New guy with questions

[poweranimal]

Hello all from Surprise AZ! So I came from Washington state, so I have no idea about anything pool related. The pool looked great when I bought the house a month ago, but I figured I’d drain it and clean it since the jets are loose and there was some staining on the floor and it hasn’t been drained in 8 years.

So it appears to be a colored plaster with quartz. Has a couple cracks I need to fix as well. Info on the web is conflicting at best.

Some info first:
15,000 gallon oblong pool. Everything works. Water level is halfway up the skimmer. Skimmer baskets cleaned daily. Pump is on 6 hours a day at 2400 rpm (1 hp pump). Jets are pointed just under surface and in a circular pattern back toward the skimmer. MX6 robot with the black lever thing on the pump at roughly 50/50 vacuum/skimmer.

1) The skimmer doesn’t seem to skim the surface despite my best efforts. It’s pulling in lots of water but the surface just remains dirty, especially if there’s a cover on it
2) Is acid washing my pool fairly idiot proof? Anything to look out for, or additional products to use?
3) While it’s now empty, is there anything else I should do to the pool before filling it again?
4) Is there a way to remove the massive calcium line on the tiles? I’ve tried every chemical I have with a steel brush on a drill, and not even a spec of it comes off.
5) Do you have to replaster the pool at some point, or can I keep repairing cracks forever? Pool built in 2003. Cracks are small but long, but they have cracked a couple tiles.
6) Anyway to get my robot to stop getting stuck on stairs?
7) Are the eyeball jets the best kind to get since I’ll be replacing them?
8) Do pool cover reels work well with oblong pools?

Well, I think that’s all the questions for quite a while.

Here’s a pic of the pool if it loads.

 

[Jimrahbe]

PA,

First, you do not have a 'Robot' cleaner.. Robots run off of low voltage DC and do not have a hose.

You have a suction side cleaner and this may be the reason your skimmer does not work well.. Skimmers work off of suction. If you use half the suction for your cleaner, then your skimmer only has about half the suction it needs to work well.

For a skimmer to "skim" it needs to have a weir door between the pool and the skimmer basket. It is not uncommon for the weir door to be missing on old pools. Does your skimmer have an operating weir door??

I had a plaster problem with a rent house pool and while it was empty, I acid washed it.. If I can do it, anyone can do it. Plenty of U-tube videos.. Acid washing removed most of the staining... But of course that did not fix the basic problem with the plaster itself.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[poweranimal]

Pool robot sounds nice, then I don’t have to steal suction from elsewhere. Unless they make that black lever on a motor so it can be moved remotely. No need for it to vacuum for 6 hours.

Weir door works.

I figured acid washing was simple, but I overlook the small things quite frequently. Thank you for the reply!

 

[mgtfp]

Just be aware that each acid wash takes a layer of plaster away and reduces the remaining lifetime of the plaster. Important to consider this and weigh the benefits against the risks.