We decided to put in an AGP this year and found a Bestway 16 x 31' Steel Frame (roughly 14,000 gallons) at Costco. This will be, in part, a trial run to see if we will upgrade in a few years to a more permanent AGP with a deck entry, so I am trying to make decisions with the future in mind and will hopefully be able to re-use many items. For the best chance of success, I want to automate as much of the routine maintenance as possible. I've done a ton of reading, especially on this site, to try to get an understanding of things. I believe I am pretty clear on the basic chemical maintenance, but I'm hoping for some help with equipment and setup.
Site:
We have a yard sloped away from the house. Everything I have read strongly encourages that you cut into the slope, instead of adding fill to level, but that is not practical for our yard. We will be installing a 2 1/2' retaining wall about 50' from the house and the short length of the pool will start about 25' from the house, so this will be a filled-in slope of about 25' x roughly 45' wide. Going into the slope, the first 16-18' of fill area will have the pool on top of it, the rest will be re-seeded with grass. The total drop from front pool edge to the retaining wall is about 27". Could anyone offer advice, which I realize goes against the standard advice, to prep this so that I do not have problems with the fresh fill? What would be the best base for the pool area? I am planning to use 4" thick pavers, or pressure treated 2x8 or 10s for the supports and will likely use foam board under the pool.
Pump:
In reading reviews of the pool, the more common complaints are that the filter a) is undersized and b) has a GFCI plug that does not work with timers. Initial research for a replacement led me to the Intex Krystal Clear 16" with its 24-hour timer. Is there a better option for a "portable" pool? I will not be running a dedicated electric line to the "temporary" pool, but will be relying on an outdoor GFCI receptacle. I realize this will likely be a disposable item if we upgrade to a more permanent pool.
SWG:
I keep reading about the price of chlorine and am thinking that this is almost a must-have, one of the items that could dramatically reduce maintenance and be completely re-usable. I was looking at Circupool models at discountsaltpool but then realized I had saved the Intex Krystal Clear filter that comes with an SWG to my Amazon shopping list. The SWG part definitely seems undersized to the pool (I calculated at less than .5 lb./day) and it would not be re-usable if we upgrade. If the SWG is undersized, will I eventually be able to trust the FC loss and not have to test and add liquid chlorine daily? Or is this generator worthless and should I just bust the lock off the wallet and future proof with a Circupool?
Solar Heaters:
I intend to install solar heating on a fence that is about 75 feet away, with maybe 5-10' of altitude change. My understanding is that pretty much any pool pump should be capable of this.
Spa:
We have a blow-up Coleman spa and I would like to better automate the maintenance by tying it into the pool filter and SWG, with a valve to switch water flow to its own heater, when needed. Can I add this to the loop, where pre-treated pool water takes care of all the chemical balancing? Or do I need to run this off a separate circuit on its own timer? What is the best way to hook this up?
Other random items, most picked up from reading the valuable information in various threads in this forum:
Hayward skimmer, detailed by a thread in the build section.
Hairnets and Magic Lube II are on my order list.
Solar cover & reel, a Dolphin cleaner and a safety Ladder.
Bought supplies for a vinyl tube water level for final leveling of the pool area.
Is there anything glaringly wrong with my understanding and/or plans for set up?
Thanks in advance for any and all help/advice.
Site:
We have a yard sloped away from the house. Everything I have read strongly encourages that you cut into the slope, instead of adding fill to level, but that is not practical for our yard. We will be installing a 2 1/2' retaining wall about 50' from the house and the short length of the pool will start about 25' from the house, so this will be a filled-in slope of about 25' x roughly 45' wide. Going into the slope, the first 16-18' of fill area will have the pool on top of it, the rest will be re-seeded with grass. The total drop from front pool edge to the retaining wall is about 27". Could anyone offer advice, which I realize goes against the standard advice, to prep this so that I do not have problems with the fresh fill? What would be the best base for the pool area? I am planning to use 4" thick pavers, or pressure treated 2x8 or 10s for the supports and will likely use foam board under the pool.
Pump:
In reading reviews of the pool, the more common complaints are that the filter a) is undersized and b) has a GFCI plug that does not work with timers. Initial research for a replacement led me to the Intex Krystal Clear 16" with its 24-hour timer. Is there a better option for a "portable" pool? I will not be running a dedicated electric line to the "temporary" pool, but will be relying on an outdoor GFCI receptacle. I realize this will likely be a disposable item if we upgrade to a more permanent pool.
SWG:
I keep reading about the price of chlorine and am thinking that this is almost a must-have, one of the items that could dramatically reduce maintenance and be completely re-usable. I was looking at Circupool models at discountsaltpool but then realized I had saved the Intex Krystal Clear filter that comes with an SWG to my Amazon shopping list. The SWG part definitely seems undersized to the pool (I calculated at less than .5 lb./day) and it would not be re-usable if we upgrade. If the SWG is undersized, will I eventually be able to trust the FC loss and not have to test and add liquid chlorine daily? Or is this generator worthless and should I just bust the lock off the wallet and future proof with a Circupool?
Solar Heaters:
I intend to install solar heating on a fence that is about 75 feet away, with maybe 5-10' of altitude change. My understanding is that pretty much any pool pump should be capable of this.
Spa:
We have a blow-up Coleman spa and I would like to better automate the maintenance by tying it into the pool filter and SWG, with a valve to switch water flow to its own heater, when needed. Can I add this to the loop, where pre-treated pool water takes care of all the chemical balancing? Or do I need to run this off a separate circuit on its own timer? What is the best way to hook this up?
Other random items, most picked up from reading the valuable information in various threads in this forum:
Hayward skimmer, detailed by a thread in the build section.
Hairnets and Magic Lube II are on my order list.
Solar cover & reel, a Dolphin cleaner and a safety Ladder.
Bought supplies for a vinyl tube water level for final leveling of the pool area.
Is there anything glaringly wrong with my understanding and/or plans for set up?
Thanks in advance for any and all help/advice.
the 2 inchers break over time. 
