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My Dolphin Z5 worked fine for 4-5 months then started getting stuck on our drains. There is a thread from 2016-ish where I detailed cleaning parts and replacing parts one by one, but nothing helped. Now (after 4 years!) I have discovered a solution that does not completely solve the problem but...

One and a half year pool owner here. For the first six months, I followed this forum's instructions exactly. Pool was awesome. But because I am inquisitive, and lazy, I let the chlorine go to zero a few times during the following winter, just to see what happens. So I had to scrub the walls and...

I am sure there are about a thousand posts on this, but when I joined it was not clear. Pouring chlorine. We need to do it slowly. But how slow? You do not want the bottle to "gurgle" when you pour. That means you have left no air gap, and it will splash. IMO, the perfect pour is like pouring...

Our house is five years old. ALL of the original incandescent bulbs have burned out, at least once, and some many more times than that. For sake of argument, let's say those incandescent bulbs consumed 60 watts each. However, most of the bulbs in our home were compact fluorescent (CF). ALL of...

My palms are fickle. Our freeze burned many of my other tropical plants to the ground. Sigh. The best thing about TFP is that there are really only 5-6 things you have to monitor, and precise test kits are available. And much instruction on how to fix what. All these green land-based things...

Got a small whiff of the muriatic acid tonight. Let me say, you do not want to breathe the stuff. My fault. But let me say, if you stay upwind, it won't happen. And if you are side-winds like me, a small whiff is all you will get, if you remember to hold your breath. And the outdoor vapors were...

Just added muriatic acid for the first time. I have been using "pH Down" (dry acid) from Walmart since the pool was built. I had a fear of using hydrochloric acid. Here is what happened. 1. Opened the bottle. It did not explode. 2. Poured it in the pool. I used the same method as pouring...

There is an unmentioned benefit to the TFP method: Now that I have your attention :), we never have to worry about splashing chili on our white poplin shirts. TFP: We have the Bleach

This is a noob question but I don't know the answer. Does splashing chlorine bleach on flagstone coping bleach the rock? I started out assuming it would, but now I am not so sure. If I can confirm it does not affect the rock, this will make my bleach additions much less troublesome and worry free.

Okay, first of all, we had party on July 3rd, not 4th. I was so careful making sure FC = 7, pH = 7.5, etc, water was just right. Party was great, water looked great. Had about 30 people in pool at one time or another. Awesome time. Today (3 days later) I tested water. FC is ZERO! Dang! I guess...

Okay, I read on this forum that the Lamotte test strips are the best...I have some. Is it just me, or do they change color right before your eyes? As in, you have to dip them at the perfect depth, for the perfect length of time, and then read the results after the perfect length of time...

Hello TFPers, My pool is actually already (recently) built, with your help, and I documented some of it. I missed taking pics of some steps, but I thought I should share what I have. We are working on landscaping now, so those developments are yet to come. First, the before: View of the...

Hello, Been reading on here for 7 months, and we started our new (and first) pool with TFP 3 months ago. Fortunately, we have had no chemistry problems, and we have not been pool-stored. Rather, we have had the clearest pool water I have ever seen. But I test (esp FC) almost daily. Lately, I...

Pool is done and we are starting the landscaping process. A (big) local vendor is pushing these Piru Queen palms. The cold-hardiness for normal Queen Palms is 20F. Does anybody in the area have experience with these? Like more than 5 years in the ground? We have had some hard freezes during that...

Hello, I have a simple question that I have been struggling with. Lets say my target FC is 6. If I put in enough bleach to get to 10, will I lose (or waste) more bleach to UV during the next 24 hours, than if I had put in enough to get only to 7? (assuming pool is clean, clear, and CYA = 40)...

Is this easily accomplished? I would like to be able to swap the cleaner port back in if my robot ever needs service. The cleaner is a Pentair Racer if it matters. The Pentair is okay, but I prefer to have an eyeball there. Thanks!

Should I turn off the pump, to let the rainwater hopefully overflow off the top? Or does it matter. Supposed to rain for next four days, I don't know what to do.

OK, my wife wanted an Internet camera so we could see the pool on our home computers. I was initially like, "why?" but as usual it turned out to be a good idea. Here is a screen cap of the cam from media room. Also, the 1st pic of my pool on TFP. Hoping it helps to stir your imaginations. PS...

...how do I post a PhotoBucket link so it shows up as an image instead of a hyperlink? I keep running out of upload room. I don't think I am doing this right. I do know how to upload an image to PhotoBucket and copy the image URL.

Okay, the subject line says it all, the splash put spots on my pants and maybe affected a flagstone. I ordered a Liquidator. I can buy a paver to put the Liquidator on beside my equipment pad. My point is, adding liquid chlorine directly to the pool is not without its own set of hazards. I knew...

Okay it is hard for me to lean down, which impedes me from adding bleach to my pool as regularly as I want. We need a Clorox bottle holder that makes it easier for adding bleach, for those that need it. I am thinking a (contraption?) device made out of PVC, since PVC is so easy to work with, and...

My pool is new, been open for one month. Been following TFP procedures all along. My numbers are TA 90 FC 4.0 CC 0.5 pH 7.7 CH 175 CYA 40 Only been swimming twice, last time i opened my eyes underwater and later my kid said my eyes were "super red." And they stung, for 1-2 days. Now, today, my...

Ok, my free form pool build is done. I want to have a tropical look. Anyone have suggestions on what plants to use in my area? I want a Bali tropical lagoon look, but don't want to buy plants that die when it freezes. I can compromise. Need some help here. Thanks.

Hello, first time pool owner here (just built!), but been lurking around TFP since November. I am planning on using liquid bleach rather than the chlorine tabs/tube dispenser that came with my pool. Can I simply add the bleach to the tube dispenser? I worry about adding bleach directly to the...