mplekker

Yes, but DPD and strips can bleach out at high chlorine levels and one can think there is no chlorine in the water when there actually is. This is where i like to test with OTO (comparator uses shades of yellow) since it is a bulletproof test for TC...if there is chlorine it will turn yellow, orange, or brown, depending on how high. Also, high chlorine demand can sometimes be caused by ammonia (from degradation of CYA while the pool is closed). If you would post a full set of test results that were NOT done with strips we could help you better. Is the OTO the test where you have to add 5 drops of yellow stuff and 5 drops of red stuff to a sample of water and compare colors? I did that too and it indicates low chlorine also....

Ok, so the strips aren't so good. It's just strange because they worked last year and the years before just fine. Anyway, I don't really doubt the strips. I also bought a kit that has two test tubes, and two bottles of which you have to add 5 drops to a water sample. This test also indicates low chlorine....By the way...The girl at the pool supply store told me that, if you smell chlorine, there is actually not enough in the water. Not sure if that is true, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

Hi everyone, I need some advice. I have had a 32,000 gallon in ground pool for the last 4 years. I always opened the pool late May or early June. Clean the pool, shock it and voila, the chlorine level would always be fine, PH fine and so on. This year, the story is different. I shocked the pool with old granulated shock, tested the water with test strips from last year. It indicated low chlorine and low PH. So I shocked again, added some PH plus. Same results, though the PH would increase according to the test strips. Thinking you could not use chlorine shock that is old, or test strips that are old, I bought new granulated shock, new 3" chlorine tablets and new test strips. Also more PH plus and stabilizer that the girl at the pool store recommended. All the results were OK, except again the chlorine level. I must have shocked the pool 5 times since late May, but I have never seen the chlorine level on the test strips register anything at all. Really strange, because I remember the years before where the strips would react big time after a shock. The water seems OK however. It's squeaky clean, clear and I roll the cover on every night. When I smell my towel after a swim, I do smell the chlorine in it, so there is definitely chlorine present. Water temperature (it's heated) has been 85 F. Pump and filter run fine. I am ay a loss as to why it won't register on the test strips, even just hours after I shock the pool. Any suggestions?

Hello, everyone... A quick question for some of your opinions....My pool is a 40 x 20, 30000 Gallon inground with a large gas heater. It also has a retractable cover to minimize heat loss. Last year, the cover didn't work so the pool was uncovered from June to October. I live in PA, by the way. The gas bill was through the roof, of course due to the heat loss. I try keeping the temperature at 80 degrees. This year, I got the cover fixed so the pool will be covered unless we're swimming in it. The pump ran 24/7 last year. The question is this: In order to save gas and electricity I was thinking of building an electrical circuit that will run the pump from e.g. 8 AM to 8 PM, and off during the night. Of course, the gas heater will also be off because it detects pressure loss. I figure I will be saving 50% in gas and electricity. Now the question is: how much gas/electricity will I be saving? Does it outweigh the fact that during the night I will loose some temperature? I did a little test last night and shut off the pump from 8P to 8A. I lost 4 degrees in temperature and overnight the low went to 55 degrees. But did I burn more gas getting the temperature back up to 80 than if I would've left it running all night, maintaining 80? What do you guys think? It's like the old saying that shutting off fluorescent lights for a short period isn't going to help, because they consume more power starting back up....I don't know...It's a toss up between warming up 30000 gallons 4 or 5 degrees versus maintaining that same 30000 gallons at a constant temperature... Also: Are there any other drawbacks about running the pump only half the time? Some people I talk to say that it's OK to run only during the day, others tell me to keep it running 24/7....

Hi everyone. Maybe a stupid question, but I have never operated a DE filter before...I cleaned it out, and now it is ready to go...So I read I have to mix the DE until it looks like milk. Then where do I put it? Thanks!

Thank you for the good info

Ok, people, so far everyone here has been real helpful....So here's another series of questions. The situation right now is: The pool is clean and filled with 30000 gallons of clean water. The underground piping is pressure tested, and the pump runs. Strong jets of water can be felt coming out of the exhaust jets. So far so good. Then, a little bit of bad news: The DE filter was cracked on its top and also on its base. I had a pool guy look at it, and he said it is basically junk. So I am looking to buy a new DE filte. Now the current one is a Purex Triton Nautilus FNS36. First question is: Can I just arbitrarily replace that with ANY filter? Like maybe a Hayward? Or maybe a LARGER filter, like an FNS48? Should be possible, right? Which ones are the best for a 30,000 gallon inground pool? I'm looking around on Ebay hoping to find a bargain. Right now, I have a valve in between the lines and the DE filter that either runs the water through the DE filter (which I now have bypassed with a straight piece of pipe, by the way) or to waste. A sales mean told me that I might need a new valve for a new DE filter. Why is this? Supposedly one that you can also backflush with or something. Also, they said that I need to buy the DE earth stuff (hard to pronounce). How much do you buy, and where do you put it? Once the DE filter is in place, we will be somewhere in May, and it will be time to open the pool. Now I have been reading about shocking the pool, and so on. My question: what is better? Chlorine or stuff I saw called Baqausil? And is that it? Or do I need other types of chemicals, too? I look forward to your advise Mario

Hello again everyone. I've been working on my pool, and came accross a neat device that turned out to be pool lighting. It's a green box with a bright light in it, and a rotating colored glass disc. Underneath the disc, there are two strands of fiber optic cable, that go into the ground and come out in the pool, around the top of the liner. The idea is that you will have a multi colored ring around your pool at night time. So what I did is clean up the control box, and got it running. The light works (very bright) and the colored glass disc rotates. I then hooked it back up to the two strands of fiber optic, and waited for dusk to see the light show. It works, but only a little. Right where the fiber optic enters and also exits the pool I have neat lights, changing from red to blue to green and so on. A few feet down, the light fades quickly. On the opposite side of the pool, I see no lights. Could the strand be broken somewhere? Or maybe I just need to sand the ends of the fiber optic strands right at the light, since they were pretty muddy and I only wiped them off. Does anyone have experience with these kinds of lights? Mario

Thanks guys....I did replace the water real quick, though they told me I was lucky that the liner held up....So far so good.

Hi, I decided to drain my pool. The leaf situation is just too bad to scoop them all out and try to shock it. So I am draining it and getting new water next month or so....Question is: Do I need to keep the liner wet? It's going to be a month or so, and I don't want it to dry out or anything....I don't think so, cause if that were the case, then how come the little piece of liner above the water line doesn't normally dry out? Any other things to watch for while I drain it? Good day! Mario

Thanks guys, for all the advice. One question...."Vacuum to waste" - what does that mean?

Hello, I'm a new home owner that just bought a house with a pool. Pretty big one too, I think around 30,000 gallons or so. Anyway, since I never owned a pool before, here's some questions.... 1. The pool hasn't been used in (I think) a couple of years. So lots of leaves and debris in it. I'm going to clean that out the best I can, but do you guys have any tips? I can't even see the bottom. 2. It's got a few tears in the liner. I drained the pool water out so it is now about 1" below the tear. The tear is about 4 inches in length....Is this repairable? 3. Once I get it as clean as I can, do I use the pool vacuum, or (as I have read on the net) is it better to call in a professional in May or so (I'm in PA) to "power vacuum" the pool and get it ready? Those are the first concerns....Talk to you guys later... Mario