Buying 1st pool this week...what equipment do I need - pump, salt, sand????

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Ckpaul

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Jun 30, 2015
2
Goldonna, LA
Hi everyone! I'm purchasing my first pool this week - an Intex 18 x 48 6500 gallon AG pool that comes with a 1500 Gallon pump. The link for the pool is http://www.walmart.com/ip/Intex-18-x-48-Ultra-Frame-Pool/39264343

Everyone that I have talked to says that the pump is not good enough for the pool. Some say salt, some say sand, some say chlorinator and there are soooooo many different options at Walmart (which is where I am purchasing from) and no one there can answer ANY of my questions...HELP! What do I need? The more I read, the more confused that I get. My only experience with a pool was a saltwater pool but it was set up and running so my maintenance on it was very little.

Any help, advice, words of wisdom, and/or suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much!
 
Disclaimer: This is my personal opinion, not necessarily endorsed by anyone at TFP... ;)

If I were building/buying a pool today, here's the hardware I'd be in the market for:

1. Variable-speed pump (gives the option to run at a slower speed to save on electricity costs)
2. Sand filter (yeah, it's old technology, but it's cheap and easy to maintain)
3. Multiport valve with waste/backwash plumbed in to sewer line (really only applies to in-ground pools, though...)
4. Chlorination... I would avoid a traditional chlorinator (they lead to using trichlor pucks, to which I can attribute 90% of the problems I had with my pool pre-TFP). Personally, I'm still on the fence about SWGs. I'm manually adding bleach to my pool daily, and it hasn't been a problem. In fact, I believe it's better in the long run. It forces me to look at my pool water daily and try to head off any problems that may be brewing.

As far as pump HP and flow rates are concerned, I have no opinion. I looked at buying a new pump for my pool 2 summers ago and the research and math just about made my head explode. I hired the local pool store to replace the pump, and ended up going with a new pump motor on the old pump housing.

Looking at the picture on the Walmart website, I do have concerns about the longevity and efficiency of that pump/filter combination setup. It's teeny-tiny!
 
:wave: Welcome to TFP!!!

If you want to stick with the Intex equipment, then just get the larger pump with the larger sand filter.

If you want to run a SWG instead of manually adding the chlorine, then buy that separate and not part of a package (so if one part fails, you do not have to replace it all).

Adding through the wall skimmer and hard plumbing are also good options. Here are more ideas:
Useful Intex Links
 
I will definitely read tonight...Thank you!

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Thank you! I will definitely start looking into the sand filters. The one thing that I keep hearing is that the filter/pump that comes with it requires a new filter every three days and doesn't pump enough for the pool. You definitely helped...it seems the more I read the dumber I feel when it comes to this.

Thank you!

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Thank you. Definitely got my homework cut out for me over the next few days before purchasing the pool. Very much appreciate ya'll!
 
The little cartridge filters are junk ... you can slightly improve them by using a Unicel or Filber cartridge instead of the Intex disposable brand, but the pumps are still very weak.
 
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