Underwater sealant help

[dawnk01]

Hi, I was having issues with pool chemistry and decided to drain and start over. I would really appreciate any advice and suggestions as to what i might want to do before i refill it. It is over 20 years and has never been drained before. I have learned that i might want to do a chlorine bath to kill mold and light acid bath to remove stains and white water line. Also, i think i may want to seal around underwater light and pool vac hose connection etc. Can i just use silicone caulk? Thank you so much!

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP! We'd be happy to help. A few starting points so we can better assist.
1 - We provide top-notch chemistry advice after seeing a full set of water test results from either a TF-100 (link in my signature) or Taylor K-2006C test kit. IMO the TF-100 is a better buy, but get whichever you wish, but you need one of them.
2 - A pool 20+ years means the plaster is probably thin or weak in areas. An acid wash is probably not ideal. If you have mold or stained areas from organics/algae, probably best to refill an perform a SLAM Process for a few days. The elevated FC level should help.
3 - As for the light, it depends. It would help if we could see some pics of the light and exactly where it is leaking. Some products are flexible and can be removed later, but others become hard as a rock and can mess up repairs for later.

We have LOTS of info to help you, all you have to do is ask. And of course have one of those test kits. That is key. Please be sure to bookmark and review our Pool Care Basics page. Lots of great info there.

Enjoy the forum!

 

[Texas Splash]

Also be sure to update your signature. See my sig as an example. If you are on an android or iPhone, you may need to turn it sideways to landscape to see our signatures. Put all of your info in your signature via the SETTINGS option in the menu.

 

[HermanTX]

Also, i think i may want to seal around underwater light and pool vac hose connection etc. Can i just use silicone caulk?

If your light is same age as pool then you most likely have a traditional light niche. It requires water to be around the light fixture and the wire leading out the back of the niche to the equipment pad. The light fixture which houses the light bulb is sealed to prevent water from contacting the bulb. Show a picture of light and why do you need to seal it.

 

[HermanTX]

Also, i think i may want to seal around underwater light and pool vac hose connection etc. Can i just use silicone caulk?

Thanks for pictures. The vac hose connection screws into the that housing and seals itself. That housing is screwed into PVC pipe that leads to the equipment pad. No need to seal what I see in your pictures.
Looking at your light, as indicated in my earlier post, you do not need to seal the housing where it meets the pool plaster.

 

[dawnk01]

Hi thanks for responding. I added 3 pics showing the gap between the skimmer, the light and pool vac outlet with the pebble tec. I'm not sure i have a leak but the ground is damp often. Some pavers were installed and landscaping done and i ended up with inches of dirt and rock in pool. Constantly backwashing, brushing shocking i just couldn't get it right. In arizona they say that pool water needs to be drained as different molecules attach and chemicals aren't as effective. I just thought that now that pool is drained there may be some maintance or preventative measures to do prior to filling. The skimmer and other pics seem to be blackish pebbles next to connections......maybe mold? Pool was green when i drained it. I will enclosed another pic. Thanks again everyone. I booked marked the link on chlorine slam. Need to check name, but definitely will use if mold issues in future.

 

[dawnk01]

Hi thanks for responding. I added 3 pics showing the gap between the skimmer, the light and pool vac outlet with the pebble tec. I'm not sure i have a leak but the ground is damp often. Some pavers were installed and landscaping done and i ended up with inches of dirt and rock in pool. Constantly backwashing, brushing shocking i just couldn't get it right. In arizona they say that pool water needs to be drained as different molecules attach and chemicals aren't as effective. I just thought that now that pool is drained there may be some maintance or preventative measures to do prior to filling. The skimmer and other pics seem to be blackish pebbles next to connections......maybe mold? Pool was green when i drained it. I will enclosed another pic. Thanks again everyone. I booked marked the link on chlorine slam. Need to check name, but definitely will use if mold issues in future.

 

[dawnk01]

The white line is water line and under the waterfall notice the darker areas. These are where mold was. Should i do a chlorine bath or acid bath to remove? Also, what are your thoughts on the skimmer? Really appreciate the information.
Sorry the pic and msg posted twice. Just learning the process. Not sure how to delete duplicate. Also....i hope my signature is ok???

 

[Texas Splash]

Let's ask @Poolbreh for an opinion about the gaps. Perhaps a polyurethane product if needed?

 

[HermanTX]

The white line is water line and under the waterfall notice the darker areas. These are where mold was. Should i do a chlorine bath or acid bath to remove? Also, what are your thoughts on the skimmer? Really appreciate the information.
Sorry the pic and msg posted twice. Just learning the process. Not sure how to delete duplicate. Also....i hope my signature is ok???

As noted by @Texas Splash it would not be needed to do an acid bath as that will remove a layer of the plaster.
You could hand scrub the white waterline mark. Use some diluted liquid chlorine. Maybe others have more suggestions.

Any algae can be addressed with the SLAM Process which raises chlorine level i.e. effectively doing your chlorine bath.
Before doing the SLAM you will need one of the recommended test kits to measure FC at high levels. Test Kits Compared

I would be concerned about leaving your pool empty. The sun is beating down on the exposed plaster and the other you always risk the pool popping out of the ground.

 

[ajw22]

You have a few things going on.

Your black pebbles look like black pebbles in the mix. I don’t see any signs of mold.

The white line is waterline scale. Read Waterline Scale Removal - Further Reading Read…

Melting Waterline Scale away... using Bar Keepers Friend as a paste.

After several failed attempts to clean my waterline with a pumice stone as well as acid, I found a succesful method using Bar Keepers Friend. This requires lowering your waterline a few inches. I used Bar Keepers Friend and water to make small batches of paste. I slathered the paste on about...

www.troublefreepool.com

Do not use silicone caulk around the skimmer. Either use grout or Plast-aid packed into the open areas.

Do not block your skimmer weir door from moving.

E-Z Patch® 4 (White) Pool Tile Grout Repair

E-Z Patch® 4 (White) Pool Tile Grout Repair is our above water mixture. Grout repair products and tile grout repair.

e-zpatch.com

 

[JoyfulNoise]

That’s a pretty standard Arizona pool design going back 20 years or so. You have the PebbleTec rolled over the top edge of the pool covering the bond beam. People back then thought the coping-less design with PebbleTec up and over made a pool look natural and unique. It’s a terrible design and almost no one does that anymore nowadays. However, your surface looks good. The white bathtub ring scale is pretty common. It needs to be removed using a bead blasting/tile cleaning service.

Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you “seal” the light ring or vacuum port with silicone. Those gaps you are seeing and perfectly normal and do not leak. The vacuum port cover screws into a 1-1/2” PVC pipe that makes a water tight seal with the plaster surface. As well, the steel light ring screws onto the light niche which also makes a water tight seal with the plaster. The steel ring is what holds the luminaire in place. If you were to silicone seal that you would make it impossible to ever change the light or create a giant headache and mess if it needed removal.

An acid wash is a terrible idea and will only destroy the aggregate surface. A chlorine wash is unnecessary as well. Please do not listen to random people for chemistry advice … just listen to us random people on TFP. There is no such thing as “chemical molecules” that are specific to Arizona that make it hard for other chemicals to work. That is a total nonsense statement made by someone that doesn’t understand chemistry. If you have chemistry specific questions, ask them here and we’ll be happy to help.