Over here I got some good advice about how to leave our new pool over the winter. Now it's March, and although St Louis is sure to bring some more chilly weather, it's been a warm March so far, so I'm planning for pool opening. After reading a bunch here, and watching some videos, I think I have a good idea of the very basics, so I'm feeling inspired to try to open myself rather than use the service that closed.

Pool: 17,000 gal, vinyl in-ground, 30ft x 18ft rectangle, Pentair Intellichlor SWG, TF-Pro Salt testing kit

Can you all give me a basic sanity check that I'm on the right track with this opening todo list? This will be my first time opening a pool.

0. I'm think of opening late March. Although the weather won't be warm enough for the family to want to swim, from what I've read it sounds better to open a bit earlier and keep up on water chemistry maintenance rather than opening late and risking warm weather turning the water bad.
1. Remove cover with the metal tool, fold, and put away
2. Cleanup obvious debris in the water, make sure water is around halfway at the skimmer opening
3. Remove jet plugs, point jets up
4. Insert Salt Water Generator (it is currently removed and spacer is it's place) — Question: what setting do I put it on? (see attached picture)
5. Add drain plug and pressure gauge to filter tank
6. Open intake valves — I'm assuming I want them all open at this point (see attached picture)
7. Prime pump by filling with water
8. Turn on pump
Question: what setting do I put the filter on at the beginning — Rise, Recirculate, Backwash, Filter? (see attached picture)
9. Make sure water flowing, no leaks
10. Add robot to start vacuuming and cleaning
11. After letting the water circulate for 30 minutes, test water chemistry
12. Fix water chemistry: this is where I have the biggest questions, so I guess I'll just post my results here once I test, but..
* Some sources say to just focus on chlorine levels at first, to make sure they are high enough to prevent algae from building up
* Other sources like here say to worry about all the levels including salt immediately.
* Since a SWG doesn't work until water is 60 degrees, what type of chlorine should I use in the interim to keep FC levels up?
* I'll be using my TF-Pro salt testing kit for the first time to test chem levels
13. Leave pump running and adjust water chemistry over next couple days
14. Once water levels are stable, keep balanced with regular testing throughout the season

Do I have the basics right? I'd appreciate clarification on steps 4, 8, and 12.

I'm really wanting to try this on my own instead of using a service, so I appreciate your help!

Appreciate any advice or insights on the following-- thank you.
Just finished construction on a new vinyl 20' x 40', 30,000 gallon rectangular pool. We are beginning to suspect that the pump and skimmers are not working properly- either they are not strong enough for the pool size; not programmed correctly (running on high cycle 9am to 5pm then turns off); or not set up/installed correctly or defective. The pump is a Hayward 1.5 hp, 2 floor drains, 4 jets and 2 skimmers. There is a thick ring of pollen formed around the edge of the water (after 4 days of running the pump) and a cloud of pollen on top of the entire pool several inches thick. The water appears stagnant even when the pump is running on high. Thank you.

I'm sure someone here has created one, hopefully in MS Excel. I have the TF-Pro and I keep a half-sheet of paper with scribbly results each time I test.

thanks in advance,
Jason

Hello everyone, I am a professional in the swimming pool robot industry.

I have purchased robots from various brands for research, including Aiper S1 Pro, Wybot s2, Beatbot Aquasense PRO, as well as some smaller brands like Lydsto, Smorobot, Poolpure Aquaguard, etc.

In my daily work, I spend a significant amount of time comparing the data parameters of different robots and dismantling models from brands like Beatbot, Wybot, Aiper, and others. I also test robots from different brands in various pool environments, including green pools, to observe how they perform in real-world conditions.

Additionally, I’ve compiled some knowledge and insights about using swimming pool robots, which I’d like to share today.

If you are considering purchasing a swimming pool robot, feel free to tell me about your pool’s characteristics, such as:

• Outdoor or indoor pool
• Does the pool have stairs or steps?
• Is there a lot of fine sand,dirt to clean or big leaves to clean?

Based on your specific situation, I can offer recommendations to help you choose the most suitable pool robot.

Looking forward to discussing and sharing experiences with everyone!

Just fired my pool guy and had my water tested by Leslie's. Results attached.
They're saying increase TA. I know to use baking soda, but then they're saying to decrease pH with muriatic acid. Seems counter intuitive. My thought is to add baking soda today and then wait a couple days to see how much pH increases and adjust as needed?

Thanks,
In-ground Pool size: 20,000 with attached spa
Chlorine
Plaster

How does one know when this has gone bad? or is malfunctioning?

Hi, I have a water fountain that is plumbed like a small pool. I have a check valve that I can visually see water is not being held as I can see it slowly lowering within the check valve window. I have replaced this with the brand new one and it still isn't working. Any ideas and thank you

First spring with our new pool and we are encountering a recurring problem with what appears to be dirt on our tanning ledge, steps and benches. We brush it daily and it returns. We did notice it during the fall but it wasn’t as prevalent. The pool builder said to keep brushing and the sand filter would pick it up but it’s not happening. We have not vacuumed yet since he told us it would be filtered out. If we brush it, it makes the water cloudy. We have also noticed there appears to be more when we add chemicals or increase the percentage on the SWG. Any advice would be appreciated. We are working on getting the pool ready for the summer and this is a constant nuisance. I realize this is all a learning process.

I've had my pool about 5 years and everything has been humming along nicely. A few incidences over the years which TFP forums have assisted immensely.

Anyway, this summer (I'm in Australia) I've had a minor issue. Despite my SWG being on a very low setting (it's now on 5%, the lowest setting) I still have free chlorine testing around the 10 to 12 ppm mark. Using the ClearChoiceLabs test kit.
I think as a result of the consistently high free chlorine, my Ph levels are always hovering on the higher alkaline side, each week I test and its typically above 8 so I am consuming acid more than I have previously.

One advantage of the high chlorine is my pool has consistently been crystal clear all summer! Wonderful, and allows me to not be too concerned about an excess of leaf litter if I don't get to vacuum each week. I can leave it for 3 weeks and not be concerned.

I keep my pool covered so CYA is not massively critical and anyway because I have high Ch, it's not like I need CYA to keep the chlorine from dissipating - there is sufficient coming in from my SWG chlorinator.

I'm just wondering what might be the cause? I think I heard somewhere that aerating the return water (or a fountain/water feature) can cause an increase in chlorine and/or Ph? I've tried to find a reference for that on TFP but couldn't find it so maybe that's rubbish? Anyway...I don't have a water feature or fountain. I have 2 return eyes. One is pointed down towards the pool floor, the other more horizontal, slightly upwards and creates some surface movement. If indeed aeration can increase chlorine, maybe that's it?

Ideally I'd like to have the free chlorine about the 3 to 5 ppm range.

New to the forum but use similar forums with other topics and find most input helpful. Two questions:

is it worth it in electrical savings to change my fixed speed (stealth Jandy 1.5 hp) pump to a variable speed and can that be done?

Has anybody installed a wifi pool timer that they find works well?

Thanks

Not much here yet. Cover still on, but peeled it back again and ran some basics. Been crystal over the winter, but added a little Cya to bump me up from 30. Added a little Acid and Bleach. As soon as my trees drop some tassels, the cover will come off.

What did you do to yours?

I got my 3hp Intelliflo all hooked up. Really cool how I can control it thru wifi without automation. I have my SWG wired to the relay board as well.

Anyway, for pump speed the app only has flow (gpm) and percent speed, no RPM. I frequently see people on here refer to RPM for pump speed. What are you guys running it at? I was thinking 20 percent 24 hours a day? My SWG still sees flow at 10 percent but not sure which direction to go.

I still have a suction cleaner, so I'm going to have it ramp up to 100 percent 1-2 hours a day until I fork up for a robot. My MX-8 seems to only run reliably at full speed so far. I also have my RJ-30 set at 35 percent for now, as that should give me the same FC as running my old pump for 8 hours at 75 percent. Right now chlorine demand is not high, but once it gets hotter I need about 4 FC per day.

Lastly, is it normal for the pump basket to not be full when its running low speed? It runs full speed when starting up to prime I presume, but I went back there after a while at 10 percent speed the pump was not all the way full of water up to the plastic cover. I dont have any suction leaks that I know of. My 20 year old Jandy valve before the pump was a little touchy so I replaced all the O rings while doing the pump install.

Finally caved and I’m using skimmer basket socks to catch the oak tree droppings. Is there a similar sock that can go in my Jandy pump basket? There’s still plenty of oak droppings that make it to the pump and get through the basket and clog the impeller.

Hey all, I just found this forum and did some reading on levelling.
Anyways, I am looking to do an AGP (18X48 Sam's club best way).
There's two spots I can install it in my yard. One is the preferred location by me and my wife, but the slope here as you can see in the pictures gets bad. All the rocks there is a French drain also. Will it work in this location? I'll have to dig down to the lowest point to try and get as level as possible. I don't want to do sand. I think I'll do the harbor freight flooring taped together.

Other location is relatively flat, but blocks my shed and gate.

The whole yard when it rains gets pretty damp and idk if that is a concern too. The French drain really helps clear it out though.

I just had to post because I’m so thrilled! One week and 32 bottles of chlorine later and my overnight FC loss was 1.5 with cc of 0.5
My husband commented last night about how I was burning through chlorine so I can get him off my back soon .

Hey Guys, i've been lurking here for a few months as we just bought a home with a Pool and it's my first time dealing with one. We had a pool tech coming for the first few months while we were in the move in process but i want to take care of it on my own now.

Here's what i'm dealing with
16,300 gallon Gunnite/Aggregate pool with Cartridge filter and T-cell 15 SWG

My salt level was too high for the SWG, so i drained about 10 inches and refilled with fresh water over the weekend to get it down.
It rained some last night, and i hadn't had time to add new chemicals to balance the refilled water just yet.

Pool is a little green this morning. Here are my current levels and a picture of the pool.
My question is - do i need to SLAM or just turn on super chlorinate and let that run it's course for a day or two then reevaluate and balance the water?

My spill over spa is leaking water through the missing/cracked grout, is this something I can DIY? Will pool leak epoxy help?

I have an old sand filter and it is running just fine. I do have a large family and an indoor pool. It's very normal to have a high bather load at least every weekend, and sometimes in the mid-week, and once summer starts, it's even more often. My filter does a great job most of the time, but it takes at least a whole day to remove all particulates after a bunch of teenagers are in there, sometimes more than one day. Of course the pool looks clean during the day, but once that pool light gets turned on after dark, I can see the particulates and I hate it. The rest of the family does not care at all, as our pool looks so much better than every other pool any of them see (strict adherence to TFP recommendations).

I do add a little DE to my sand filter which I'm sure helps, but not enough for me to see perfectly clear water at night on a Sunday. I also already use ahh some monthly. And I do up my FC during the weekends. My water chemistry stays perfect, I use only Taylor testing supplies. I deep clean my sand twice a year. I would say that I slam my pool anytime my CC is above .5, but to be honest, since you guys taught me to take care of my own pool, I've only had to do that three times (in the 7 years since TFP).

So my question is....would switching to a DE filter solve this? I realize it's expensive, but I have the money to do it, if I decide to. Is there a better alternative? Maybe I'm making too much of it? This will sound silly, but it kinda hurts my pride when I see the water like this. I understand it is not a chemistry issue and that it has nothing to do with the cleanliness of the pool, but it still irritates me. I actually feel a little embarrassed even asking this question. I have a nearly perfect indoor pool, and I'm whining about something that nobody else even notices.

So I am in a weird situation. I have a heyward SP1510Z1XEHC 1HP motor it is currently running on 220v, but I am looking to get a pool heater and it seems running an additional 220v is out of the question due to the conduit size and they cant run it in the same conduit which means I'd have to break up pavers..

I may be wrong but from what I am seeing this pump can run on 110v. What would be the negatives of switching the pump to 110v since I have that outlet next to my 220v and then utilziing the 220v for the heat pump.

Is that possible? Sorry, I am just spit balling ideas.

Hey guys opening my pool for the season and everything was fine until I turned on pump today. It was working yesterday. I hear the relay click and pump doesn’t turn on. I changed the relay because I had a spare, same issue. I then see a “communication error” displayed on screen but that’s all it says. If I turn off breaker sometimes that error will show other it will not. Any ideas?? Possible board I’m thinking?

Hi all, just wanted to ask a few questions while gearing up for the coming season. This is our 3rd year with this pool (came with current house). I’m still new to this and don’t know what I don’t know, so some of these questions may be kind of obvious.

1. Testing when opening last summer showed almost no salt or CYA in the water (had stable chemistry at the end of last season), which didn’t make sense as I thought those chemicals should stay around and only dilution from discharge to waste/refilling would really change those values. I had to add over 300 lbs of salt. Are there any possible reasons for this or is that within a normal range?
2. I've had a hard time maintaining pH, it seems to want to settle around 7.8 by itself but sometimes goes higher. I’ve seen various comments on what is acceptable. I was wondering if that was OK for a salt pool with a nearly always running pump, it didn’t seem to cause any issues with swimming.
3. Are you supposed to seal cracks in the surrounding pool deck? We got a new liner in 2023 and quickly several mini canyons started forming underneath. I know liners with sand bottoms are never real smooth, but these are so bad that people have tripped and it is almost impossible to get a vacuum or brush into many of them. The only thing I can figure is that ground water/runoff is getting under the liner and channeling out the sand. This pool's 30+ years old so there are many cracks in the concrete deck, many are unsealed, maybe water is getting in those cracks and running under the pool?
4. I have also learned that our sand filter may also be undersized, the installed S200 doesn’t seem like the recommended unit for ~28k gallons. Plus, our pool seems to consistently have a pretty high filtration demand due to all the dust and tree junk that falls in there. I am going to change the sand (suspect the prev. owner didn’t use proper pool sand & I have to replace the O-ring anyway), and didn’t know if I should use something other than the normal filter sand that might do a better job considering the demand. The reason I ask is that I have seen some sand alternatives say you can use less by weight, but not sure that means I'd be able to add more (not sure if it would cause flow issues, etc.)

Thanks!

After completely polishing my pool with great success due to excellent advice on here, I'm ready to tackle the calcium on the tile.

In my other thread it was mentioned to get it done professionally. I reached out to one person who does this so far and. I don't think they're interested.

As can be seen it isn't that bad but I'd like to get in front of it.

Pumice stones don't cut it. Considering dropping the level below the tile line when it warms up and using a 5:1 water to MA mix in a squirt bottle with a stiff plastic brush.

Thoughts?

Pool for your delight

I have a new above ground pool liner, solid blue. Haven’t had it a year put a cover over it for the winter open it up and now I have white spots all over the bottom of the pool. I haven’t overdone it with chemicals, cause I haven’t had a chance to put any in yet since summer What are the white spots what is causing them?

We have been doing our research and my wife and I are torn on which to go with. The PB have us a few days to decide as construction started today.

Thoughts? And why?

NJ, travertine coping has some pieces broke off and almost all are hollow. 12 years old, I don't believe mastic was used between deck, also travertine, and travertine coping. Can this be repaired without replacing tile line? Any rec's for someone good in NJ, Ocean County. Willing to move on from the trav coping but if a reinstall is possible using existing coping (6x12) then I would love to do that.

Hello, I have a 14,000 gal pool. Looking to drain and refill it. What chemicals and how much should I be adding to get the pool going again? I do not have an SWG.

Thanks!

Please help a good add for pump and motor. They left may years ago and just today the motor blew its electrical. We can say 24000 gal pool and 60 ft DE filter and salt water just last year, if some whatever adds to the list. I have limited unfortunately I can now the great forums and many tutorials for TFP because had a stroke just three December. But I'd sure what when ever I can and get started. Thanks.

Nate or anyone in the know-

I purchased the salt test but I have never used it or opened it yet-can you please give me what I need to know? Will be testing the salt tonight

thanks

I can't seem to find a pressure drop curve for this unit. Has anyone seen one that you could post?

David