http://www.waterworks-pools.com/id172.html

Thinking of the 21' or 24' round in either above by Waterworks, or the 21 or 24 Morada by Namco-Branchbrook.
Is resin the way to go, or aluminum/steel sided???
Would do high end package on either, but would like a DE filter.
Not sure of pump HP needed either.
HELP...

deweypip

A 1 hp 2 speed pump would be best. If the dealer is not willing to let you upgrade the pump and filter, then consider buying the items in the accessories package separately. You may want to go ahead and price out those items individually, that way you can get the items you want at the level of quality you want and get better value for your money.

As to which is better, resin, aluminum or steel sides, all I can say is my pool is steel sided and I have been very happy with it. It does have a couple of small dents from my kids bouncing something off the side when they were horsing around in the yard, but that's about it.

I bought a Sharkline last year, I'm very happy with it. Great pool, assembly process was great and I think it is a very well engineered product. Based on my research Sharkline is a solid company with a good reputation, I bought resin.

I'm not an expert on pools but I specifically chose a sand filter, I think it's easier to maintain but others may disagree. I have a 20' pool with a 1HP pump and that thing cranks out water - too much actually, 1/2 HP would have been better but I have plans this summer on running solar panel heat so I wanted a bit extra HP.

We've had great luck with Sharkline. I'd agree with cramar, for sure. They also make a hybrid steel and resin pool (Venture and Matrix lines). The top rails and uprights would be made from resin, while the walls are galvanized steel. That's the top-end model, and the customized 24' Matrix kits were hugely popular last summer.

As to the pump, I would recommend a 1 HP 2-speed pump. Anything over 1 HP would be overkill.

The filter option is really dependant on what you're looking for:
Sand: oldest method of filtration, less effective, and requires backwashing
Cartridge: better filtration than sand, but can be a pain to pull out the cartridges and clean them, but doesn't require backwashing.
DE: Definitely the best filtration, but also requires backwashing, and is slightly less common in a pump/filter AG combo.

Planning ahead this far is awesome--you'll definitely have time to get everything set up and figured out before it's time to dive in.

I'm leaning towards the skarline with 1 hp 2 sp pump--probably DE at the moment.
I thought it would be a good time (start early), to start trying to figure out which brand /model to go with. Will check out the Matrix line now as well.
Thanks for input guys. I never realized there were so many choices in pools, pumps, filters, ect...Head is spinning as to all the options out there.

Don't forget to account for installation (yourself or contractor), decking and/or solar panel heating (or other type of heating).

We are looking at the same pool. We are going to go with DE. My question is about the sanitation. We don't want a straight chlorine pool b/c daughter has a sensitivity to it. We had a 18' intex salt water pool over the last 3 years that was great. We are replacing that pool with the sharkline. However, we are looking at the ionizer vs. saltwater. Any suggestions?

There may be some misinformation regarding your daughter's sensitivity, as "salt water" pools use chlorine, they just have a machine to generate it from electrolysis of the salt water, as opposed to having it added manually.

More than likely, she has a sensitivity to chlorine mis-management or another aspect of bad water maintenance.

Your best bet would be a salt water generator (which is properly a salt water chlorine generator). Ionizers have little value inoutdoor residential pools.

I just wanted to reinforce what Ohm_Boy said. Salt water pools are chlorine pools with the same concentration of chlorine either way. You were probably in a pool that wasn't properly maintained, and the CCs (chloramines) in the pool were the irritant. A properly maintained chlorine pool, no matter whether salt or not, should not cause any issues. The beauty of a salt pool is you don't have to haul in chlorine.

I wouldn't even consider an ionizer, but that's my opinion.

Thank you so much for the information. You are probably correct regarding her sensitivity to the mis-management of the chlorine pools. Every time she had a problem is was from large public pools or water parks.

So, you would recommend- DE & salt generator. Sharkline- Good above ground pool?

Thank you!

I have learned so much from this forum and my pool ownership, I won't get into any public pools anymore!

DE vs. Sand vs. Cartridge, really your choice.
pool-school/pool_filter_comparison

Don't let the backwashing function of sand or DE filters scare you. I did not flush my sand filter all swim season in 2011. It really didn't even need it when I did my last round of pool work but I did it anyway for the heck of it. I have a big sand filter, but I also have a large pool. I don't like handling DE, although I do have some on-hand for addding to my sand filter. With DE you'll have to recharge your filter every time you backwash, sand filters do not require anything after a backwash. But DE will make microscopically cleaner water.

Thank you.

I will probably go with sand then. That's what I had before, and I thought it was really easy. I want a clean, easy, low maintenance pool. Don't we all!