We have a toilet that flushes too slowly. A quick search online and some simple diagnostics revealed the siphon jet at the bottom of the bowl and rim jets under the rim are clogged with mineral buildup (the siphon jet at the bottom of the bowl is almost completely blocked!).

I’m in the process of soaking the siphon/jets in full strength CLR as directed in a video I found by a master plumber. After soaking a couple hours I was able to get some chunks out, but there is still quite a bit still partially blocking the siphon jet, so I’ll let it continue to soak.

If CLR proves not up to the task of removing all the mineral buildup, is it safe to use muriatic acid (31% full strength stuff or 14% low fume)? Any suggestions on how to use it? A search online gives mixed results. Some say ok to use, others say no way, it will damage the toilet and is hazardous.

Hopefully, some of our chemistry experts here can offer advice.

Thanks.

I’ve been considering the idea of installing a SWG. I'm looking at the Circupool RJ60+ (based on the recommendation from @Newdude ). At the moment, I’m scoping out my pad for a DIY installation.

For power, I’d plan to get 240V from the "Aux Relay 1" on my Jandy VS pump (same plan as this thread). But somehow I don’t love the idea of running the SWG power cable unexposed over my pool pad. It seems that it might be better to protect the line in some Liquid-tight nonmetallic conduit (which is used for the other electrical connections on my pad).

But here I have a few questions:

1) Is this overkill? Do most Circupool users just run the power cable unexposed and call it a day?

2) Does the Control Module on the RJ60+ have a knockout that would accommodate a connection to the flexible conduit?

3) Would it be better to sheath the original SWG power cable within that conduit, or instead to cut it off and run some THWN between the pump and the control module?

Thanks!

Sampo

P.S. I’m still not 100% committed to the SWG idea. My hesitation remains needing the corresponding salt levels in my pool. I’ve been SLOWLY raising the salinity. But just as I feared, I started to be able to taste the salt at about 1,500 ppm. I’m now at 2,000 ppm, and still have a bit to go to get to the 3,500 ppm target.

I replaced an old single speed Pentair pump with a new VS Pentair pump about a month ago and it was working great. It was running for about a month and just today I went out to check on it and it wasn't running. All of the lights on the control panel are lit up green but it won't run and the screen is blank. I tried turning off power to the motor for 20 minutes and turning it back on and it was in the exact same state. I also tried holding down the 4 buttons (1, 2, 3 and quick clean) to try and reset it as well as holding down 1 and +/- at the same time with no luck.

We've had pretty heavy rain storms over the past few days so I thought maybe water got into the wiring and opened up the wiring area but it is dry. I also used a multimeter to confirm that it is getting 240 volts.

I'm looking for any suggestions on other troubleshooting steps that I can take. I think it's under warranty since it's less than 60 days since I bought it but I'm not looking forward to going through that process if I don't have to.


Thanks in advance for any advice!

Kris

My pool has an old Ortega valve between spa and pool. First time I put in new parts (more than 15 years ago) I learned it was considered obsolete at the time. Lately my spa drains down to pool level within 30 min or so of recirculation stopping, so it's not working.

I figured it was time to just replace it with another check valve. But the geometry makes it look hard to do and in fact the local pool shop wamts more than $1000 to redo the plumbing (see pictures...the Ortega is the gray one).

It occurs to me I don't need the Ortega. We don't use the spa (the heater was removed years ago) though occasionally I drain it to clean it. Do I need the Ortega (or any) check valve? I've seen ""Ortega plugs" advertised - is that what I need?

I have an inground ~30k gallon vinyl-lined pool with 2 Pentair admiral skimmers with floating weir baskets.

My issue is that the skimmers don't seem to work very well. I've cleaned the skimmer and pump baskets and debris sometimes floats by the skimmer opening without getting sucked in the opening.

There seems to be good water velocity at the basket so I don't think there is anything clogging the pipe. The only thing that has helped is pointing the jet eye on the opposite side of the pool towards the skimmer and slightly up to create some turbulence on the surface.

Maybe I am overestimating how well these should be working as this is my first time caring for a pool but I miss the way the pool looks with a calmer surface.

Should I scrap the floating weir baskets in favor of a traditional floating weir door?

Replacing skimmer exterior gasket in vinyl pool. Which silicone is recommended to seal to faceplate and liner?

All,

I was wondering if anyone had experienced this issue with the Aqua Lamp system. When I was opening the pool and I was brushing down the sides I snapped off one of the mounting pins from the ring that is attached to the wall.
Here is a photo of one of the rings with the pins attached, (circled)

Do you know if I need to drain the pool below the light before I replace this ring or will the water pressure be enough to hold the liner against the wall

Thank You
Ian

In another SWG related thread I saw a note indicating a particular brand of SWG should be run at the lower range of the recommended salt level... Is there a reference guide here somewhere that goes into recommendations for various SWGs?

For my case specifically, what is the optimal salt level for an IC-40? We open the pool tomorrow and after draining for closing last year and multiple fill/drain cycles from a wet winter I am going to have to add a good deal of salt and don't want to overdo it.

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?

Wondering if it is possible to have my pump run at priming speed for a few minutes when our Aqualink calls for solar?

Reason: Pump rpm required to "prime" the solar system (push water up to roof and force out all the air) is higher than the rpm required for the flowrate that my solar panels call for once the system is flushed of air (steady state rpm).

Scenario: Filter cycle starts at 8am and the pump primes, then drops down to filter speed. At, say, 10am, the air warms and the Aqualink calls for solar heat - diverter valve directs flow to panels and pump rpm increases to the steady state solar speed. But some air remains in solar loop.

I have a newer Aqualink RS-P4 (pool only) with a iAqualink 3.0, installed in 2022, that controls our solar. Just one variable speed pump runs filter, solar.

Thanks, Dave

I'm curious.
When you mix the borax and add the acid to neutralize, there must be a by-product of the reaction. What is it?

I have been running a NorthStar 1.5 HP pump which supposed outputs same amount of power as 2 HP for the past 16 years and the bearings are going bad. I have a 20x48 inground pool which holds about 40,000 gallons of water. The pool is also plumbed with 2 inch pvc resulting in a flow rate of 80 gpm. I currently run the pump on a timer for 9 hours a day to turn the pool over. It's been a great pump with minimal issues for 16 years but I'd like to buy a more energy efficient pump. I have been considering VS pumps. Any opinions on a good VS pump for my pool and have folks really seen a savings in energy? Are the electronics problematic? Should I keep it simple and replace my 16 year old NorthStar pump or bite the bullit and upgrade to VS pump to save money?

Hi, I've had a pool for several years now and am accustomed to taking care of one, thanks to so much help from you all when we first started! My question now, is we just got a new liner the other day, and so just refilled the pool with fresh water. I'm just wondering if there is anything that might be a little different at first that I need to watch out for with the chemistry. Will the pH be more susceptible to fluctuations, for instance? So far the only things I've had to add were chlorine and stabilizer, but the pH has been on the low side and the alkalinity has been pretty high (both within the acceptable range, though). Usually pH tends to be high and alkalinity low, so this is a new scenario for me! Should I just treat it the same as our "before" pool, or should I check anything more frequently than usual? For reference, it is a traditional chlorine pool, about 20-25k gallons. I usually only check pH 1-2x per week and chlorine maybe every other day (although in the height of summer I usually add chlorine every day). Stabilizer and alkalinity I check infrequently. Thanks for any help!

I opened my pool Saturday and water was very cloudy. before doing anything I ran my robotic pool cleaner a few times then broomed towards main drains. Ran pump for 24 hrs then added 5 gallons liquid shock, as I do every year at opening. Let run for 24 hrs then took water sample to pool store for testing like every year. usually PH, alkalinity and CYA are always great and FC is high, due to the 5 gal liquid shock. This year my readings are:
CYA=5
FC=0.3
TC=3.8
PH=6.9
T Alkalinity =128
I was told to add 5 lbs powder stabilizer, wait 1/2 hr then add 16 gal of liquid shock. Before doing so, I read it’s best to add less stabilizer and check results because it’s easier to add more than take it out. So I’ve added 2 lbs total since Monday and I only added 5 gal of liquid shock. From a suggestion on internet that said it’s all that’s needed to supershock my 20,000 gal pool. Well I did a test strip yesterday and still 0 chlorine. And it didn’t register CYA on strip. Should I wait until CYA is 30 before adding more shock and if so, how much shock should I add to get pool water right?

Folks,

This is the start of a thread that I expect will take a year or so to complete. We're finally getting to build a new house and pool exactly the way we want to. I think a little context is in order up front here since it will drive a lot of the pool decisions. My job has been to manage large construction projects around the world and we've ended up living wherever we could find something "reasonable and close". So the house and pool (if there was one) was never really designed to complement each other. Then we did a 6 year sailing adventure living mostly year-round on the boat somewhere in the Caribbean and the ocean was our pool. After that we bought a home with a pool in Florida and we love it here but need another adventure. Since joining TFP I've followed many owner build threads with great interest since I knew this would likely be part of our next adventure. That day has come. We sold our house last week and closed on our new property two weeks ago. So our next adventure will be to OB the house and pool. We really want this pool design to be integrated with the home and site not just added in as an afterthought. We are getting close to complete with the architectural design and next step will be to meet with a pool design company and and do this collaboratively with the architect. The home is on about 1/2 acre and looks out over a lake between two holes on the golf course. So it seems to make sense to put a pool behind the house that has an infinity edge that overflows to the lake. Our site is elevated a good 15' above the lake and about 200' away. Does an infinity edge sound right for this situation? And can you please comment on the pluses and minuses of an infinity edge? The pool will be covered with a screen enclosure that also encloses the patio. The back of the house faces roughly west. I'll add some photos and drawings after we get the next rendition from the architect.

Thanks.

Chris

Hi All,

Thanks in advance for any help, I've learnt a ton here just from lurking all threads but hoping I can get some advice. I've currently got a 14k gallon pool that is in the process of being resurfaced, while the pool is out of action I want to make some adjustments to my pump/filter setup. I currently have a Hayward Max-Flo II 2HP pump that is quite noisy, so I was thinking about replacing it with a VSP. I've attached pictures of the plumbing, but I had the following questions
- The pump is currently on a piece of plywood on a concrete slab. Is there any vibration damping matts I should look into putting under the pump? It's also not bolted to the concrete slab, is this causing any extra noise?
- Do I need a new pump or would it be feasible to just replace the motor on this? I was looking at a calimar or a circupool smart flow, but also understand the B&D pump seems to work well. I'd love to get a VSP that has wifi control capabilities to make it easier to add chemicals and for cleaning.
- Ideally I'd love to just replace the pump without having to touch the plumbing, is this realistic?
- any other thoughts I should look at while I'm doing these updates? I have a cartridge filter and while it seems somewhat older, it's still functional so was going to leave it alone.
- The one way valve between the pump and the filter is also failing, would it make sense to replace the internals only or is it better to replace the whole thing?

Thanks for any and all advice!

Any chance someone would has a dead Dolphin robot laying around that could sacrifice a side weight? I noticed in pulling mine out the other day that one of them must have swollen and let water in, rusting the metal inside and pushing the cap off (see pics). Seems like a terrible design. If anyone has a parts robot laying around and could spare one, I'd gladly buy it from you. The are accessed by popping the "fender" off the center of the track and pulling one screw. Thanks for the consideration!

Wes

Getting into opening season and I’m impressed by the power of shock, liquid chlorine, in clarifying and cleaning these pools that at once have bottoms unable to see and then a few days later makes such a big difference.

Curious about the actual science behind how this chemical process works like magic and if some of you experts have some insights to educate me on.

Thank you

I'm 80% sure I've got iron stains as a "ring" around where the winter water level was (stain happened 2 winters ago, I lived with it all last year as I fought my builder on other possibly related issues.)

Vitamin C held against it under water for a few minutes does seem to lighten it a bit. Now I could do the full AA treatment idea of course.

However, since the stain is completely accessible above the lowered waterline before I open, I was hoping to instead directly treat it somehow. Perhaps with a sponge/brush combo: douse the sponge in AA-saturated water, rub onto the stain, scrub with brush.

Then when I go to open, start with a sequestering agent (Jack's Magic <color?>) as I bring up the pH.

Anyone ever tried this direct-application method, and have recommendations on equipment (sponge-type, or brush type?) and the type of Jack's Magic I should use?

Or - please tell me if i'm stupid and about to create trouble, and I'll just do the full AA after I open before raising pH.

Hello! I have an intellichlor i30. My chlorine level has been at 0, but my salt level is measuring within normal range when I test it at the pool store.
When I tested the water last week, the tech had suggested adding stabilizer and running the pump all night with the chlorinator set at 100%. This did not change anything.
I looked at my chlorinator and noticed the "salt" indicator light is off. Not red, not green, off. The flow light and cell light are on. (Picture attached) The tech suggested cleaning the cell. I did this tonight and same thing is happening. I cannot find literature anywhere about this light being off.
When I go into diagnostic mode, it says the salt level is 2362 which is low. The pool store says it's not.
Is it possible it's reading an inaccurate salt level and not making chlorine? Why would this light be off?
Thank you!

Ever have one of those days?

Uncovered the pool (by myself) last Friday, got the cover cleaned, folded and stored. Then working on lots of backwashing, scrubbing and skimming to get things pretty going into May. Decided on Monday that since the pH was 7.2, to bump it slightly to 7.6 to get into the "ideal" range according to the Pool Math app.

Somehow, I read the instructions to add 22 *OUNCES* of Soda Ash to the pool as 22 *POUNDS*. I looked in my pool supplies, had 10 pounds, and decided it was about half what I needed, and proceeded to mix and pour, one 5 gallon bucket of water at a time, until it was all mixed in.

Imagine my surprise yesterday morning when the pH test was off the charts! I went back to figure out what I had done, and realized my giant goof!

Just finished adding a gallon of 31.5% muriatic acid from Ace Hardware, and waiting a few hours to retest and see if I need to go after more...

The problem is I really don't know WHERE it took the pH, since its off the scale, aside from fooling around with the Pool Math calculator doing "what ifs", which tell me I may have taken it as high as 9.7!!!

Nothing really to see here other than a cautionary tale to be sure of the units when you are doing additions to your pool!

Went to turn on our pool filter and pump and no pressure. There was also a lot of water on the floor and pretty significant water loss out of the pool. After some investigation, it looked like one of these tubes (connected at the top of the pipe to the heater (circled at top of picture) had disconnected from the bottom (main drain?), circled at the bottom right. I tried to reconnect it, but part of the tubing at the bottom actually broke off.

I'm not totally clear the purpose of any of this but am hoping folks can give some help on:
1. How do I or can I easily replace that tubing? The top also appears to be degraded and about to break off.
2. Any ideas on what the purpose of this is?
3. There's a valve at the bottom coming out of the other side of the main drain (circled on left) which had been set to 2. Any idea on whether I need to keep this open or closed?

Thanks for any insight or advice folks may have. Trying to save another service visit, but also would really like to have good understanding of my current system. We can't run the pump/filter right now as we lose too much water and it's flooding the pool room floor.

Can anyone please verify it the instructions (attached pic) work for testing CYA with the Taylor 9056 Comparator (see attached pic)?

Thanks
Joe

Hello, I currently upgraded my Hayward ProLogic to OmniPL.

I noticed the new OmniPL board does not have a direct connection for the black/white wire like the older ProLogic had.

I read I’m supposed to wire the black/white wires to a new relay, which we did, exactly as the instructions stated. When I “test” the relay on “Service Mode” the relay kicks on and the PH Disoenser pump begins to dispense Acid.

However, when I go to “Add” the “Chemistry Sense Module” the system can not find it… it’s blank.

I connected the sense & dispense probes to the “LS BUS” connection on top of the new OmniPL board just like the instructions say. But the system still can not find it. I tried all 3 LS BUS connections and nothing, it’s not getting any power.

Anybody know how to troubleshoot this?

I’ll add pictures of the installation and circle the old board connections with the new board without the connections.

Thanks

Picture #1: Old board showing PH Dispenser specific connectors
Picture #2/3: New board where PH Dispenser is connected to
Picture #4: Breaker/Relay wiring.
Picture #5: Old board
Picture #6: New board

I recently upgraded my EasyTouch-8 to Intellicenter-8 panel. Love the interface and have learned the in's and out's of Circuits & Features [thanks to Jim and others]. However, I'm having trouble "Remote Logging In". No problem with Local Login [WAN], but Remote is N/A...
I have the following:
1. Username / PW are correct - For Admin, Me...
2. Web Access Enabled on Panel
3. Check Internet connection on Panel: OK
4. Firmware Updated [via Online]
I can easily login with the App on my phone [whilst on Wi-Fi] and can login on my PC via: www.intellicenter2.com. But, NO-JOY-EVER on Remote login. Any suggestions?? Thank you, Shannon

So new pebble plaster,
fc=4
Ph=7.5
TA=130
CH=260

I dropped ph to 7.2 and turned on the waterfalls to get TA down.

They have a puck floater in pool which I don’t mind for now until I get everything balanced. When should I add conditioner? I will use liquid, yes it costs more but I don’t care.

Not adding salt for 30 days so liquid chlorine for now.

So I have concrete streaks and a film from the sticky stuff that the concrete forms had on them all around the edge of my pool. I bought the standard Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, but it didn't do anything. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Because we are rebuilding our base on a site that washed out on one side, a contractor friend and hubby thought they could merely build a new base and then put 3" more sand on the site and level from there. They realize now that they got ahead of themselves and forgot to locate all the buried base pavers which may work their way up and compromise the liner, and covered the entire site with more sand covering the pads. Thankfully the dog dug by one of the pads and they remembered that step. Now we are taking the 3 " of sand out, so we can dig out those pads. In this part of the process, we are finding that the side opposite the washout had washed IN a good bit of sand, and it appears to have also further compacted the original sand underneath the new layer. Now we are pretty sure we HAVE to dig down to that high side to find our pads and begin with the leveling process THERE. Instructions and videos say once you have all the pads level, you lay a 3-inch layer of sifted sand above the base. The temptation is to leave that deposited albeit compacted 3 inches on that side and save some work. BUT because it is compacted, am I correct that we need to dig that high side out so the entire area base is level and has a NEW 3" layer of SIFTED sand before wetting and tamping? We are not looking forward to this part, since we doing and now REDOING all the work ourselves. We would LOVE NOT to have to do that extra half of digging out. So I am just double-checking to make sure that is unavoidable. Even the instruction videos say to dig out the high spots and DO NOT just add sand on the low spots to prevent shifting and damage in the future. So hopefully we are correct in treating that compacted washed-in sand as a "high spot" Any insight on this digging part is appreciated.

Our 8yo SWG pool has a leak. It’s likely been leaking for a year, but the pool maintenance person in our family didn’t notice that the chemicals were constantly out of whack. The leak is also likely under the deck/house, so we haven't noticed the excess water. And, also thought we were just using a lot of water for our sprinklers.

We have someone scheduled to come out on Wednesday to check for the leak location. And, I’m pool maintenance person now (for several reasons ...)

I bought the Tfp testing kit and have been learning about chemicals and the whole pool maintenance process.

So, with the constant pool refilling, the CYA is disappearing along with any chlorine. The acid is going up to 8.1 regularly, which then shuts down the system. The TA seems ok. (Please be kind if I'm using any pool lingo incorrectly. )

Any suggestions on how to manage the pool most effectively until the leak is fixed? Should I just regularly test and add conditioner constantly? Thank you!

I am relatively new to the TFP methodology. Last summer we had a pool person who "took care" of everything and the pool generally stayed crystal clear. We later learned he was just adding chlorine and shock to keep things balanced with no regard for numbers. When we took it back over the pool was clear but CYA was about 200 and Chlorine was 15-18. We drained about half and got CYA back to 40 or so.
Now the hard part is keeping things balanced with liquid chlorine to avoid adding CYA. I subscribed to the app which helps me with the chemicals and math, but I'd love input on what I'm supposed to do.
I feel like for the cost it'd be cheaper to use tablets and let CYA go up and drain as needed. Otherwise I would need at least one gallon of liquid chlorine every 2 days. I also do not know the right way to "shock" the pool weekly without spiking CYA.
Sorry for the run on paragraph - but I'm a little bit at a loss for how to do this myself the right way. Thank you for any input.