So… how much effort (time, money, manpower) would need to go into this (it’s 15 acres) so that it’s not horrifyingly gross? It wouldn’t just be the residents of the community (where some homes are $1M+) but will also allow day visitors for $50 a pop 😕

Coming back to this group for some advice as you’ve been extremely helpful in the past. For the past five days I’ve been dealing with a scum line that just won’t lift.

Testing kit (home and in-store) shows PH, Hardness and Free Chlorine are where they should be, but yellow scum line appears and won’t seem to come off. Replaced the Scumbug, added Enzyme, and cleaned/scrubbed with liner cleaner, but still won’t lift.

Tried Vitamin C, but that didn’t work either.

Any thoughts ideas? I’m planning to try dish soap tonight and might go the baking soda paste route…

What can I do to add some detail to the side of the Waterfall? Can I do a low profile? It looks too naked please help.

I installed a small pool (300cm ⌀ x 120cm), but I can't get my pump - above water level - to pull water. Am I doing something against the laws of physics in my setup?

I’m short on time so i was thinking maybe i’ll have a pool company do the cleaning. Well it’s $150. Why bother cleaning and not just pop in a new set from amazon every few months?

i think i’ll just buy a new set every few months and save time from cleaning.

swap filters: 3 minutes

clean filters: 30+ minutes

edit: wow i didn’t mean to poke the pool guys hornets nest. guys im not coming for your job, just asking what home owners like me are doing.

edit 2: doing myself is something im trying to do less of. now making over $300 an hour so im going to either pay $120 or $150 and save the time but i just dont understand why not buy new? am i missing something? toss in trash and swap is easy and i think my new system.

Bonjour, j'ai une piscine au sel depuis quelques semaines, l'eau était parfaitement claire, ph ok et chlore ok.

Il a fait très chaud par chez nous dû à la canicule et le ph de la piscine est monté à 8.

J'ai régulé le ph qui est de retour à 7,3 et la piscine qui était devenue légèrement trouble/blanc est en train doucement de revenir à la normale mais j'ai cette substance qui s'est formé entre temps.

Quelqu'un a une idée de ce que c'est ? Regroupement de bactéries ? Morve de requin ?

Any advice is appreciated. I’ve cleaned most of the leaves out but not sure what to do, I have the pump running and may add algae removal liquid afterwards. It wasn’t this bad until the storm recently, what else can I do? 😭this is my first time experiencing this since we usually just clean the leaves and have the pump running.

Update;

OK, the majority comments here are saying actual tests, test strips garbage.. that's all i have right now. I'm using metric, my pool is around 115000 liters, i've been dumpin last night i used four 3.78 L jugs, the strip shows dark pink around 5ppm chlorine. Last time the pool guys were here their test shows CYA at 30. All other chems within range on their report, and my test strips align.

Dust means algae is dead right? Or do i have to buy 10 jugs and bring the total to well over 10ppm for 'death' to occur.

And at the end of the day, there's still the original vac to waste McGyverism I was hoping for left unanswered.

Original Query:

This summer has been brutal. Water temps been so high, lots of rain, pollen. Last year i didn't have to fight so hard. This year I've used multiple jugs of liquid chlorine trying to kill this beast.

I've now had the pool turn teal green to green 3 times. Twice I've knocked it back, but it keeps coming back, as though something is trying to grow, but I chlorinated just enough to keep killing it into dust but not enough to prevent it from returning. Like it's hiding in the pipes somewhere.

Anyhow, after doing a vacuum to waste twice already, I had to ponder, is there no way McGyver a DIY way of connecting the vacuum head on the telescopic wand to some sort of 'pre filter' that will trap the algae dust and just let the water continue to cycle back into the pool?

I've really tried to think of a way to turn my submersible pump into a vacuum where I could eject the water into a bucket with a skimmer sock on it to trap the fine dust.

I'm just really tired of rushing the vacuum to waste process because I'm always worried I'm going to run out of water at the skimmer, nor do I enjoy having to pay the water bill adding water back into the pool multiple times for an issue that persists.

Any thoughts or ideas are welcome.

TL;DR, Shocked, Algaecided. Need efficient way to get this dust out without constantly needing to top off the water every week.

I’m in Louisiana, so this is worse time of year for pump to die. Easy Touch unit button made pump keypad flash red. I disconnected the easy touch, and tried to manually start pump, immediately starts flashing red again. With everything unplugged, I could manually turn propeller with fingers, so it’s not jammed. When I hooked the easy touch back up… now, the pump will turn on for about 2 seconds. As soon as it tries to kick into high rpm, it shuts off. I tried to order a replacement wet end (part 070118), but was told they are discontinued and no longer available.

1. Is this true, or did just this company not be able to get one?

2. If I can’t get a replacement wet end, and have to move to whole new system, my research says the IntelliPro3 VSF and WhisperFlow VST,
   Both by Pentair, should fit with existing plumbing. Is that accurate?

3. Are there any other options, other than the two above?

Thanks for any help. Manually adding liquid chlorine, using brush like a giant stir stick, and running the waterfalls all day, to help keep pool as proper as possible with no pump.

Completely new to the chemistry and learning but is got this reading from our pool guy after his 3rd visit on our newly remodeled pool that we’ve had over a month. Anything look off? Live in Houston/100 degree weather…

I’m in Houston, TX (USA), and the outdoor temp is 101F. Still mighty refreshing though. How’s everyone else’s pool? (folks with chillers need not to brag 😂😜)

I‘m an idiot. I backwashed for 5 hours. I turned it to backwash when I was letting the dogs out this morning and forgot to switch setting before going to work. I didn’t remember doing it until after lunch. I just came home to the water being below the skimmer. I’ve turned off the pump and the pump and water inside the pump basket are both hot. What have I done? I’ve managed basic pool maintence myself since buying a house with a pool, but aside from cleaning and chemicals I leave it to the pros. Should I call my local pool company or wait and see what damage I’ve caused.

I have a Hayward sand filter and a Howard pump.

Three years from initial planning to this point. Included major detour to move septic field but totally worth it in the end.

20x40 vinyl w/ salt, full width steps, deep end bench step, jump rock
7x7 spillover spa
16x14 pavilion
new patio and pool deck
wood fire pit
all new landscaping w/ lighting
full perimeter fence + vinyl privacy panels

Can't believe this is my backyard now!

Hi everyone, I had a Jandy truclear salt cell installed about 7 months ago in my in-ground plaster pool and I’m having to clean off a thick white scale from it every two weeks or so. My water is very hard (calcium hardness 625ppm on today’s test). I have white scales floating all around in my pool as well. If this matters- free chlorine 5ppm, CYA 60.

How do I go about addressing this rapid scale buildup/calcium hardness issue? Thank you!!

Hey all, I've had my above ground pool for aprox. 9 years all the original parts from the previous home owner.

2 year ago I bought a new pump as the old one died. Simple plug and play with no problem. Last year over winter I didn't completely empty the bottom of the filter and it cracked while in my garage (we had a really cold winter here). So I just went and bought a new filter (cartridge like my previous)

I hooked everything up same as previously however when I start the pump it pulls water gets to maybe 10psi for a few seconds then stops completely drops to 0 and the pump runs dry, however there's water in the line and above the skimmer, it's like there's a blockage but when I turn the pump off and back on it starts pulling again for a few seconds then stops. All the hoses are also brand new so there isn't debris in them either.

I'm at a loss.

Hi all, I really need some help here and I'm hoping I can get some answers because I'm getting frustrated.

I got my pool installed last year, all was well until about August when the pressure on my cartridge filter would go up so fast that I would need to wash my filter once a week. I have a single pump filter (Hayward) and a swim clear cartridge filter.

This year, I bought a new filter, it was working well until that filter was getting dirty fast and the pressure was shooting up quickly (washing once a week). I have tried soaking the filter chemicals that I got from my pool place. Before I had issues, when I cleaned the filter, put it back, I would get a psi reading of 13 which was normal, now it's reading above that once I take it out and clean it.

It's getting frustrating because of cleaning the filters every week. Would anyone know what is happening?

The water and chemical levels are all good, and generally the water is clear once I shock it with salt shock packets.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

We have a pool that appears to be leaking. We are currently considering whether to monitor the water level in stages — skimmer box first, then pool wall lights, then lower jets/outlets to see where it stabilises.

Does anyone have experience with this approach, or would it be better to arrange formal leak detection now and not allow the pool level to continue dropping?

Thank you.

Hey everyone, I’ve got a small pool/hot tub in the back yard. I can not for the life of me keep pigeons away from the hot tub where it spills over to the pool. They just bird bath all day while I’m at work. Came home the other day to one dead in the skimmer. I have set all sorts of stuff to block them from bathing in the spillover from hot tub to pool but they just hang out around the hot tub now and they poop everywhere. I’ve got the spinning reflectors, I’ve got bird spikes along every edge of roof that borders the pool, I’ve got these stupid predator eye beach balls and an owl decoy.

All that together makes a minor difference but ya still get the pigeons that DO NOT GIVE A WHAT!

What is the real solution to keeping pigeons out as best as possible?

Do I need to do anything with my TA? I keep hearing that 80-120 ppm is ideal so I am right in the middle. Since I need to raise pH by about 0.5 should I reduce my TA first? Planning to use Borax (sodium tetraborate) for the pH.

help!!!!! inground pool with cartridge filters (brand new filters and manifold) pump operating fine, have had pool professionals inspect all..and still this appears within hours of manually vacuuming!!!

The concrete between the stones of my pools waterfall is deteriorating, I’m worried about catastrophic failure especially since my kids are always playing under it. Can I just knock out any loose concrete and fill it following basic concrete instructions or is this a professional job?

Hi all, I’m at my wit’s end. I have a rectangle shaped pool and it appears that I have some dead zones after repeatedly SLAMing the pool and scrubbing multiple times a day. Algae just keeps coming back in the same two spots. I am directing the three jets parallel to each other directly towards the opposite side of the pool. The jets are also pointed slightly downward. I’ve tried 10-45 degrees downward and it seems less of an angle is better. But I still can’t clear these dead zones. Is it just trial and error? I’ve tried keeping them parallel and pointing in different directions without any success. Thanks in advance!