Hi...this may be a little off topic but still deals with home maintenance. I
am looking for a Newsgroup that discusses spas and swimming pools. We have a
swimming pool and I want to learn about water maintenance from some others
that have swimming pools..I googled some of the stuff, but the majority of
"help" I find are from people that just want to sell you chemicals etc....
Any newsgroup suggestions out there? Thanks... Jim

On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:50:18 -0600, "Jimi"
wrote:

Hi...this may be a little off topic but still deals with home maintenance. I
am looking for a Newsgroup that discusses spas and swimming pools. We have a
swimming pool and I want to learn about water maintenance from some others
that have swimming pools..I googled some of the stuff, but the majority of
"help" I find are from people that just want to sell you chemicals etc....
Any newsgroup suggestions out there? Thanks... Jim


Do you have any specific questions?

Jimi wrote:
Hi...this may be a little off topic but still deals with home maintenance. I
am looking for a Newsgroup that discusses spas and swimming pools. We have a
swimming pool and I want to learn about water maintenance from some others
that have swimming pools..I googled some of the stuff, but the majority of
"help" I find are from people that just want to sell you chemicals etc....
Any newsgroup suggestions out there? Thanks... Jim



Hi Jimi,

I've looked but nothing vcame about. Usually I refer to poolsolutions.com

--
John

wrote in message
...
On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:50:18 -0600, "Jimi"
wrote:

Hi...this may be a little off topic but still deals with home maintenance.
I
am looking for a Newsgroup that discusses spas and swimming pools. We have
a
swimming pool and I want to learn about water maintenance from some others
that have swimming pools..I googled some of the stuff, but the majority of
"help" I find are from people that just want to sell you chemicals etc....
Any newsgroup suggestions out there? Thanks... Jim


Do you have any specific questions?

Well I am trying to balance Ph and Alkalinity right now and I am trying
to get crystal clear water... (sparkly)...my wife always looked after the
pool but she is not well now and I am needing a crash course... I have a
pool spa retail outlet that will read water samples for me and tell me what
chemicles to add to the pool , but I am not learning anything and wonder if
half the chemicals are actually needed... so being able to arm myself with
knowledge is a good thing... No I have no specific questions...Just looking
for a pool NG...Thanks... Jim

On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:03:17 -0600, "Jimi"
wrote:


wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:50:18 -0600, "Jimi"
wrote:

Hi...this may be a little off topic but still deals with home maintenance.
I
am looking for a Newsgroup that discusses spas and swimming pools. We have
a
swimming pool and I want to learn about water maintenance from some others
that have swimming pools..I googled some of the stuff, but the majority of
"help" I find are from people that just want to sell you chemicals etc....
Any newsgroup suggestions out there? Thanks... Jim


Do you have any specific questions?

Well I am trying to balance Ph and Alkalinity right now and I am trying
to get crystal clear water... (sparkly)...my wife always looked after the
pool but she is not well now and I am needing a crash course... I have a
pool spa retail outlet that will read water samples for me and tell me what
chemicles to add to the pool , but I am not learning anything and wonder if
half the chemicals are actually needed... so being able to arm myself with
knowledge is a good thing... No I have no specific questions...Just looking
for a pool NG...Thanks... Jim


One key for those new at this is to take things very slowly. Water
doesn't react the instant you add a chemical. You need to add small
quantities at a time and WAIT in between before using another test
strip. Forget even trying to get the Ph stable until you get the
alkalinity right. You can't do them both at the same time, and if
Alkalinity is off, you will never get the Ph stable, or even get a
correct readiing on a test strip.

That's just for starters...

Remember... add a little of ONE chemical and wait an hour or two
before trying to find out if it was enough with a test strip. It will
be a long a tedious chore the first times you do it, but after you
have been at it a while, you will have a feel for how much of a
chemical to add to raise or lower a reading by a certain amount. It is
always better to add less than needed, as you can always add a little
more, but you can't take a chemical back out once you dump it in.

If the chemistry is wildly out of balance because you have been
desperately throwing in large doses of stuff, then you may have to
partially drain the pool and add fresh water to dilute the problem.
With a hot tub, you would simply drain the whole thing and start over.
That's not practical with a pool. The good news is that because a pool
is so much bigger, getting things balanced is actually easier.

Can you provide a little background of what you have done so far and
what exactly is too high or too low, and by how much?

"Jimi" wrote:

Hi...this may be a little off topic but still deals with home maintenance. I
am looking for a Newsgroup that discusses spas and swimming pools. We have a
swimming pool and I want to learn about water maintenance from some others
that have swimming pools..I googled some of the stuff, but the majority of
"help" I find are from people that just want to sell you chemicals etc....
Any newsgroup suggestions out there? Thanks... Jim

I really prefer Usenet- but for the second time today I'm going to
recommend a web-forum.
http://www.poolspaforum.com/forum/index.php?

Don't know about the pool side-- but the hot tub side of this forum
has a couple of resident chemists that have the best, lowest cost
system of keeping a hot tub in balance that you'll ever find.

I've been keeping mine in perfect balance with daily 4oz doses of
plain Clorox- and an occasional boost with shock. [after starting off
with some borax and muriatic acid] Sound simple enough?

Jim

"Jimi" wrote in message
...
Hi...this may be a little off topic but still deals with home maintenance.
I am looking for a Newsgroup that discusses spas and swimming pools. We
have a swimming pool and I want to learn about water maintenance from some
others that have swimming pools..I googled some of the stuff, but the
majority of "help" I find are from people that just want to sell you
chemicals etc.... Any newsgroup suggestions out there? Thanks... Jim


There are probably plenty of people here that can help.

What is your pool's setup: Chlorine?, Filter, Controls? How long do you keep
the filter running? Above ground?

I have a chlorine pool with a sand filter and have no problem keeping it
"sparkling". But I don't have much experience other types of filter media.

PH balance is pretty simple. Figure out how big your pool is and measure
your PH level and adjust with your base or acid. Mine I usually throw in
about 2 quarts of muriatic acid every 6 months.

A real simple way is to get your pool dimensions and take a sample to a pool
warehouse supply place and have them test the water. They usually will tell
you what you need.

You're right about "selling" as some will steer you to use floc but it
usually isn't necessary. It can clear up a pool real fast.

PH can cause a pool to cloud but you need to look carefully at your filter
media too.

Jim

Jimi wrote:
Hi...this may be a little off topic but still deals with home
maintenance. I am looking for a Newsgroup that discusses spas and
swimming pools. We have a swimming pool and I want to learn about
water maintenance from some others that have swimming pools..I
googled some of the stuff, but the majority of "help" I find are from
people that just want to sell you chemicals etc.... Any newsgroup
suggestions out there? Thanks... Jim

http://www.poolspaforum.com/forum/in...howtopic=13634

I have been doing a lot of pool research as I am in the process of
designing a small swim in place pool for our basement. The following link
is for a pool forum as you requested.

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/index.php


The link below is a nice book as it says in the title.

http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/pl/docs...ningbook07.pdf


The link below is a consulting firm that has a nice set of handy pool tips
and related info.

http://www.alisonosinski.com/pooltips/index.htm

I have been doing a lot of pool research as I am in the process of
designing a small swim in place pool for our basement. The following link
is for a pool forum as you requested.

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/index.php


The link below is a nice book as it says in the title.

http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/pl/docs...ningbook07.pdf


The link below is a consulting firm that has a nice set of handy pool tips
and related info.

http://www.alisonosinski.com/pooltips/index.htm

I have been doing a lot of pool research as I am in the process of
designing a small swim in place pool for our basement. The following link
is for a pool forum as you requested.

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/index.php


The link below is a nice book as it says in the title.

http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/pl/docs...ningbook07.pdf


The link below is a consulting firm that has a nice set of handy pool tips
and related info.

http://www.alisonosinski.com/pooltips/index.htm

Jimi wrote:
Hi...this may be a little off topic but still deals with home maintenance. I
am looking for a Newsgroup that discusses spas and swimming pools. We have a
swimming pool and I want to learn about water maintenance from some others
that have swimming pools..I googled some of the stuff, but the majority of
"help" I find are from people that just want to sell you chemicals etc....
Any newsgroup suggestions out there? Thanks... Jim



http://www.poolsolutions.com/sitemap.html

--
John

In el,
Jimi spewed forth:
wrote in message
...
On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:50:18 -0600, "Jimi"
wrote:

Hi...this may be a little off topic but still deals with home
maintenance. I
am looking for a Newsgroup that discusses spas and swimming pools.
We have a
swimming pool and I want to learn about water maintenance from some
others that have swimming pools..I googled some of the stuff, but
the majority of "help" I find are from people that just want to
sell you chemicals etc.... Any newsgroup suggestions out there?
Thanks... Jim

Do you have any specific questions?

Well I am trying to balance Ph and Alkalinity right now and I am
trying to get crystal clear water... (sparkly)...my wife always
looked after the pool but she is not well now and I am needing a
crash course... I have a pool spa retail outlet that will read water
samples for me and tell me what chemicles to add to the pool , but I
am not learning anything and wonder if half the chemicals are
actually needed... so being able to arm myself with knowledge is a
good thing... No I have no specific questions...Just looking for a
pool NG...Thanks... Jim

vinyl or gunite?
differernt pools take different chemicals
I highly recommend for any pool for clarity Pool Perfect and or Phosfree
http://www.nextag.com/Natural-Chemis...11/prices-html

No phoshates = no algae= clear water

Normally i quit using chemicals in the winter when it gets cold, run the
filter, thats it.
It turns green, then shock it into submission in the spring.
This year i've been using PhosFree, it's now Dec 23 and the water is as
clear as it was in July.
I put acouple of capfulls every week and haven't added any chlorine since
September
Amazing stuff

wrote in message
...
On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:03:17 -0600, "Jimi"
wrote:


wrote in message
. ..
On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:50:18 -0600, "Jimi"
wrote:

Hi...this may be a little off topic but still deals with home
maintenance.
I
am looking for a Newsgroup that discusses spas and swimming pools. We
have
a
swimming pool and I want to learn about water maintenance from some
others
that have swimming pools..I googled some of the stuff, but the majority
of
"help" I find are from people that just want to sell you chemicals
etc....
Any newsgroup suggestions out there? Thanks... Jim


Do you have any specific questions?

Well I am trying to balance Ph and Alkalinity right now and I am trying
to get crystal clear water... (sparkly)...my wife always looked after the
pool but she is not well now and I am needing a crash course... I have a
pool spa retail outlet that will read water samples for me and tell me
what
chemicles to add to the pool , but I am not learning anything and wonder
if
half the chemicals are actually needed... so being able to arm myself with
knowledge is a good thing... No I have no specific questions...Just
looking
for a pool NG...Thanks... Jim


One key for those new at this is to take things very slowly. Water
doesn't react the instant you add a chemical. You need to add small
quantities at a time and WAIT in between before using another test
strip. Forget even trying to get the Ph stable until you get the
alkalinity right. You can't do them both at the same time, and if
Alkalinity is off, you will never get the Ph stable, or even get a
correct readiing on a test strip.

That's just for starters...

Remember... add a little of ONE chemical and wait an hour or two
before trying to find out if it was enough with a test strip. It will
be a long a tedious chore the first times you do it, but after you
have been at it a while, you will have a feel for how much of a
chemical to add to raise or lower a reading by a certain amount. It is
always better to add less than needed, as you can always add a little
more, but you can't take a chemical back out once you dump it in.

If the chemistry is wildly out of balance because you have been
desperately throwing in large doses of stuff, then you may have to
partially drain the pool and add fresh water to dilute the problem.
With a hot tub, you would simply drain the whole thing and start over.
That's not practical with a pool. The good news is that because a pool
is so much bigger, getting things balanced is actually easier.

Can you provide a little background of what you have done so far and
what exactly is too high or too low, and by how much?
...



Hello, yes we have a swim spa... It's a 17 ft spa and like a lap
pool...it holds 2100 Imperial Gallons and we usually keep it at 87 degrees
F...I run test strips and put them into a hand held readter that gives me a
CL reading, Ph reading and ALK reading...today it read that my CL was
okay...Ph was acceptable but Alk was way too high...today I called the pool
place and they said use a product called 'Low'n slow" and I said that it
read on the side of the jug that is said "To lower PH".....well my PH was
fine...it was my ALK that was too high...they said they use the same product
to lower both....Tomorrow after I have dumped "low"n slow" it'll probably
say my PH is low and my ALK is okay...so I am like a bouncing ball in
this....and we have been for the past three years... adding chemicals every
freaking day...towards the end of the year we have to dump the pool and
restart cause we are saturated with chemicals...I am trying to learn now
that my wife is not well...knowledge is definately power here...I need to
learn... any positive help would be appreciated... y pool looks like
this... www.hydropools.com I have the 17 ft aquatrainer ...

"Jim" nospam@wherever wrote in message
el...

wrote in message
...
On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:03:17 -0600, "Jimi"
wrote:


wrote in message
...
On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:50:18 -0600, "Jimi"
wrote:

Hi...this may be a little off topic but still deals with home
maintenance.
I
am looking for a Newsgroup that discusses spas and swimming pools. We
have
a
swimming pool and I want to learn about water maintenance from some
others
that have swimming pools..I googled some of the stuff, but the majority
of
"help" I find are from people that just want to sell you chemicals
etc....
Any newsgroup suggestions out there? Thanks... Jim


Do you have any specific questions?

Well I am trying to balance Ph and Alkalinity right now and I am
trying
to get crystal clear water... (sparkly)...my wife always looked after the
pool but she is not well now and I am needing a crash course... I have a
pool spa retail outlet that will read water samples for me and tell me
what
chemicles to add to the pool , but I am not learning anything and wonder
if
half the chemicals are actually needed... so being able to arm myself
with
knowledge is a good thing... No I have no specific questions...Just
looking
for a pool NG...Thanks... Jim


One key for those new at this is to take things very slowly. Water
doesn't react the instant you add a chemical. You need to add small
quantities at a time and WAIT in between before using another test
strip. Forget even trying to get the Ph stable until you get the
alkalinity right. You can't do them both at the same time, and if
Alkalinity is off, you will never get the Ph stable, or even get a
correct readiing on a test strip.

That's just for starters...

Remember... add a little of ONE chemical and wait an hour or two
before trying to find out if it was enough with a test strip. It will
be a long a tedious chore the first times you do it, but after you
have been at it a while, you will have a feel for how much of a
chemical to add to raise or lower a reading by a certain amount. It is
always better to add less than needed, as you can always add a little
more, but you can't take a chemical back out once you dump it in.

If the chemistry is wildly out of balance because you have been
desperately throwing in large doses of stuff, then you may have to
partially drain the pool and add fresh water to dilute the problem.
With a hot tub, you would simply drain the whole thing and start over.
That's not practical with a pool. The good news is that because a pool
is so much bigger, getting things balanced is actually easier.

Can you provide a little background of what you have done so far and
what exactly is too high or too low, and by how much?
...



Hello, yes we have a swim spa... It's a 17 ft spa and like a lap
pool...it holds 2100 Imperial Gallons and we usually keep it at 87 degrees
F...I run test strips and put them into a hand held readter that gives me
a CL reading, Ph reading and ALK reading...today it read that my CL was
okay...Ph was acceptable but Alk was way too high...today I called the
pool place and they said use a product called 'Low'n slow" and I said that
it read on the side of the jug that is said "To lower PH".....well my PH
was fine...it was my ALK that was too high...they said they use the same
product to lower both....Tomorrow after I have dumped "low"n slow" it'll
probably say my PH is low and my ALK is okay...so I am like a bouncing
ball in this....and we have been for the past three years... adding
chemicals every freaking day...towards the end of the year we have to dump
the pool and restart cause we are saturated with chemicals...I am trying
to learn now that my wife is not well...knowledge is definately power
here...I need to learn... any positive help would be appreciated... y
pool looks like this... www.hydropools.com I have the 17 ft aquatrainer
...

OOPS...so sorry...this is what I have ...hadn't realized that a simple miss
of the keyboard would lead to a different place...So sorry and thanks for
your patience...try this...

http://hydropoolhottubsspas.com/Default.aspx

I have the 17 ft aquatrainer...great pool so far and they stand behind
any problems...just have this water learning curve I need to get my head
wrapped around... Thanks all for your patience and Hope you all have a very
Merry Christmas... Jim

"Jim" nospam@wherever wrote in message
el...

"Jim" nospam@wherever wrote in message
el...

wrote in message
...
On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:03:17 -0600, "Jimi"
wrote:


wrote in message
m...
On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:50:18 -0600, "Jimi"
wrote:

Hi...this may be a little off topic but still deals with home
maintenance.
I
am looking for a Newsgroup that discusses spas and swimming pools. We
have
a
swimming pool and I want to learn about water maintenance from some
others
that have swimming pools..I googled some of the stuff, but the
majority of
"help" I find are from people that just want to sell you chemicals
etc....
Any newsgroup suggestions out there? Thanks... Jim


Do you have any specific questions?

Well I am trying to balance Ph and Alkalinity right now and I am
trying
to get crystal clear water... (sparkly)...my wife always looked after
the
pool but she is not well now and I am needing a crash course... I have a
pool spa retail outlet that will read water samples for me and tell me
what
chemicles to add to the pool , but I am not learning anything and wonder
if
half the chemicals are actually needed... so being able to arm myself
with
knowledge is a good thing... No I have no specific questions...Just
looking
for a pool NG...Thanks... Jim


One key for those new at this is to take things very slowly. Water
doesn't react the instant you add a chemical. You need to add small
quantities at a time and WAIT in between before using another test
strip. Forget even trying to get the Ph stable until you get the
alkalinity right. You can't do them both at the same time, and if
Alkalinity is off, you will never get the Ph stable, or even get a
correct readiing on a test strip.

That's just for starters...

Remember... add a little of ONE chemical and wait an hour or two
before trying to find out if it was enough with a test strip. It will
be a long a tedious chore the first times you do it, but after you
have been at it a while, you will have a feel for how much of a
chemical to add to raise or lower a reading by a certain amount. It is
always better to add less than needed, as you can always add a little
more, but you can't take a chemical back out once you dump it in.

If the chemistry is wildly out of balance because you have been
desperately throwing in large doses of stuff, then you may have to
partially drain the pool and add fresh water to dilute the problem.
With a hot tub, you would simply drain the whole thing and start over.
That's not practical with a pool. The good news is that because a pool
is so much bigger, getting things balanced is actually easier.

Can you provide a little background of what you have done so far and
what exactly is too high or too low, and by how much?
...



Hello, yes we have a swim spa... It's a 17 ft spa and like a lap
pool...it holds 2100 Imperial Gallons and we usually keep it at 87
degrees F...I run test strips and put them into a hand held readter that
gives me a CL reading, Ph reading and ALK reading...today it read that my
CL was okay...Ph was acceptable but Alk was way too high...today I called
the pool place and they said use a product called 'Low'n slow" and I said
that it read on the side of the jug that is said "To lower PH".....well
my PH was fine...it was my ALK that was too high...they said they use the
same product to lower both....Tomorrow after I have dumped "low"n slow"
it'll probably say my PH is low and my ALK is okay...so I am like a
bouncing ball in this....and we have been for the past three years...
adding chemicals every freaking day...towards the end of the year we have
to dump the pool and restart cause we are saturated with chemicals...I am
trying to learn now that my wife is not well...knowledge is definately
power here...I need to learn... any positive help would be appreciated...
y pool looks like this... www.hydropools.com I have the 17 ft
aquatrainer ...

OOPS...so sorry...this is what I have ...hadn't realized that a simple
miss of the keyboard would lead to a different place...So sorry and thanks
for your patience...try this...

http://hydropoolhottubsspas.com/Default.aspx

I have the 17 ft aquatrainer...great pool so far and they stand behind
any problems...just have this water learning curve I need to get my head
wrapped around... Thanks all for your patience and Hope you all have a
very Merry Christmas... Jim





The smaller the pool the harder it is to keep the PH correct. That was why I
got rid of my spa. Now I have a spa/pool and it's simple to care for.Since
it's kind of a small pool why don't you do weekly water changes of say 15%?
As long as your supply is PH correct. Sounds like you're getting a lot of
use. Go to a garden place and get a PH meter. Those strips get expensive.

http://www.covers4pools.co.uk/acatalog/hi98107.jpg

On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:51:14 -0600, "Jim" nospam@wherever wrote:


wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:03:17 -0600, "Jimi"
wrote:


wrote in message
...
On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:50:18 -0600, "Jimi"
wrote:

Hi...this may be a little off topic but still deals with home
maintenance.
I
am looking for a Newsgroup that discusses spas and swimming pools. We
have
a
swimming pool and I want to learn about water maintenance from some
others
that have swimming pools..I googled some of the stuff, but the majority
of
"help" I find are from people that just want to sell you chemicals
etc....
Any newsgroup suggestions out there? Thanks... Jim


Do you have any specific questions?

Well I am trying to balance Ph and Alkalinity right now and I am trying
to get crystal clear water... (sparkly)...my wife always looked after the
pool but she is not well now and I am needing a crash course... I have a
pool spa retail outlet that will read water samples for me and tell me
what
chemicles to add to the pool , but I am not learning anything and wonder
if
half the chemicals are actually needed... so being able to arm myself with
knowledge is a good thing... No I have no specific questions...Just
looking
for a pool NG...Thanks... Jim


One key for those new at this is to take things very slowly. Water
doesn't react the instant you add a chemical. You need to add small
quantities at a time and WAIT in between before using another test
strip. Forget even trying to get the Ph stable until you get the
alkalinity right. You can't do them both at the same time, and if
Alkalinity is off, you will never get the Ph stable, or even get a
correct readiing on a test strip.

That's just for starters...

Remember... add a little of ONE chemical and wait an hour or two
before trying to find out if it was enough with a test strip. It will
be a long a tedious chore the first times you do it, but after you
have been at it a while, you will have a feel for how much of a
chemical to add to raise or lower a reading by a certain amount. It is
always better to add less than needed, as you can always add a little
more, but you can't take a chemical back out once you dump it in.

If the chemistry is wildly out of balance because you have been
desperately throwing in large doses of stuff, then you may have to
partially drain the pool and add fresh water to dilute the problem.
With a hot tub, you would simply drain the whole thing and start over.
That's not practical with a pool. The good news is that because a pool
is so much bigger, getting things balanced is actually easier.

Can you provide a little background of what you have done so far and
what exactly is too high or too low, and by how much?
...



Hello, yes we have a swim spa... It's a 17 ft spa and like a lap
pool...it holds 2100 Imperial Gallons and we usually keep it at 87 degrees
F...I run test strips and put them into a hand held readter that gives me a
CL reading, Ph reading and ALK reading...today it read that my CL was
okay...Ph was acceptable but Alk was way too high...today I called the pool
place and they said use a product called 'Low'n slow" and I said that it
read on the side of the jug that is said "To lower PH".....well my PH was
fine...it was my ALK that was too high...they said they use the same product
to lower both....Tomorrow after I have dumped "low"n slow" it'll probably
say my PH is low and my ALK is okay...so I am like a bouncing ball in
this....and we have been for the past three years... adding chemicals every
freaking day...towards the end of the year we have to dump the pool and
restart cause we are saturated with chemicals...I am trying to learn now
that my wife is not well...knowledge is definately power here...I need to
learn... any positive help would be appreciated... y pool looks like
this... www.hydropools.com I have the 17 ft aquatrainer ...


AS I advised earlier, you need to get the alkalinity right first and
then worry about the Ph. Yes, lowering the alkalinity will lower the
Ph. That was to be expected, and is the correct result. You can't
adjust everything at once. They have to be done systematically in
proper order. Go SLOW and be patient. Each time you add the sanitizer,
it will raise the Ph. a bit. Allow for that, too. Don't forget that
you need to WAIT TWO HOURS after adding anything, before you take a
reading top see what it did.

On Dec 23, 6:15*pm, wrote:
On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:03:17 -0600, "Jimi"
wrote:







wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:50:18 -0600, "Jimi"
wrote:

Hi...this may be a little off topic but still deals with home maintenance.
I
am looking for a Newsgroup that discusses spas and swimming pools. We have
a
swimming pool and I want to learn about water maintenance from some others
that have swimming pools..I googled some of the stuff, but the majority of
"help" I find are from people that just want to sell you chemicals etc.....
Any newsgroup suggestions out there? Thanks... Jim

Do you have any specific questions?

* Well I am trying to balance Ph and Alkalinity right now and I am trying
to get crystal clear water... (sparkly)...my wife always looked after the
pool but she is not well now and I am needing a crash course... I have a
pool spa retail outlet that will read water samples for me and tell me what
chemicles to add to the pool , but I am not learning anything and wonder if
half the chemicals are actually needed... so being able to arm myself with
knowledge is a good thing... No I have no specific questions...Just looking
for a pool NG...Thanks... Jim

One key for those new at this is to take things very slowly. Water
doesn't react the instant you add a chemical. You need to add small
quantities at a time and WAIT in between before using another test
strip. Forget even trying to get the Ph stable until you get the
alkalinity right. You can't do them both at the same time, and if
Alkalinity is off, you will never get the Ph stable, or even get a
correct readiing on a test strip.

That's just for starters...

Remember... add a little of ONE chemical and wait an hour or two
before trying to find out if it was enough with a test strip.

Two problems here. One is an hour or two is fine for a spa or maybe
a small above ground pool. But for any reasonable size inground pool
it takes a lot longer than that to circulate the water and distribute
the chemicals. I'd wait a minimum of 6 hours of pump RUN time, which
is around the minimum amount of time the pump should be run each day.

Second is the strip test products are so far from being accurate that
they are just about worthless. I've tried a variety of them over the
years on both pools and spas and would never trust them. Even the
cheapest liquid test kits are far more accurate and readable.

To the OP, I've found good info at the PoolSpaForum website:

http://www.poolspaforum.com/forum/index.php

The Complete Pool Manual by Dan Hardy, available at Amazon is an
excellent guide for a new pool owner as well.





It will
be a long a tedious chore the first times you do it, but after you
have been at it a while, you will have a feel for how much of a
chemical to add to raise or lower a reading by a certain amount. It is
always better to add less than needed, as you can always add a little
more, but you can't take a chemical back out once you dump it in.

If the chemistry is wildly out of balance because you have been
desperately throwing in large doses of stuff, then you may have to
partially drain the pool and add fresh water to dilute the problem.
With a hot tub, you would simply drain the whole thing and start over.
That's not practical with a pool. The good news is that because a pool
is so much bigger, getting things balanced is actually easier.

Can you provide a little background of what you have done so far and
what exactly is too high or too low, and by how much?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

On Dec 23, 11:51*pm, "Jim" nospam@wherever wrote:
wrote in message

...





On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:03:17 -0600, "Jimi"
wrote:

wrote in message
. ..
On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:50:18 -0600, "Jimi"
wrote:

Hi...this may be a little off topic but still deals with home
maintenance.
I
am looking for a Newsgroup that discusses spas and swimming pools. We
have
a
swimming pool and I want to learn about water maintenance from some
others
that have swimming pools..I googled some of the stuff, but the majority
of
"help" I find are from people that just want to sell you chemicals
etc....
Any newsgroup suggestions out there? Thanks... Jim

Do you have any specific questions?

* Well I am trying to balance Ph and Alkalinity right now and I am trying
to get crystal clear water... (sparkly)...my wife always looked after the
pool but she is not well now and I am needing a crash course... I have a
pool spa retail outlet that will read water samples for me and tell me
what
chemicles to add to the pool , but I am not learning anything and wonder
if
half the chemicals are actually needed... so being able to arm myself with
knowledge is a good thing... No I have no specific questions...Just
looking
for a pool NG...Thanks... Jim

One key for those new at this is to take things very slowly. Water
doesn't react the instant you add a chemical. You need to add small
quantities at a time and WAIT in between before using another test
strip. Forget even trying to get the Ph stable until you get the
alkalinity right. You can't do them both at the same time, and if
Alkalinity is off, you will never get the Ph stable, or even get a
correct readiing on a test strip.

That's just for starters...

Remember... add a little of ONE chemical and wait an hour or two
before trying to find out if it was enough with a test strip. It will
be a long a tedious chore the first times you do it, but after you
have been at it a while, you will have a feel for how much of a
chemical to add to raise or lower a reading by a certain amount. It is
always better to add less than needed, as you can always add a little
more, but you can't take a chemical back out once you dump it in.

If the chemistry is wildly out of balance because you have been
desperately throwing in large doses of stuff, then you may have to
partially drain the pool and add fresh water to dilute the problem.
With a hot tub, you would simply drain the whole thing and start over.
That's not practical with a pool. The good news is that because a pool
is so much bigger, getting things balanced is actually easier.

Can you provide a little background of what you have done so far and
what exactly is too high or too low, and by how much?
...

* * Hello, yes we have a swim spa... It's a 17 ft spa and like a lap
pool...it holds 2100 Imperial Gallons and we usually keep it at 87 degrees
F...I run test strips and put them into a hand held readter that gives me a
CL reading, Ph reading and ALK reading...today it read that my CL was
okay...Ph was acceptable but Alk was way too high...today I called the pool
place and they said use a product called 'Low'n slow" and I said that it
read on the side of the jug that is said "To lower PH".....well my PH was
fine...it was my ALK that was too high...they said they use the same product
to lower both....Tomorrow after I have dumped "low"n slow" it'll probably
say my PH is low and my ALK is okay...so I am like a bouncing ball in
this....and we have been for the past three years... adding chemicals every
freaking day...towards the end of the year we have to dump the pool and
restart cause we are saturated with chemicals...I am trying to learn now
that my wife is not well...knowledge is definately power here...I need to
learn... any positive help would be appreciated... y pool looks like
this...www.hydropools.com*I have the 17 ft aquatrainer ...- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


Since it's actually a swim spa and holds only 2100 gallons, my
recommendation would be to drain it and start over. That amount of
water is almost certainly going to be cheaper than buying chemicals.
Plus factor in the time spent and the fact that new water usually has
a cure rate approaching 100% and it's a no brainer.

With cloudy water and an alkalinity that is way high, it's not a
problem that is easy to solve. As you know, total alkalinity and PH
are linked so it's not easy to fix one without moving the other. If
the alkalinity was just moderately high and you had clear water, no
evidence of scaling, then I'd say don't worry about it.

The best procedure to lower alkalinity would be to add acid in a
relatively localized area of the pool, ie one area, to get the PH in
the entire pool down to 7, wait 8 hours, then turn on the aerators for
a couple hours. Even that is not that effective and may have to be
repeated many times.

On Dec 23 2009, 5:50*pm, "Jimi" wrote:
Hi...this may be a little off topic but still deals with home maintenance.. I
am looking for a Newsgroup that discusses spas and swimming pools. We have a
swimming pool and I want to learn about water maintenance from some others
that have swimming pools..I googled some of the stuff, but the majority of
"help" I find are from people that just want to sell you chemicals etc.....
Any newsgroup suggestions out there? Thanks... Jim

try http://www.homepools.com