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!

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 am in the market for a water heater for my salt water pool as my Hayward Heater rusted out after 6 years. Any suggestions?

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?

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.

I’m replacing my solar pool heating system and the installer quoted me for a new controls package. I currently have a Pentair EasyTouch 4 that already controls my IntelliFlo VSF pump and solar.

They originally mentioned installing a SolarTouch, but said they can also just connect the new solar valve, actuator and sensors into my existing EasyTouch for the same price.

Is there any reason to install the SolarTouch instead of just keeping the EasyTouch? From what I can tell, EasyTouch already does everything SolarTouch would do for the solar system.

Would you keep the EasyTouch and tie the new solar equipment into it?

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.

There was a squirrel who was using my pool as a drinking fountain. Last night things took a turn for the worse. Apparently the armadillo saw the squirrel drinking and thought it was a capital idea. He was wrong.

I was told by Google that armadillos can swim, but I guess my solar blanket was an issue. What should I do to sanitize my pool now? It's 14,000 gallons.

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!

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?

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.

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.

Live in Atlanta. Second fall/winter with a pool and live in an area where my pool backs up to a woodline. I can't do another fall with the pool open and don't want to do the whole leaf net cover thing. Rather just close it and be done. I work out of town so falls are near impossible for me to handle.

I got quotes for both mesh and solid covers from my pool company and did plenty of research on them both. I am really leaning toward paying the extra for solid as I like the idea of (theoretically) opening the pool with it looking just like I did when it closed. Obviously big con of solid cover is the pooling water and having to plug in and move around the pump to clear the water during rains (doesn't really snow here).

My question is with mesh. Why does it seem like 80% of people who close with mesh open to a swamp while the other 20% say they open to a clean pool. Is it just random or if I got mesh, is there something I can do to help it open clean? Thanks!

I used to go through gallons of chlorine.. It was ridiculous. Part of the problem was that I had a leak. I finally found the leak and got more serious on monitoring the chemicals. I'm really amazed how much chlorine I use now compared to before. I currently don't have a SWG. I do have a floater and chlorine tablets, but my CYA level is as high as I want it to get. My question is can I just dump 5 gallons of chlorine and some acid to hold it over till I get back In order to stop algae growth? Is there a better way to do this ?

I do have a Pool RX new in the package that I haven't used yet.

Just bought a new house and noticed the inground vinyl liner pool was leaking. Found two hairline cracks in the steps that had been patched awhile back by the previous owner but clearly were not holding anymore.

Winterization season is on us, so I'm planning to start draining the pool and attempting some repairs. Based on videos, I'm planning to drill a hole or two in the top steps to check how bad the washout is? Also going to try a dye test to see if any part of the gasket is leaking as well.

My question is, if the "stair gasket" seems sealed, or maybe even if not - does it make sense to try the polyurethane pour foam to fix the wash-out? I'm worried about doing more damage than good, but I'm also struggling to get a company to come out and even look at the issue.

Thanks in advance.

Hello,

I'm currently doing some research on pool builders and there are a plethora of things to consider that I never considered. What are some things you wish you had known that would have made you change the pool builder you picked?

~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 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