Trying to Get Rid of the Pool Cleaning Blues with Robotic Cleaner

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thomas kleaton

Member
Apr 18, 2025
14
opelika, al
Hi! I am new to the forum. Wife and I have a 30000 gallon inground pool (I tried measuring it and it comes out to more like 25-28,000 gallons) and I am wanting to purchase something I can put in the water and have it reasonably clean the
over-winter muck from the pool floor. This pool has a 4' deep shallow end and 8' deep end. I am 61 years old and the constant strain of trying to vacuum it out (only to hear my pump
run dry after a few minutes of vacuuming) is taking its toll in the hot summers here in Opelika, Al.

I don't mind vacuuming , but want a robotic cleaner to cut down on losing all that water going out the Waste pipe (75 gallons a minute!)

I don't have $2000 for a unit, and don't care to have a Polaris that requires a separate pump, so am wondering if something like the Aiper Seagull Pro ZT6002, Dolphin Nautilus CC, or Aqua Products Evo614iq might
do the trick, although I couldn't care less about wifi on a pool cleaner.

I will listen, with gratitude, to any advice given.

Thanks!

-Thomas
 
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Jim: I like the Evo in the review; seems solid. Do I really need one with wifi? For instance, is the 604 the same thing with no wifi? I liked your review, and have no experience with wifi on pool robots, so is
there a benefit if I plan to use the pool cleaner only when I am present doing yard work?
 
Thomas,

The 614iQ can be controlled by an app.. You can schedule it to run when you want.. You can manually 'drive' it around, and it will climb the wall so it is easier to take out of the pool..

I can live without all of this things... :mrgreen:

I almost never use the app, so for me the 604 would work just fine... The same robot, but just no app.

No matter which one you select, you really need to get the extra fine filter.. Costs an extra $50 bucks, but well worth it..

Just to be clear.. To start the 604, you need to manually push a button on the power center... It will run one time and then shut off..

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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Jim:
Is there a lot of difference between the 604 and the 502? I can find the 502 on sale, but sometimes the saying you get what you pay for comes into play.
Who is a reliable seller for this machine, and can you order (or substitute) the ultra fine filter at same time as ordering robot?

Thanks,

Thomas
 
Thomas,

I buy all my robots from Marina Pool and Spa.. Free 2 day delivery and no taxes.. You used to have to call them to get it for the In-house-sale price, but not sure that is still true.

They used to swap out the filter baskets, but I don't think they do that any more as they got in trouble... :mrgreen: But you can ask..

I think the 502 is a much cheaper machine for a reason.. I do not recommend it.

marinapoolspaandpatio.com

Home - Marina Pool Spa & Patio

RoboticPool CleanersResidential Polaris Suctionand Pressure SideReplacement Parts Maytronics RoboticPool CleanerReplacement Parts Polaris RoboticPool CleanerReplacement Parts Treasure GardenPatioFurniture Covers Pool and SpaChemicals Commercial Pool Products Above GroundSwimming Pools Hot Tubs...
marinapoolspaandpatio.com marinapoolspaandpatio.com

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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Once I get it clean, will need to chlorinate. I was going to install a CircuPool RJ-45 salt conversion this year, but decided to wait until off-season, mainly because of needing pool robot more.

I've been using one floating chlorine tablet dispenser, but had to tie it in the middle of pool with strings to keep it out of skimmer. It doesn't do a good job of keeping the chlorine levels up. I usually
purchase 50 lbs of C3 stabilized chlorine tablets.

Any ideas for a better chlorinating system?
 

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Pool Essentials chlorinating liquid at Wal Mart for $5.67 a gallon. Says one gallon is equal to two chlorine tablets, but it's only 10% as compared to others with 12%. Since a 3" tablet weighs about 8 oz, and it's $180 for 50 lbs, that makes each tablet approx. $1.80. Since I figure about 6 tablets a week, in liquid chlorine that would work out at about $17.01 a week, or $10.80 for tablets. I may have miscalculated, but is there an economical way to buy liquid chlorine? I know I would have to keep the CYA level in spec. with liquid.
 
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Give it a try. Test CYA every two weeks. Raise FC levels to match CYA. When CYA reaches 60 ppm, drain half the pool volume and start over.

May need to add baking soda to counteract the acidic nature of the trichlor.
 
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I made sure alkalinity, ph were in ideal range, and then added 8 lbs of pool stabilizer. Once I confirmed CYA was good I added four gallons of 10 percent
liquid chlorine. FC levels are now in ideal range. I just wish I'd looked around for a better deal on CYA. I spent $40 at Wal Mart for eight pounds and could probably have purchased 50 pounds for little
more than that. I haven't received Evo 604 robot yet.

I wondered why I would shock pool in the past and it would be green a few days later. I didn't know that if CYA levels aren't correct sunlight can burn up all available chlorine in 17 minutes.
 
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I received pool robot yesterday and want to try it out today. As you can see, pool is filthy. I tried to remove most of the leaves with my deep leaf rake, but can't get
them all. Is this mess going to gunk up the robot so quick that I need to remove it and clean the basket after a few passes?pool 001.JPG
 
You need a proper test kit to clear the pool. Here are our recommendations...Link-->Test Kits Compared
I recommend this kit. TF-Pro
To clear the algae in the pool, follow the SLAM process. Link-->SLAM Process
You cannot SLAM without your own kit.
The robot can help you clear debris, but it will not kill algae. You need to follow the SLAM process.
 
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That is dead algae from using HTH green-to-blue kit on bottom of pool in the photo. Pool water is clear and all of my levels (cya, free chlorine, alkalinity, ph) are in range. I wanted
a pool robot because constant vacuuming was using up my pool water and I would usually lose vacuum after 10 or 15 minutes (No holes in piping.) I want to be able to get up most of the debris
with robot and then vacuum any remaining residue if necessary.
 
thomas kleaton said:
That is dead algae from using HTH green-to-blue kit on bottom of pool in the photo.
Click to expand...
Dead algae is not green. There is still plenty of live algae in that mess.

EDIT: You should have mentioned earlier that you used the Green-to-Blue. That contains a floculant that MUST be vacuumed to waste. Depending on how fine the robot's filter is it will either just shoot right through it, or it will get caught and foul up the filter media. You can't use any kind of filter to clean up floc.
 
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