Inexperienced new pool owner - please help!

[ooposhoo]

Greetings!
I am in need of help, I have been reading over several different posts and still find myself very unsure of what I should do. I have a 12K gallon pebble-tec pool with no trees but lots of sun, looking for advice on what will not break the bank and is long lasting..... (I am looking to maintain this myself). I am seeking some guidance to the following:

1. Looking for a robotic cleaner that will clean the water line, floors and walls
2. I believe I may have a pressure pump cleaner installed in the pool. If so, should I opt for this instead of the robot?
3. I am currently using the HTH advance chlorine tablets - should I reconsider?
4. Any recommendations on removing calcium build up on the tiles? I tried to scrub but it did not do anything lol.

Not sure if I am missing anything else crucial, well....I probably am lol which is why I am here.

Thank you!

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP! Let's get to some of your questions:
1 & 2 - Show us some pics of your equipment pad. It sounds like you may have a Polaris pressure side booster pump for a cleaner. If so, then you can get a Polaris cleaner. If you wish to have an electric robotic cleaner, that's fine too. Lots of them on the market like the Dolphin series. Much depends on your budget, but I'll let others reply to that some more. It's really a personal choice at that point.
3 - Tabs are okay short-term. They either contain stabilizer or calcium as a secondary product, so there lies the problem as the CYA or CH level can spike very quickly. For non-salt pools, we generally recommend using liquid chlorine as your primary sanitizer.
4 - Methods vary depending on the severity. Some people try a pumice stone (carefully in a test area first). Some have to actually have a company come out and use a type of blasting process.

While debating these issues, we can't over-emphasize the importance of proper water testing. Many of our answers will be geared around your water test results. Local free testing or test strips are horrible. If you don't already have a TF-100/Pro-Series or Taylor K-2006C test kit, we highly encourage you to get one. The links below should help.

Test Kits

tftestkits.net

Swimming Pool Test Kits Compared

What pool test kit should I buy? Why shouldn't I use test strips? Our recommended test kits will pay for themselves in no time!

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Texas Splash]

Here's an article to help you fill out your signature.

Create Your Signature - Further Reading

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[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum.

Waterline Scale Removal - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[ooposhoo]

Welcome to TFP! Let's get to some of your questions:
1 & 2 - Show us some pics of your equipment pad. It sounds like you may have a Polaris pressure side booster pump for a cleaner. If so, then you can get a Polaris cleaner. If you wish to have an electric robotic cleaner, that's fine too. Lots of them on the market like the Dolphin series. Much depends on your budget, but I'll let others reply to that some more. It's really a personal choice at that point.
3 - Tabs are okay short-term. They either contain stabilizer or calcium as a secondary product, so there lies the problem as the CYA or CH level can spike very quickly. For non-salt pools, we generally recommend using liquid chlorine as your primary sanitizer.
4 - Methods vary depending on the severity. Some people try a pumice stone (carefully in a test area first). Some have to actually have a company come out and use a type of blasting process.

While debating these issues, we can't over-emphasize the importance of proper water testing. Many of our answers will be geared around your water test results. Local free testing or test strips are horrible. If you don't already have a TF-100/Pro-Series or Taylor K-2006C test kit, we highly encourage you to get one. The links below should help.

Test Kits

tftestkits.net

Swimming Pool Test Kits Compared

What pool test kit should I buy? Why shouldn't I use test strips? Our recommended test kits will pay for themselves in no time!

www.troublefreepool.com

Happy New Year! Thank you so much for your reply. I took your advice and got the TF pro kit and tested my water. I ended up getting a robot to clean the pool which seems to do the job for now.
I used the pumice stone to lightly clean the build up on the tile but didn't seem to be too successful with it but I did it very lightly maybe too lightly, I may have to try again.

Would you take a look at my numbers? It looks like I have a number of things to address, would you recommend purchasing at a pool store or Walmart?

Thank you so much for your time!

 

[PoolStored]

How did you get 105 for CYA?

I'd redo the test using the method starting at #8 here and report back:

CYA - Cyanuric Acid Test

Cyanuric acid (CYA) is the chemical name for the product commonly called “pool water stabilizer” … Read more…

www.troublefreepool.com

With your CYA above 100, you will want to replace some % of your water to reduce CYA. Read "no drain water exchange" here:

Draining - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

When you get your updated CYA result, we'll help with how much to replace.

For now, I would raise your FC to 11-13, because your CYA is so high. Use liquid chlorine.

I would add enough calcium chloride to raise your CH to 200. You need minimum 200 to protect the plaster. You might wait until you do the water exchange, otherwise you are wasting product. This is the one chemical I recommend getting from the pool store for purity sake.

I would reduce your pH to 7.6. Use muriatic acid. Reduce in .4 increments. Use pool math to determine how much muriatic acid to lower pH by .4. Add that amount in a pencil stream in front of a return. Test again 30 minutes later. If still above 7.6, follow the same process until you get to 7.6.