Salt water heated pool with built in benches

10 years of family BBQs here and counting

So thankful for this!

Hi all,

I live in Northern Illinois and have an above ground pool that’s currently at 75°. The temperature forecast for tonight is low 80s high 70s. My chemical levels seem balanced.

Should I cover or uncover my pool overnight so that it heats up?

Hi all, so I have a 13,500 gal pool and got a need VS pump (Century Vgreen 2.25hp). Right now im running at 1650rpm 24/7 which is 240w. ChatGPT (which may or may not be right) is estimating im turning the pool over 4 times in 24hrs.

Assuming this is correctly, I believe i really only need to do this 2x a day. Assuming that is also correct, should i just run this for 12hrs a day (maybe 6on, 6off, 6on, 6off)? I worry lowering the speed anymore it may have issues with priming as right now there are def air pockets in the the top inch of the basket due to the slower movement, not to mention my skimmer wouldnt work as well. But Im open to feedback.

I could also just leave it, i think its about $25/mo when doing 24/7 and I know the filtration would be improved.

Anyhow I appreciate the help

Hello [r/pools](r/pools), I’m posting here in the hopes that someone with more expertise than me can shed some light on a recurring problem I’ve been having. My pump keeps losing prime over the course of 2-3 days, and I feel like I’ve troubleshot everything. What am I missing?

Specs: Jandy FloPro variable speed pump with SFTM 24-2.0 filter

After a backwash and rinse, my pump appears primed. Over the following 2-3 days, it loses prime, with the water level going down by maybe an inch in the pump basket. It causes the “flow” alert on my SWCG to activate, turning off chlorine generation. This has been going on the entire time we’ve had the pool; this is the second summer we’ve used it.

What’s frustrating is this - I feel like I’ve done troubleshooting for everything I possibly could. Here’s what I’ve done:

-Water level in the pool is good.
-O-ring is lubricated and free of debris; and cover is on tight.
-Valves are open.
-No debris in the skimmer basket or pump basket.
-Impeller is not clogged.
-Visually, the returns appear to be moving lots of water.
-I don’t see any bubbles coming out of the returns (though they’re on the bottom of the pool, so maybe difficult to see.)
-I had a leak detection company come out and test all the lines. They were unable to find any leaks.
-Got the sand in the filter replaced about a week ago.
-All of the above-ground PVC pipes were replaced when they installed the SWCG a couple of months ago.

Additionally, the pump and filter are pretty new, less than 2 years old.

For additional context, it’s a small inground pool, only about 12,000 gallons. It was replastered two summers ago.

To clarify, this problem has existed both before and after the SWCG installation, plumbing replacement, and sand exchange. After trying so many other things, I really thought the sand exchange was the solution, but it hasn’t helped.

What is going on with my pool? Backwashing every 2-3 days is a waste of chemicals and water, not to mention not great for the filter. Plus it’s annoying to have the SWCG turn off frequently due to low flow.

I asked ChatGPT, which suggested it’s because of a suction-side air leak. But wouldn’t the leak detection company have found this if so? Plus, I ran through all the troubleshooting suggestions I could find on troublefreepools for suction-side air leaks, and nothing helped.

Please tell me someone has ideas. I’m desperate.

If you read this far, thank you!

I'd like to add a spillway accent led light strip to the water spillway. I was thinking about adding a IP68 light strip (bottom of spillway and behind the waterfall), hooked up to a small solar panel/controller/battery, etc behind the spillway wall. Im struggling with a clean way of doing this without drilling through the wall. Has anyone done something like this and or have any suggestions?

Some quick background - new owner of a 54 inch deep 15 foot wide pool, roughly 6k gallons.

Set it up as a salt water pool, but due to being a greenhorn, didn’t include a salt chlorine generator system. Resolved that issue by purchasing one, but it isn’t installed yet, so I’m manually maintaining chlorine levels.

So here’s the issue - pool looks pristine, use a test strip, and Ph, alkalinity, and cyanauric acid are all perfect, but I have absolutely no free chlorine. I dump a bag of “Hit hard” chlorine shock treatment intended for 9k gallons - if I test the water then and there, I see a good amount of free chlorine. If I test 18 hours later, I’m back to 0 free chlorine.

I understand without the generator the chlorine level is going to keep decreasing, but am I wrong to believe that using a shock treatment intended for 9k gallons on a 6k pool should still have detectable free chlorine 18 hours later?

Am I going to be dumping a bag of “hit hard” into my pool every day until I get the generator installed? That feels crazy, it’s supposed to be for weekly maintenance.

ive Posted before about my travails with the installer on my new pump and filter this year, as well as about the “silt” constantly showing on our pool floor. It was mentioned I probably have too much dead algae with the chlorine sitting there.

Today, I finally watched the inlet jet to see if anything was apparent. besides other evidence, I’m now convinced I’m seeing waves of gray coming in cycles along with clear, and that its not bubbles.

i finally called the installer to come tomorrow, telling them finally about the small leaks from the tank bottom. I have updated my info that I’m afraid it’s spewing DE.

Why would a finger filter spew DE? Is it not collecting on the fingers and just going right past them?

im worried about these people who seem to be incompetent, but I have to point out eventually how their filter hasnt been perfectly tight This year.

Hey guys, I have a pool here with a de filter. So the filter seems to not catch anything, we were vacuuming the pool and it seems like everything that got vacuumed up, got spit back out into the pool. I suspect the filter, but so far everything looks fine except that the tops of some of the de filters are missing sections. It's hard to believe that two missing sections could be the cause of all the back fill.

These things seem super brittle too, so I'm not entirely sure how old they are.

I also was thinking this afternoon maybe it's the giant valve you spin where it back flushes the filter? But if that was the case I suspect it would be another issue.

The only other odd thing is that the entire system loses prime over time about 2 weeks or so. I think that's the supply lines, that may mean nothing.

The customer also stated this entire system is about 2-3 years old, but the filter housing inside has rust on it, and that makes me think it's older then that.

Noticed a small crack on my filter at the fitting for the pressure gauge. Water leaking from the crack when turned on.

We inherited the equipment when we moved into this house a few months ago. I’m fairly confident the crack is new. When we had our pool inspected, the inspector made a comment that our filter was a dinosaur and they likely don’t make replacement parts anymore. Assuming that to be true, is there a fix that can get me through the end of pool season for another month or two short of replacing the entire thing?

I just need some honest advice here. My boys and I haven’t had the best luck this summer. With all of the wildfire smoke, and not so hot weather at the beginning of the summer, we’ve barely been in our pool (we have a 15 foot above ground Intex pool) which my boys have been really sad about . I noticed there were a few hot days still coming up this week, and so we left the pool up in hopes of going in one last time. Unfortunately, I’ve been really sick the last few days, and was getting my boys to check the levels of the pool each day, taking their word for it. This morning when going out to check myself, I noticed that the chlorine was extremely low and could tell that the water was barely pumping through the filter, it had basically come to a standstill. Upon opening the filter to rinse out the cartridge. I noticed something I’ve never encountered in there before - pink goo. The water itself looks fairly clear from what I can tell (I lifted our solar cover off about a quarter of the way to look then put it back on).

I’ve done some googling and realize that I’m dealing with bacteria overgrowth here. I am a worrier, super cautious, almost to the extreme sometimes, which I realize. So I’m not really trusting my own judgement here because I normally would say “no” to going in the pool one more time, but keeping in mind that we only planned to make it a brief dip in the pool as the water is pretty chilly, no submerging our heads, etc, would it be safe?

I keep cyanuric acid at about 40ppm. I need to keep Cl reading at 3 ppm or so to keep algae from forming. In summer, with water temp near 90 deg, it takes about 1 lb per day to keep the water clear. Pump runs most of the day in summer.

Hi everyone, I just started to serve this pool and the home owner told me his autofill is over flowing the pool and idk if the sensor is bad or what. Any help is really appreciate it
This is tx

We added 24oz of algaecide to pool and 5lbs of stabilizer through sock method last night. One Pool company recommended adding 2 gallons of chlorine tonight help kill off algae if it’s there. Other company said just bump SWG to 40% that it’s prob just debris and not algae. So confused.

What are your experiences with sensors? I need to reno my pool and would prefer to automate the chlorine/pH. (For background, the pool will be tiled and have a aun cover when it's not in use, so practically no UV issues). Not sure yetif liquid chlorine dispensing pump or SWG.

A local place said that the pH sensor needs recalibrating every 15 days (I read once a year), and they fail often due to oils from sun cream. They said Redox sensors are ok.

~30 year old pool. Last week when I was out of town the plastic molded ring that holds the skimmer basket in place above the bottom of the skimmer finally cracked. Is there any reason I can't just buy a larger basket to cover the full area (right now debris can get into the lines since the skimmer doesn't cover the whole area) and drop it in? Is there any need to try and replace the molded ring?

I’m going through a nasty bout of chlorine lock right now, so my chemicals are all out of whack:

CYA:150
pH: 6.5
TA: 30ppm
FC: 4-5ppm
CC: 1
Pool Volume: ~27k

I’m working through replacing the CYA water with fresh water, but it’s slow going as I need to pump the water onto a side yard with lots of nearby neighbors. Have successfully dropped cya by about 40 points over the weekend.

Last night I added 4lbs of sodium carbonate (dissolved in water and added around the perimeter) but I’m showing no increase in pH.

I know I’m doing something(s) wrong, just insure of what. Can I increase pH with such a high CYA value?

Thanks!

Hi, I just wanted to double check, before I use it. Can I use this boric acid from Amazon in my pool? I only ask because 98% of the reviews talk about using it as a pesticide. Reddit initially turned me away from using 20 mule team borax, and I ended up with a pesticide instead 😂

I am loving the mosaic tiles, but we plan to screen in the pool. Will it still shimmer? Does anyone have pictures or experience?

What is happening here with my pool light? Is that a gasket coming out of place? The light still works, but maybe I shouldn't use it with this happening.

I've been fighting mustard algae all month. Pool has been cleared with shocking but algae returns when chlorine levels drop to normal.

Summer is over. I want to swim for the last weeks of decent weather. Would you swim? All chems are balanced. Phosphates around 300. This algae has been a pain!

Would you swim?

Just got our pool installed and now need to get the chemicals right. Water added was fresh well water. Alkalinity is above 300. What’s the best way to get it down to 100 to begin balancing.
The calculator told me I would need 12 gallons of Muriatic acid. Seems like a lot all at once. 28,500 gallon pool.

My new house came with a salt-chlorinated Kayak pool that I would like to rehome. I had it checked out by a professional, and everything appears to be in good condition except the liner, which has fully detached from two sides and needs replaced. It's a nice pool and I would rather not stuff it in a landfill, so I'm hoping to sell it rather than scrap it.

In browsing Reddit I've seen that some people have had success with selling their Kayak pools; however, I've seen just as many people say that you're better off paying someone to haul it off. If anyone has experience selling, giving away, or dismantling a pool, could you please tell me:

1. About how much would it cost to have a professional dismantle a pool/deck of this size? I can't do it myself because of health limitations, and I'm concerned about liability if a random buyer gets injured on my property while trying to move it.
2. What is the best place to list a pool for sale or giveaway? Is Craigslist the best option, or are there other venues? (I am not on Facebook for personal reasons, so I can't use Marketplace.)
3. Can the pool sit empty over the winter? I'm thinking it might be easier to find a buyer in the spring, but I had to drain the pool after the liner collapsed. Since it can't be chemically winterized, do I need to worry about the pumps, etc. freezing? (Please don't @ me, I've never had a pool before 😅)
4. What price can I ask for a pool in good condition? Ideally I'd like to offset part of the expense of re-landscaping the yard, which is graded around the pool deck.
5. Is there anything else you think I should know or consider before attempting to sell a pool?

I'm located in Indiana, if it matters to costs/market.

TIA!

Alkaline is low 0-40
PH Is low 6.2
Chlorine between 3-5
not as light as 3…but not as dark as 5.