New house, unwinterized pool

[poms302]

This is what I know: 18'x36' IG, vinyl liner,4.5' to ~9.5'= 30k gallons?, unwinterized tagelus sand filter TA 60D, pump is missing in action, as is vacuum and hoses. Pool is half full greenish brown, 1 known frog and one known hole in liner.

Need some direction on getting a filter and pump. The filter seems like it is sized correctly from what I have read and I am fine replacing it or getting a different or bigger one. Assuming I just replace it, what would be a good filter to match?

I was looking at a Pentair whisperflo 1/2 or 3/4, no idea on this please help.


After I get those ordered and installed, what is my next step: Fill the pool and test, add whats needed...or? Its been about 18 years since I had to work on my Dad's pool and have complete amnesia.

J

[PoolDoc]

Hi Jason;

If the filter is OK, it's large enough for your pool.

I'd recommend the following steps:

1. Physically clean the pool as much as you can -- leaf net + vacuum attached to small rented trash pump. (Do NOT pump the water below the safe level -- leave at least 6" of water on the HIGHEST horizontal surface in your pool (shallow end floor, or possibly, suntan ledge or steps.)

2. Get a cheap local OTO/phenol red drops kit (or an HTH 6-way drops kit, if available). Test the water. The main issue for now is whether the pH is between 7 and 8. If it's not, post your readings here.

3. Once you've got the bulk leaves and trash removed from the pool, begin adding bleach in the evenings, 5 gallons of PLAIN 8% household bleach per dose. Dilute the bleach in a bucket with water, and pour around the pool. BRUSH the pool after adding the bleach, both to break up the algae, and to mix the bleach.

4. Once the pool's color has gone to grayish or light brown, with no green, cut your doses back to 2 gallons per evening. Skip doses if the OTO level is ORANGE or orange-tinted.

5. Once pool is somewhat cleaned, make sure you can repair the liner. You need to rule out the need for a liner replacement. See http://pool9.net/liner-patch/

6. Also, inspect your filter. A new filter of that size is over $500. If you WANT to replace it, that's fine, but if you have to spend $2,000 on a liner, you may want to save elsewhere.

7. Once you have inspected your pool, complete the pool info form: http://pool9.net/pf-pool-chart .

Let me know how it goes.

[Watermom]

Welcome to the Pool Forum! And, thanks for the subscription. Much appreciated!

[poms302]

Thanks for the help, we are picking up the test kit today.

I still am unclear on the pump sizing, will 1/2 hp whisperflo work? Or can you recommend one, the pump and filter are located about 30' from the pool.


The filter is a lost cause, it is in a couple of pieces.

J

[PoolDoc]

Pump sizing depends on filter sizing AND your piping.

1. Can you take multiple hi-res pictures of the pump pad AND the pool, showing the pipes from multiple angles, and the liner damage, skimmer and returns? Post them using a link to Photobucket, Picasa, etc or email them *full-size* to poolforum@gmail.com.

2. Would you rather spend more now, to save $$ over time, or do you need to minimize the immediate cost? Cost range for a pump / filter / timer combo with valves will range from $800 - $2000. There are lots of options -- for example an over-sized filter coupled with 2 speed pump and appropriate timer can BOTH reduce electrical costs significantly AND make the pool easier to maintain.

3. Do you want to do the work yourself, purchase the equipment yourself but have the work done by a contractor or handyman, or hire it done completely. It's often tough to get pool guys to do it your way, but currently Pentair has drastically cut the warranty on consumer purchased gear, meaning you'd need to pick Hayward or Jandy gear instead (not really a problem, but just saying.) The Whisperflo is a Pentair product.

[poms302]

Hi Jason;

If the filter is OK, it's large enough for your pool.

I'd recommend the following steps:



2. Get a cheap local OTO/phenol red drops kit (or an HTH 6-way drops kit, if available). Test the water. The main issue for now is whether the pH is between 7 and 8. If it's not, post your readings here.

We have been a little busy with the new house, but I finally cleaned the pool a little, patched two holes and tested with the HTH 6 way for pH. It was above 8.2, I'm sure you have told many people what to do to get it back down so I will go search.

[Watermom]

How high was your chlorine when you tested pH? If it was above 5ppm with that kit, it will cause falsely high pH readings. If that was the case, retest pH before deciding that it needs lowered by diluting the sample as follows. Take 1/4 cup pool water and 1/4 cup distilled water. Use that mix to run the pH test as normal.

If you repeat the test with dilution and still find that the pH is high OR if the chlorine was no higher than 5ppm when you tested the pH originally, then you can lower it with muriatic acid. But, please read the info at this link first:> http://pool9.net/muriatic/

Hope this helps.

[poms302]

I appreciate all the feed back. I had clear pool besides some left over debris from previous owner, I was waiting for a leaf vacuum from amazon when my pump all of the sudden wouldn't prime. Background, the main drain hasn't really been able to prime the pump on its own. I have it narrowed down to the skimmer line being clogged but I am unsure of what to do to unclog it.

This is what I have tried so far:

Water bladder...doesn't work well with the immediate 90^ elbows at pump and skimmer. Made a 2' threaded pvc fitting for bladder still nothing but broken bladder.

1/4" snake 25' long from both ends, thought I got some stuff but nothing in the basket. Pipe is ~60 feet so I wasn't getting all of it.

From the 2' pvc fitting I made a attachment for a garden hose, I was trying to prime the pump with volume but garden hose couldn't even come close after 10 seconds. But I did find some weird looking rocks in the basket, then picked one up and it crumbled. Smelled really clean, so I am thinking Borax or stabilizer. I used both the previous days before the pump stopped priming. I spread the Borax out from the box, 6lbs over 2 hours. Stabilizer I put in some pantyhose in front of a jet. I think it may have clumped up and got vacuumed up.

Any ideas how to get this stuff dissolved or moving?

[PoolDoc]

I'm not clear: is the pump priming a NEW problem, or one you had since you had the pool?

You can test the 'rocks'. Both borax and stabilizer can 'clump' up or solidify, but borax will dissolve fairly readily in hot water. Stabilizer will not. Dissolved borax will make the pH HIGH, if tested with phenol red. Stabilizer will tend to make it lower.

If you find it's borax or stabilizer, I'd try to hook up a sump pump, placed in the pool, to a hose, and hook the hose to the pool pipe. If you can force even a small amount of water continuously past the borax or stabilizer, it will dissolve eventually. You could use the hose connected to the house piping, but you'd need to be very careful not to overpressure your piping, and damage it.