newbie

Hey there!! I have an intex 15x48 stock c1000 pump and the delux skinmer. Pool is full of water, got the pump on. The return (blowing water) is great. I bought the skimmer put it on and there is no suction now. Do i plug an intake? Yes i installed the skimmer correctly. It’s about an inch half...

Hello TFP community! Found this fantastic resource as we navigate the surprises coming with our inground pool. We’ve learned a lot this past week trying to get it up and running. Looking for TFP insights on some of what we’ve discovered: - Black Algae Swamp - Hayward Super Pump 1HP (Makes...

TL;DR: (skip down to numbered questions) This is my first season as a pool owner and my absolute worst fear has just happened - algae. 😭 I have spent all summer trying to get all of my chemicals perfectly balanced at the same time and I FINALLY achieved it about a week and a half ago...and...

Hi there! I just bought a house that has an above ground salt water pool and I have idea where to begin!! I've found youtube videos to set up the pump, filter, etc but unsure how to clean this mess up. I've skimmed out large debris and I think my next step is vacuum to waste then shock? Is this...

Happy to be here! We are on our 2nd year with our above ground pool (18' x30' doughboy brand). Had good success last year just using chlorine to maintain nice clear water (historical evidence in my profile picture haha), but we didn't winterize properly and then had our winter cover get damaged...

5/28 UPDATE WE PASSED OCLT!!!! WOOHOO!!! Thank you so so much for the responses!! One last question: If we see algae start to come back, can I go to MA level? Or do we need to repeat SLAM first? For the love of all that is holy I hope all you knowledgeable humans can help this newbie figure...

Ok, so in the past I have had to deal with a small black algae outbreak. I was easily able to get it under control with a SLAM. This was maybe a year ago or so. This year I thought maybe the black algae was returning. There are several very small black spots along the shallow end of the pool. So...

Hello I am a newbie to TFP but thankful to have seen the light 😜 Decided to get serious and learn how to properly manage my pool myself after a few years of less than ideal pool care and having no clue what I was doing! So now learning what it takes for proper management. Previously have used...

Hi Folks, I plan to get my pool opened this week, and will be taking the help of a pool guy (the same who closed the pool). I don't plan to do a DIY approach for now, since I (1) don't have the bandwidth (2) am still too new at this and not confident. What I wanted to ask, is what kind of things...

I have Pentair automation easy touch. Starting with the IC40 at minimum. 16,500 gal in ground plaster. I have few questions of course and any other insights you can offer. 1. My initial thought is removing the inline chlorinator which i don't use anyway. That is only 20 inches from behind...

I was 99% certain I had finalized my water color choice — Pebbletec Ocean Blue. I think I have reviewed every pic of it I can find via this site, Instagram, Houzz, YouTube, etc. If anybody has any other places where I can second guess my choice that would be great. ;) Now its the 11th hour...

Greetings all, from the (mostly) sunny Savannah, GA area. I'm an avid DIY type, who is stumbling through my first "real" pool experience. I've worked as an aircraft technician, Electronics tech, and a Systems Analyst, all of which might be helpful here, but I'm basically at a kindergarten...

Hi everyone, My wife and I recently bought a large house with a pool. Both the house and pool were neglected, so we are treading water and leaning as we go. This is my first pool, so I have been lurking as I have ramped up. We've been working with the pool builder to get it back in shape...

I have a 15' x 42" Bestway above ground pool. From the website, I see that it holds 3,955 gallons at 90% capacity so I'm guessing that is about where I'm at on volume. I couldn't find the volume calculator in the PoolMath app, so if someone can point me in the right direction for that, I'd...

Hello everyone, I just wanted to post a message for anyone new to the site or just exploring. At first you might think, "Does all of this really work?", "This is too complicated for me", and/or "My local pool store will help more than this site". As someone who was new to this site last year...

My chemistry reading are. Ph 7.2 Free chlorine 5 Residual 3.0 All 80 ppm First time pool owner, 20 foot round, 48 in pool. Heads up our phosphates were 2400+, and I used phosphate remover, twice. The whole 32 oz bottle over 2 days. We have added stabilizer, and finally have this much chlorine...

This is the first year I've every owned a pool. We bought a 10' x 16' Best Steel Oval pool with an Intex 1000 GPH Pump. My MIL also gave us an ECO7110 SWG. I bought a pH upper and downer and Muriatic acid and baking soda. I was trying to boost my chlorine up to 3 from 0 using the SWG on boost...

Hello, We recently had our pool completed ( yeah right) or should I say the contractor has become unavailable. I am fixing all the leaks and other issues. My question is: our pool has a spa connected with the pool and one waterway/first choice vsp. On the ui and the phone application it doesn’t...

Quick background: After purchasing a new home that came with a pool, I knew my knowledge was at a solid zero and that I'd need some major help. We turned to the company that the home's previous owners used to open/close the pool which informed us they no longer serviced our area. So I did some...

Hi All! Just bought home with pool. Pool is open and currently all at the right levels, but house will empty for about 5 weeks. If it goes empty for the next 5 weeks, will I be facing a green pool when I move in? Do I need to hire someone to come every week, every other week, etc? Would...

Good Morning! I have already learned so much from reading the forum, but I still feel a bit overwhelmed with opeing my pool for the first time this year. We got our 21ftt, bleach based, round AG pool late last summer and didnt really get to use it much. After reading though the Pool school and...

Hi all, I'm new to pool ownership and bought a house during the winter that has a circa 1995 gunite inground pool. Decided to get professional help opening the pool last week and after filling and losing two inches of water, I decided I had a leak at the skimmer. Searching the internet for...

Good morning pool people! I am so thankful I found this site. I wish it had been sooner before I got myself into this pickle! I am hopeful that I will eventually find my way out of this and get to experience the joys and ease of a properly balanced pool, but I think I need help getting there...

Hi, I'm getting a new construction pool completed and I notice a large gray spot in the deep end on the new mini pebble. I 1st notice it the following day after my pool was topped off. My concern is can it be removed without draining the pool? It is about a 20k gallon pool with NPT stonescape...

I'm pool noob, so trying to educate myself via reading internet sites and forums. I shocked the pool recently and need to remove dead algae from the bottom. Previous owner left me a cleaner (Barracuda) and robot (Zodiac CX35). Robot is not doing a great job in collecting algae and lights "FULL"...

Hi, I'm new to this site and new to having a pool. We have an 18x36 in ground pool. My husband tells me it's 24,000 gal. I know we have a "deep end" where the diving board is :sneaky: As you can see I'm really green and just trying to learn all I can. This pool was my husbands gift to me for...

I am sure you get these newbie questions all the time, but I am stuck and the local pool store has been no help. The store opened the pool and installed a Jandy Salt System and Opened my pool. To say that the opening was botched was an understatement. It a long story about that and getting them...

Hi. I received my TF 100 test kit today and started my trouble free pool journey. Lucky for me my brother-in-law has been a member for years and walked me through the testing process. Im currently slamming my pool due to a zero chlorine result. Everything else seems ok but the chlorine. I...

New above ground pool owner here. We had a small 10’ pop up pool last year to get kids by and upgraded this year. We bought the Costco Bestway pool 22’x12’x4’ for this summer. I watched and a couple dozen YouTube videos about leveling the ground before setting up the pool and compiled all their...

I just bought a new house with a 16×30 in ground pool with a gas heater. However, I have never owned a pool before! We are ready top open the pool, but have no idea what we should do? The water is currently clear, what do we need to do to "open" it? What do we need to maintain it? Thanks for any...