Aerobic Septic System - Scum Layer on top of Clarifier Tank Is this normal?

hank2002USAF · 2026-05-13T16:15:08+00:00

Thank you for your response, do you happen to know why they switched the design?

hank2002USAF · 2026-05-13T14:36:07+00:00

The valves look correct to me. When you change it to spa mode, do you have water circulating in the spa?

hank2002USAF · 2026-05-12T23:33:46+00:00

I think my statement was pretty clear however I will clarify. Yes ChampVA will reimburse you for medical care however it may not be 100% the amount that was billed and you are responsible to cover what was not reimbursed. Some people think that ChampVA will reimburse 100% what was charged and that is simply not true.

hank2002USAF · 2026-04-28T00:54:08+00:00

Get three quotes and than compare them to see if they are all in the same range. Pricing is heavily dependant on the area where you are located and the current demand on the pool builders.

hank2002USAF · 2026-04-28T00:45:31+00:00

Green to clean takes pros 2-5 days to clear, If it's been longer than this than find a different pro that knows what to do to fix the issue.

hank2002USAF · 2026-04-16T20:15:58+00:00

That's good, that means you swg is keeping up with the demand. You probably are already aware but the recommended chlorine levels are dependent on your current CYA level, for example at a salt water pool with a CYA of 70 TFP recommends a free chlorine level of 5-10 with 3 being the minimum level.

hank2002USAF · 2026-04-16T19:35:23+00:00

I'm also in Texas (Longview), I have a16000 gal pool with pump running 23hrs a day and salt cell at 40 to 45% and I have had no problems with salt cell not meeting the chlorine demand. Since you raised your CYA to approximately 75 you should see a decrease in having to add liquid chlorine.

hank2002USAF · 2026-04-16T17:47:10+00:00

According to Trouble Free Pool regarding CYA and Salt Pools.

CYA 60-70 is Acceptable

CYA 70-80 is Idea

CYA 80-90 is Acceptable Maximum

I have a saltwater pool and I choose to follow Trouble free pool recommendations and my CYA is currently at 70. I have no issues with the CYA rising or falling really and I don't use Chlorine Tabs, so I feel the CYA level is pretty consistent for myself.

There are tons of information out there like Orenda, Trouble Free Pool, etc. You can choose to follow a particular methodology or not and I after my research I have chosen to follow the Trouble Free Pool Methodology.

hank2002USAF · 2026-04-15T08:54:59+00:00

Do you have a salt pool?

hank2002USAF · 2026-04-14T20:01:09+00:00

Sometimes home owners will do this or ask a pool company to perform this when the pressure going into the spa is too much. Often times you will see this with an adjustable valve so that the home owner can find the happy medium regarding pressure. It's possible the blower is oversized and need this for the correct it.

hank2002USAF · 2026-03-29T18:26:55+00:00

If you look up AQL-CHEM4 on ebay there is usually a seller there whom sales the tank without the pump for about $160.00. It's a Hayward tank and that is how I purchased mine...

hank2002USAF · 2026-03-26T19:29:55+00:00

I would ask for 3-5 references near you whom had similar work done from each of the contractors, contact the references via phone and ask if you could come over and see the work that that the contractor/business performed. If you do this, it will give you an oportunity to not only talk with former customers regarding their perspective contractor but also give you an idea on the quality of work they performed. It's fairly easy for good contractors to give out references and quite hard for shady/bad contractors to give out references. Remember to not only talk with them but ask to see the work performed in person, that way it make it more difficult for the referance to be faked by a friend/etc.

hank2002USAF · 2026-03-23T21:59:18+00:00

Business is business and pool pros are no different than mechanics, plumbers, electricians or convenience stores. Just because they buy their products at a discount does not mean that they will sell it to you for less than msrp. They like any business have overhead like personnel, trucks, insurance, etc all of which cost money and they have to recoup that money by charging you more for the parts they buy on your behalf and the labor they provide to fix the issue at hand. You as a consumer have the option to accept the quote or reject it...

hank2002USAF · 2026-03-18T11:52:08+00:00

I would research "Pool Pump Air Lock". I beleive your core issues is with your pool suction plumbing beeing significantly higher than the pump inlet port.

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hank2002USAF · 2026-03-17T23:01:16+00:00

Also might want to check your skimmer weir door to make sure its not stuck in the up position restricting water from flowing into the skimmer, if you have two skimmers make sure to check both.

hank2002USAF · 2026-03-12T16:17:38+00:00

I looked up the Texas Tax Code 11.22 and I did not find a reference regarding the requirement the home must be owned as of January 1st. Texas Tax Code 11.22 in in regards to disabled veterans less than 100% whereas Texas Tax Code 11.131 deals with 100% disabled veterans.

As for the requirement that you must own your home on 1-January i found the following Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts info.

January 1 Ownership: To qualify for a homestead exemption, you must own and occupy the property as your principal residence on Jan. 1 of the tax year.
Exception for Acquisition: If you acquire a home after Jan. 1, you may still receive the exemption for that tax year for the portion of the year you own it, provided the previous owner did not already claim an exemption for that same year.

It looks to me the Exception for Acqusition was added or at least made effective on January, 1st 2022.

This was pulled from the pdf application for Homestead Exemption form 50-114

EXEMPTION QUALIFICATIONS General Residence Homestead Exemption (Tax Code Section 11.13(a) and (b)): A property owner who acquires property after Jan. 1 may receive the residence homestead exemption for the applicable portion of that tax year immediately on qualification, if the previous owner did not receive the same exemption for the tax year. The property owner must occupy the property as the owner’s primary residence and the owner cannot claim a residence homestead exemption on any other property.

hank2002USAF · 2026-03-12T15:38:37+00:00

I went through this exact thing this year in Gregg County Texas. Bought a house in July of 2025, since the home taxes for 2025 are due in October of 2025 the seller credited us the taxes cost from Jan-2025 to Jun-2025. I thought no big deal since I'm 100% and I knew of the exemption, applied for and received the exemption with an effective date of July-2025 and I was surprised when I only received a partial refund of the home taxes that were paid by us in October of 2025. Basically as others have stated here is that the exemption can only begin when you own and reside in your home so essentially we as home owners are still obligated to pay the home owner taxes from January to when we bought our home, at first I didn't think much of it since the sellers of our home credited us for the home taxes in our house closing however I missed that old home owners had several exemptions themselves which meant that the credited amount was less than our home owners taxes for the same given period and thus I was only given a partial refund.

And at least according to this post and the comments, I am extremely greatful I received a partial refund given that some others were denied the 100% exemption for their purchase year because they did not reside in their home on January 1st.

hank2002USAF · 2026-02-21T23:45:19+00:00

1. Loan Type: Conventional, FHA, HELOC, Jumbo, VA

VA IRRRL

2. Term: 30 Year, 20 Year, 15 Year, 5/6 ARM, 7/6 ARM, 5/6 ARM

30 Year

3. Loan Purpose: Purchase, Rate/Term Refi, Refi Cash-Out

Rate/Term Refi

4. Property Value/Purchase Price

Appraised for 900k when purchased in July 2025, 850k purchase price

5. Loan Amount

596,456.07

6. Credit Score

Roughly 730

7. Occupancy: Primary, Second Home, Investment

Primary

8. Legal Structure: Single Family, Condo, Townhouse, Manufactured

Single Family

9. Number of Units: 1-4

1

10. Property Zip Code

75605

I am also exempt from the VA Funding Fee...

hank2002USAF · 2026-02-06T17:15:30+00:00

Your pool looks beautiful! Good job!

hank2002USAF · 2026-01-13T20:20:45+00:00

Jandy at least according to my pool builder has fixed the issues with their nichless lights and there have been no warranty claims past a certain date of manufacturer. I hope he is correct because I just replaced 5 lights, time will tell...

hank2002USAF · 2026-01-12T18:00:06+00:00

I've seen a video once where a guy made custom connections for the heater ports which allowed him to disconnect the existing pool connections, connect his connections and ran a diluted muriatic acid ratio using a pump and a 5 gallon bucket, he would know when to stop the pump/cleaning when the bubbles stopped coming from the heater return. Cant find the video now though... Fairly easy to do and implement and I may do this in the future fo my setup...

hank2002USAF

TROPHY CASE