Above Ground Newbie- Filter/Pump/Etc Questions

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Xerobull

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Mar 15, 2010
16
Fort Worth, TX
I bought a house a bit NW of Fort Worth last August that has a 24' round, 48" deep above ground pool with 'LeisureBay' on the side of it. I looked up the capacity and it's around 12,000 gallons. It also has a Baquapure pump/filter system (2.5hp) that I am pretty sure is fried.

The pool is full of old nasty water, so I'm sure that the liner is good (not leaking). The people we bought the house from had some marital issues and separated, and I gathered that the pool had not seen any maintainance in about two years.

I'm a very technically inclined person, but pools are a new frontier for me. The pump/filter system is in horrible shape. I'm sure that I could get it working, but I've inherited old equipment in the past, and have found that if affordable, it's far easier, faster and cheaper in the long run to buy new with a warranty. Not only do you get new equipment that has no mysterious past, you get a warranty that you can fall back on in the event of a hardware failure.

Since I'm looking at the whole system, I'm considering going Saltwater/Chlorinator. It seems to be the best, lowest-maintainance, and healthiest solution out there for pools today.

The system I'm considering is the Intex Deluxe Saltwater System.. For the pump, I'm considering the Intex 4000 Gallon Filter Pump.

Also, they sell some add-ons like the Intex Deluxe Surface Skimmer.

All of the Intex stuff seems to be at a good price point and they all get good reviews (overall). Does anyone have any experience with these products? Is it necessary to get add-ons like the Surface Skimmer?

Am I missing anything in the basic assembly?

Do I need anything else?

Any other advice?
 
You would be wise to avoid the Intex filter/pump. While it may have a good price point, you get what you pay for (junk, LOL)... You won't find many Intex filter/pump fans on this site. That being said, the SWG unit seems to be the exception and has many positive reviews.

I would recommend either a 1 or 1.5 hp pump with a large cartridge filter, like 150sf like mine ( even a 2speed pump if you can manage). Cartridge filters help keep your salt/TA levels stable which is good when using a swg.

My other advice is read as much as you can on this forum and be sure to read Pool School when it comes to understanding the chemistry side of things.

Good luck!
 
I used Amerimerc.com when I bought my 2-speed pump. Good price, and they have free shipping. Just for grins, I just pulled up the site, and you can get filter/pump combo's there. A Pentair Clean & Clear 150 sq ft filter with a 1-1/2 hp 2-speed pump is listed for $440. Pump alone would run about $250 or so. I'd stick with one of the main manufacturers like Pentair or Hayward so you can get parts if needed. I'd suggest a Google search and see if you can find a better deal - don't want to sound like I'm shilling for Amerimerc! (Disclaimer - I do not work for Amerimerc nor do I receive any compensation in any shape, form, or fashion from them.)

linky

1-1/2 hp is probably overkill. You might call them and see if they could match it up to a 1 hp 2-speed pump, and also see if it might knock some off of the price. If they can't, then it shouldn't be a deal breaker. FPM has a 1-1/2 hp pump on her pool, I do believe.

Why a 2-speed pump? It helps save you money on your electric bill, because it uses much less energy on low speed, which is what you leave it on the vast majority of the time.

Check around on the Intex SWG. You might still be able to find one on the Clearance shelf at Wallyworld - they were going for around $100 at the end of last season.

Congrats on your new pool! Once you get it whipped into shape, you'll love it!
 
Mike-

Thanks for the tips. You can get the Intex SWG for $130 on Amazon, shipped. Seems like a good price point. I went by Cabellas and their in-store stock is sadly lacking- and this is at the store right next to their corporate HQ! (super cool place, though). No love at the Wal-Marts I checked, either. Their entire business philosophy is moving merchandise fast, so stuff doesn't stay on clearance long.

I will check out that link now.

Thanks again!
 
Another question. I searched and am reading previous posts on this subject.

I went by an AGP and Spa specialty store today. They were very helpful and repair pumps, etc, which may save me some cash.

However, when I brought up SWGs, the rep got very poo-poo and said they had seen the salt corrode the exterior of AGPs before and they don't recommend them. Of course, half the store floor is chemicals for sale, so it makes sense to me that they would be very biased and try to steer people towards chlorine.

Any truth to this? I have yet to see a horror story about this in the threads I searched through.

Thanks.
 
I haven't heard of any horror stories either. I do have a bit of rust I noticed down near the bottom of where the connecting panel bolts to the wall of the pool, and have noticed that some of the bolts are rusty, too. I don't know if that's due to me having a saltwater pool, or just the effect of water being around cheap metal parts and possibly a spot on the wall where the paint got scratched off during the install. The rest of my pool is perfectly fine.

So, will it cause corrosion? I'm sure it could, if splashed on cheap, unpainted steel. But then again, regular chlorinated water will also cause corrosion if splashed on cheap, unpainted steel. To help mitigate the effects, it's best have your pool installer use good quality stainless steel hardware when building the pool, and also to rinse down areas that get alot of splashout.

Just my .02.

Edit: ahhh, the information you can find from reading seemingly unrelated threads on the forum! I found this tidbit from Jason aka JasonLion in another thread:

JasonLion said:
<snip>Salt is always a little corrosive, the more salt you have the more corrosive it is. However, the effect is not linear. At salt levels below about 6,000 ppm the amount of additional corrosion from salt is minimal. Somewhere between 6,000 and 7,000 the amount of corrosion jumps up significantly and continues rising more quickly from there.</snip>
Click to expand...

For the Intex SWG's, you'll keep your salt level around 3000 ppm, IIRC.
 
Xero...welcome to TFP...I run the intex standalone SWG with a 0.5 hp pentair inground type (full rated) pump...pumps through a solar panel as well and is probably more than enough pump for you...If I recall correctly the pump cost me somewhere around $250.

General rule of thumb for pump/filter set-up is to get the smallest pump possible that will provide an adequate flow rate and an oversized filter, to the extent affordable.

a 0.5 to .075 hp full rated pump and a 250 lbs + sand filter would serve you very well. The Intex standalone swg is very no frills...but it sure beats lugging bleach. :goodjob:

PS...70 deg in NY today...getting the itch to uncover the pool ...gl w/ getting that pool cleaned up...read through pool school and come back to us with any Q's
 

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We have a 24' round by 4' deep pool as well.
Ours came with a Aquatrol swg, you should compare some of the units available.
I looked at the link you provided for the Intex and didn't see much technical details.
One of things that would concern me is if the unit is sized right for the pool.
 
I have the same size pool as you and have an Intex, and it has no problems whatsoever keeping the pool chlorinated. One of the reasons I chose to go with an Intex (besides the price) was that I read in a blog that the Intex produced just as much chlorine as it's name brand counterparts like the Aquatrol. Since that was the main objective, I decided I could live without the bells and whistles, especially since the name brand units were roughly four times the cost of the Intex at that time. Now that the pricing is coming down on the name brand units, I'll consider them once my existing Intex, and the one I bought last year for a song, decide to give up the ghost.
 
The only thing that's adjustable is the amount of run time per day. When you power it up, you program in the # of hours per day you want it to run, and it starts running then. It's supposed to start about the same time every day and run the same cycle every day. The only way to dial it in is to set it up initially to run for oh, 12 hours or so. After it cuts off, test your FC and if it's too high, reprogram it to run for a shorter duration. Eventually you'll find the run time that you need to maintain your FC.
 
Thanks for the additional replies.

Ordered the Intex SWG today from Amazon for $130 shipped. Also took the original Baquapure pump to the shop- $75 for a new seal and bearings. It's probably overkill at 2.5hp, but it's 2-speed, which is nice.

Been reading up on Pool School, and this post has been particularly helpful. Water Balance for SWGs

I have skimmer installed, which I missed somehow on first inspection, which lowers the water level about 8 inches. So I'm looking at 40 inches of water, about 11,000 gallons. Sucks to be that shallow, but safer, I suppose, with a 4-year-old. At any rate, I pictured myself floating with a fresh mug of beer, and I can still do that in 3 1/2 foot of water. :)
 
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