419T Price: $4.09

http://www.poolpartsonline.com/p-24...-return-fitting-parts-hayward-pool-parts.aspx

Complete Return Fitting SP1023 Price: $7.73

Ball Seat Part #: SPX1419B1 Price: $4.76

Chuck

 

[BethyM]

Thanks for the info Chuck. I'll have hubby look at it.

I put the CYA in a sock last night and added a bottle of bleach -- since my FC was .5 I thought I had calculated a dose to bring it up to 2.75/3ppm... I added a 128oz bottle of bleach and think it was too much! I'm not sure if I didn't use the calculator right, or if the volume of water isn't what we expect or what...

My FC was 6 about an hour after adding it but I did have about .5 CCs. I figured since we pumped the kiddie pool in that had been out a few days I'd added some organics and that's where the CCs came from.

This morning, FC is 5.5 and CC is 0... I assume this means I need to leave it be and test later today? I don't want my target FC to be this high, right? We aren't planning to swim til tonight but at what FC levels is it still "safe" to swim?

The CYA is still dissolving and the pump is running, not sure if I should run it all day or not? Solar cover is on hoping that a hot midwest day will make the water more tolerable tonight - it's my oldest son's 11th birthday!

 

[Speedo]

Definitely leave the cover on when not in use, the wind will suck the heat right out of your pool!

as supertune said, get a plug for the return, they should have given you one. You can buy them at the pool store for a couple bucks. Much easier than messing with hoses, you screw it in and it's done. (after unscrewing the eyeball)

but as I'm typing, I start thinking... maybe your install was done different than mine. I'm guessing the PVC was the installers choice and maybe Atlantis didn't request that he do that. Probably included in his fee.

You can estimate how much CYA you believe is in the pool and use the CYA / Chlorine relationship chart. Under shock level is ok to swim in. If CYA is still very low, taking the cover off will allow FC to be consumed quickly by the sun.

EDIT: I would run the pump 24/7 at least until the CYA has completely dissolved. I run mine 24/7 on low. Rarely on high unless cleaning.

 

[BethyM]

Definitely leave the cover on when not in use, the wind will suck the heat right out of your pool!

as supertune said, get a plug for the return, they should have given you one. You can buy them at the pool store for a couple bucks. Much easier than messing with hoses, you screw it in and it's done. (after unscrewing the eyeball)

EDIT: I would run the pump 24/7 at least until the CYA has completely dissolved. I run mine 24/7 on low. Rarely on high unless cleaning.

Will ask about the plug when we go in there. Might take water and let them "Test" it. first sock of cya dissolved, need to put other half in. The container was only 4 pounds so I'm pretty sure I don't have enough. Another side effect of the bigger pool. I did find out they will exchange my Cal hypo "shock" for liquid! Wondering what else I should offer to exchange.... not sure I need the algeacide though it is polyquat. Maybe I can swap it for more cya. Oh, and the ph down isn't muriatic.... I can't remember what it is. I don't need to lower pH right now but not sure about that product.

 

[linen]

Might take water and let them "Test" it. first sock of cya dissolved, need to put other half in. The container was only 4 pounds so I'm pretty sure I don't have enough. Another side effect of the bigger pool. I did find out they will exchange my Cal hypo "shock" for liquid! Wondering what else I should offer to exchange.... not sure I need the algeacide though it is polyquat. Maybe I can swap it for more cya. Oh, and the ph down isn't muriatic.... I can't remember what it is. I don't need to lower pH right now but not sure about that product.

I would return the polyquat and the ph down for now. By the way, you can buy cya at hardware stores and walmart etc., muriatic acid can be bought at home improvement stores and hardware stores.

 

[Speedo]

The best thing at Atlantis, is the metal thermometer The one I get is weighted and it's only $8. Their liquid chlorine is pricey. I would hunt down items that are worth the cost. Maybe some extra seals, or lube for them. Extra return eyeballs if you want to make a fountain, leaf rake, extra skimming net, etc.

I would rather have liquid than cal-hypo, but in store credit might be the best if you can find a way to spend it.

Do you have a Meijer close by? The best price I can find on liquid chlorine (non-sale) is $12.49 for 4 gal of 10%.

So how's everything coming along..? New pics?

 

[BethyM]

Its good... we got in tonight for my sons birthday, well everyone but dad who sat on the ladder.... it warmed up to near 80! I don't know what he was complaining about.

We have to get the steps weighted down. Especially when we take outside ladder off they are floaty! I definitely overshot the chlorine addition.... its at 5 and wasn't as comfortable to swim in as I would have liked. Hoping some will burn off but I think the solar cover is keeping it in?

Other HAS to be a better way to do the solar cover.... I need tips and tricks cause its sooooo cumbersome. I know its size is part if the issue but I'm not sure how I'll do it alone!

Pics would look the same. Going to try to get some of it in action but that requires a water supervisor that isn't me!

 

[Speedo]

With our cover being 6' shorter than yours i'm sure it's much easier. My method has been to try and roll it up the way a reel would and then I fold it in half and again in half (so it's about 1/4 the length in 4 sections), this makes it manageable enough for me to carry it over to where I have a tarp to cover it with so the sun doesn't burn it up when we're not using it for days at a time.

Many people cut their covers in half, that would probably be the best way for you since 30' is a massive cover to deal with.

My FC usage on a sunny day is about 1.7ppm with the cover and around 5 without it.