Do I need a filter?

[Jasmyne]

First, I know absolutely nothing about pools.

We were looking for just an inflatable kiddie splash pool but everywhere was sold out and....long story short we ended up with something bigger, it's a circular, 10ft x 30” tall Steel Pro Frame Pool with a PVC lining. We filled it full of water, and had a jolly time for a few days before we realised that a pool this big couldn't just be empty and refilled, we are going to need chemicals, etc, stuff to keep the water clean.

I've been doing a lot of searching online and a lot of reading here on this site, and I've gotten a fundamental grasp of the chemicals involved and stuff, but everywhere also talks about filtration systems.

So my question is, do we need a filter for our pool, or can we get along without one? This is the UK, we are having a nice summer so far but I don't anticipate being able to use it for more than a few more weeks, and we'd prefer not to have the expense if possible, given we've already spent triple what we intended just on the pool alone.

Also, is the use of chemicals affected by not running a filter?

Any and all advice would be hugely appreciated, I am really out of my depth here.

At the moment we are draining the pool because we want to dig out beneath it to make it a little more level (after filling one side settled to be about two inches lower than the other), but also because the water has gone murky after last night's rain, and the sides and bottom had a slight film, so I am going to scrub it out with some bleach, level it better, and refill it.

Cheers;
Jasmyne

 

[techguy]

You need a filter to filter out the debris from the pool. This is debris from the people and the organic debris from dead algae (the murky stuff you just cleaned out). You may be able to find a pump/filter in one of the online classifieds (Gumtree IIRC)

You should read the pool school, link in the upper corner, and you can see that liquid chlorine (bleach) is very effective in pools and especially small ones.

 

[Bama Rambler]

You really do need a filter. If you can't drain and refill it every couple of days it's going to get really nasty. You also have no way of circulating the chemicals effectively without a pump and filter. A pool the size you got usually comes with a small pump and filter.

 

[Jasmyne]

There was not one included, unfortunately, and of course the salesman never told us we needed one. I suppose I'll have to try and find one.....surely it doesn't need a very big one? The pool holds 4600 litres of water.

 

[pool mum]

That's a pretty small pool, a very small filter would be fine.

 

[Jasmyne]

I was just reading up on what size I need, and its a 330 gallon one, I've seen a bestway one which is the same make as our pool, for only £25- which Is fine, except everywhere I look seems to be sold out! sigh....I just want to sit in my pool and listen to the Cricket for petes sake. I bought a pool skimmer, vacuum and wall brush, I really wish that and the chems was enough to keep the water clear and safe...I have a feeling the filter is going to be even harder to get my hands on than the pool was.

 

[techguy]

Where are you located? Chelsea? London?

 

[Jasmyne]

I'm located in Bushey, about twenty minutes from London. (by train)

 

[fireman00]

not sure what brand name pool you got but we had a small one like that 16'x36" and used something similar to what's here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_nos ... l%20filter

Good luck!

 

[Isaac-1]

I would suggest looking at something like http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bestway-800-San ... ilter+sand which is probably a bit of overkill for the pool you have now, but would still work if you upgrade to something in the a bit larger in a couple of years and it only costs a little more than a basic cartridge filter. Note pool filter sand is not included I am not sure how hard it is to find in the UK (this is special graded sand, not standard garden sand), sand is also available on amazon but would add to cost, and could likely be bought cheaper locally.

Ike

p.s. there is some talk of this filter here bestway-sand-filter-t9292.html