Just bought a house with a pool - questions

[thegame9377]

Hi all,

My wife and I are purchasing a home with a 38,000 gallon in-ground vinyl liner pool. I've spent a good portion of this evening reading the "pool school" topics, but I need a little help.

The pool needs a new pump & filter. After reading through the pool school threads, i'm thinking cartridge filter is the route I'd like to go. Can anyone help recommend a brand or size pump and filter I would need for a pool this size?

It sounds like this pool has not been used for a few years. I pulled the cover off to take a look. It's not completely green, but it's got crud all in it and even some small tadpols. The good news is that the pool is relatively full, about a foot or two away from being full, likely due to evaporation over the past few years. To me, that means it likely doesn't have any rips or tears in the liner. Being that the water has sat for a couple of years, should I drain all the water and start from scratch, or should I just clean out at much leaves/tadpoles as I can with the net and start with the water that's in there?

Any help and advice is appreciated!

 

[msgtdan]

Welcome to the forum

I can't advise on the filter or pump. You want to be very careful about draining a pool, it can cause all sorts of problems. Doing partial drain and refills is the usual recommendation. If all the equipment is operational I'd probably just fill it back up and clean it up.

 

[Isaac-1]

I have a similar sized vinyl and have a 1.5 HP Hayward pump, if you have water features (fountain, waterfall, etc. ) you might need somthing larger, otherwise the best bet is probably a 2 speed pump in the 1.5 HP range. As to filter, in general bigger is better, within certain ranges.

 

[jblizzle]

General recommendation I have seen for cart filter is 15 sqft / 1000 gallons. That means a BIG filter for you.

I would think even a 2 speed 1 HP could be enough if there is nothing requiring higher flow rates ... depending on the motor's service factor.

May depend on whether your current pump is 120 or 240 volt as to what would be the easiest to install.

Posted with Tapatalk ... sorry if I sound short ... hate typing on phone

 

[Smykowski]

The decision to clear green water or start with new water is going to depend on a couple of things.

Where is the water table? Or a better question, since a total drain on an inground pool is really not a good idea, how many partial drains will you have to do? If you're doing multiple partial drains, how much does the water cost? What's in the fill water? How much money will you spend with "fresh water" rebalancing TA, and stabilizer, because that should be factored in the cost analysis?

From all of the forum members that have done it, in general it seems to be that clearing green water is cheaper than replacing it. The one caveat is if the CYA level is in the triple digits, then a drain would be required. I would bet that with the amount of time it sat uncovered, your CYA is not too high. Your own testing will tell.

Let us know what you decide, and whichever route you go, we'll help.

Please take pictures. It's a lot of fun to see an abandoned pool go from muck to pristine.

 

[thegame9377]

Well, I had a pool guy out to take a look and give me some quotes. He advised that I do NOT have a vinyl liner, but rather a plaster pool with a plastic cover on the sides? Does that sound right? That's the first I'd heard of that.

He advised that it's been sitting for a few years and recommended a complete drain, acid wash, and refill. The water its self is pretty clear, even at the deep end, you can see about 4-5 feet down, but there is a LOT of Crud at the bottom of the pool, and the walls look a little green-stained.

He also recommended a 2hp pump. Is that overkill for a 38k gallon pool? From what I've read on this site, it sounded like a 1.5hp 2 speed pump was the way to go?

He also recommended a sand filter. I know this sounds like personal preference based on what I read in pool school, but if I went with a sand filter, how big would I need to go? I'm looking at the Hayward pro-series top mount per his recommendation. Which one do I need for 38k gallons? I know this depends on flow rate and how quickly I want to turn over the water, so recommendations there would be great too!

Sorry for all the questions. I'm just more apt to trust the experts here than a pool guy who may only be making recommendations based on lining his pockets.

 

[Bama Rambler]

Sounds like what you have is a hybrid pool. Plaster on the bottom and fiberglass walls. There have been a few posted here.

To drain or not to drain. It's hard for us to say one way or the other. My initial thought is not to drain but I'm not seeing what he's seeing.

I'd stick with either a 1 hp 2-speed or a 1½ hp 2-speed pump. That should be plenty big for your pool.

A sand filter for that size pool needs to be pretty large. The S310T2 or the S360T2 would be a good match for that pool and pump. If you want a cartridge filter look for something in the 500 sqft range.

 

[thegame9377]

Sounds like what you have is a hybrid pool. Plaster on the bottom and fiberglass walls. There have been a few posted here.

To drain or not to drain. It's hard for us to say one way or the other. My initial thought is not to drain but I'm not seeing what he's seeing.

I'd stick with either a 1 hp 2-speed or a 1½ hp 2-speed pump. That should be plenty big for your pool.

A sand filter for that size pool needs to be pretty large. The S310T2 or the S360T2 would be a good match for that pool and pump. If you want a cartridge filter look for something in the 500 sqft range.

Thank you for the quick response!

 

[Isaac-1]

I am sure a 2HP pump would work just fine, and as a pool guy I can see why he suggested it, it will also likely be overkill and will cost more in electricity to run than a 1.5HP, and again as a pool guy I can see why he would suggest a sand filter, they are simple low maintenance, and in general work, they also waste the most water backwashing (important if you live somewhere with high water rates, or possible water use restrictions) and provide the lowest level of particle filteration, perhaps an issue if you get ultrafine dust blown into your pool, this is a problem is some regions more than others. Like you said though it is a personal choice and you know best how much effort you want to put into your filtration.