New Pool Project

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dmcody

dmcody

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Jun 9, 2008
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Pittsburgh, PA
Met with the pool company today to pick out the features of the pool and need some input / feedback on a few topics. What know that we are building an in ground, 18 x 36 vinyl pool, hopper bottom ~25,000 gallons, with a gas heater. Questions are as follows:

1. Pool Chemicals – Pool Company is pushing Nature 2 Mineral system. From researching this site, it sounds like any mineral system is just smoke and mirrors that we should stay away from. That decision is easy. So now I’m left with Chlorine vs SWG. We had a pool in NY which was chlorine (NY stats in signature). I have no problems with chlorine, easy to maintain, BBB, etc…. Problem is the chlorine addition and monitoring is harder for my kids/wife to manage if I’m away so I’m looking at the SWG systems. My understanding is that they are easier day to day – week to week maintenance. They still require maintenance, but if I’m gone for a week and everything is good before I leave, it should generally be ok until I return. Correct? I’m not a fan of the saltwater taste but wife and kids like it so if they are happy, that’s half the battle. Finally, since SWG pools are essentially Chlorine pools, if I wanted to, could I convert back to chlorine?

2. Filters – Pool Company is pushing DE. I had sand but was thinking cartridge filters. My understanding is DE offers the best filtration, Cartridge 2nd, Sand 3rd. Pool company was insisting that Cartridge are a maintenance headache and that DE was the best. Claimed that the deodorants, makeup, sun tan oils will clog the cartridges constantly. Not sure that I believe him, wouldn’t the chlorine burn it off when you shock the pool? Filtration wise, it doesn’t seem like there is a wrong choice here.

3. Covers – Solar & Safety vs Automatic – I was hoping to get a solar cover that was recessed in a box in the pool deck and use a safety cover in the winter. We had the old fashioned reel in solar cover but it was harder for the kids/wife to deal with and was always visible. So we thought that the recessed box would make it easier and allow us to hide it to get it out of the way. Pool company advised against it as he said they have not perfected it yet. Metal parts, constantly in contact with chlorine/salt water – not good for the bearings, etc… Did not push the automatic cover but wouldn’t the same issues apply to the automatic covers?

Thanks for any input/feedback.
 
Yes, a swg pool can do fine for a week when it is dialed in and you make sure ph is on the low end of the range if it is still rising. Vinyl is better than plaster on this. Yes, you can easily convert it back to straight chlorine anytime. Just turn off the swg and stop replacing salt and it will slowly drop off from rain overflowing. Or you can drain and refill.

Cartridge filters are a bit of work to clean, a couple of hours two or three times a year when things are good. If you let algae get hold you will be cleaning it a LOT, like every few days, until you get algae under control. But, if you let that happen once you probably won't let it happen again! :) That is all that I have had, can't comment on the rest first hand. But, I read here that sand is lower maintenance with just backflushing but that uses quite a bit of water that will require replacing cya, salt and whatever other adjustments might be needed based on your fill water. I have not experienced any of the issues described with suntan lotion, etc. The times I need to clean the filter is spring and fall when trees are dropping stuff in the pool by the truckload. I never need to clean the filter during summer swim season.

All I know about covers is that I don't have one.
 
Filter,
get whichever one suits you. If you keep your water balanced, you will never know the difference.
I have a cartridge and its easy enough to clean, with cartridge, the bigger they are, the less you have to clean them. Takes me about an hour. If I have a cold drink handy, it takes me 2. :)
pooldv is right though, if you get algae, it wil be a headache.

DE filter, you have to backwash it just like a sand filter and have to add DE after each backwash. You also have to take them apart and clean them occasionally. If you get algae, it will clog much quicker than sand or cartridge.

Sand Filter, just backwash and be done with it. Maybe a deep cleaning every few years.

A SWG, I dont think you can go wrong with one. And yes, if you want to convert back to liquid chlorine, you can do that at any time.
 
Thanks. I had no problems with the sand filter we had in our previous pool. Is a pressure washer on the cartridge filter not a possibility? Understood that if you get too close, the filter will rip. How do you add the DE in the filter after each BW? Something tells me that you can't go wrong with the proven technologies. Chlorine works and the kids and wife will have to learn. As for filtration - if I'm putting lights in the pool, does the 1 micron (DE) vs 10 micron (Sand) matter?
 
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