Several questions regarding a pool build on eastern Long Island

[JoyfulNoise]

What's going to affect you the most is not the pool surface but WHAT you fill your pool with.

I grew up on LI (Setauket/Stony Brook area) and the aquifer under LI provides for lots and lots of iron in the water. If you fill your pool from a well or intend to use well water for evaporation refill, then iron stains are going to be your biggest enemy. Iron stains, in my opinion, are a lot easier to fix in a vinyl pool (no fiberglass) than a plaster pool.

That said, if your city water provides you with low iron levels, then a plaster pool would be my #1 recommendation. Also, being on LI your water should have very low calcium levels, so calcium scaling in general is really a non-issue for your pool unless you intentionally add it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006

 

[Nectarologist]

Hi xhaust50,

1. Can the halogen change color? That is a nice thing about the LEDs.

I see you plan for patio on 1 or 2 sides of the pool. Is the rest grass? I'm finishing landscaping this spring and have patio on the stairs end with grass around the rest (2'x2' slabs placed in the grass).

Do you plan to place a lounger or chair of some sort on the tanning deck? That would be my only concern. The vinyl liners are tough and I wouldn't worry about jewelry but the legs could prematurely wear holes in the vinyl if using loungers. Think of your carpeting in the car below the gas pedal/brake. I have a vinyl pool and cost was a factor. As you know in the northeast, gunite is considerably more expensive. My .02 with the gas heater, it heats up real quick and as mentioned gas is not expensive now so that gets my vote.

 

[xhaust50]

What's going to affect you the most is not the pool surface but WHAT you fill your pool with.

I grew up on LI (Setauket/Stony Brook area) and the aquifer under LI provides for lots and lots of iron in the water. If you fill your pool from a well or intend to use well water for evaporation refill, then iron stains are going to be your biggest enemy. Iron stains, in my opinion, are a lot easier to fix in a vinyl pool (no fiberglass) than a plaster pool.

That said, if your city water provides you with low iron levels, then a plaster pool would be my #1 recommendation. Also, being on LI your water should have very low calcium levels, so calcium scaling in general is really a non-issue for your pool unless you intentionally add it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006

Thanks. We're on well water here. The PBs indicated they would test both the quality and the fill speed of the well water before deciding whether to use it or to truck in water.

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Hi xhaust50,

1. Can the halogen change color? That is a nice thing about the LEDs.

I see you plan for patio on 1 or 2 sides of the pool. Is the rest grass? I'm finishing landscaping this spring and have patio on the stairs end with grass around the rest (2'x2' slabs placed in the grass).

Do you plan to place a lounger or chair of some sort on the tanning deck? That would be my only concern. The vinyl liners are tough and I wouldn't worry about jewelry but the legs could prematurely wear holes in the vinyl if using loungers. Think of your carpeting in the car below the gas pedal/brake. I have a vinyl pool and cost was a factor. As you know in the northeast, gunite is considerably more expensive. My .02 with the gas heater, it heats up real quick and as mentioned gas is not expensive now so that gets my vote.

Yes, grass will be on 2 or 3 sides of the pool.

We would put lounge chairs on the tanning deck. And we also get wild turkeys and deer on our property all the time so we're definitely leaning towards gunite.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Thanks. We're on well water here. The PBs indicated they would test both the quality and the fill speed of the well water before deciding whether to use it or to truck in water.

You can bring a sample of well water to a local pool store and ask them to test it for metals. That would at least give you an indication. Another option (something my parents did every few years) is to send a sample out for testing yourself. A professional lab will give you a better quality test.

If you have iron, you might want to know that sooner rather than later. Unless you plan to rely solely on rain water to feed your pool, iron from a well can be a real PITA to deal with. If you know what you're dealing with now, then there are iron filters you could install on your auto fill line (are you getting an auto fill??) that could allow you to remove the iron before it gets to the pool. Increases cost, obviously, but planning for the potential problem now could save you a lot of frustration in the future with having to deal with sequestrants, staining, etc.

PM user swampwoman as she has lots of experience with iron staining and iron filtration of well water.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006

 

[xhaust50]

You can bring a sample of well water to a local pool store and ask them to test it for metals. That would at least give you an indication. Another option (something my parents did every few years) is to send a sample out for testing yourself. A professional lab will give you a better quality test.

If you have iron, you might want to know that sooner rather than later. Unless you plan to rely solely on rain water to feed your pool, iron from a well can be a real PITA to deal with. If you know what you're dealing with now, then there are iron filters you could install on your auto fill line (are you getting an auto fill??) that could allow you to remove the iron before it gets to the pool. Increases cost, obviously, but planning for the potential problem now could save you a lot of frustration in the future with having to deal with sequestrants, staining, etc.

PM user swampwoman as she has lots of experience with iron staining and iron filtration of well water.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006

Ughhhh. All very helpful, though it looks like more research is in store for me.

 

[MarianParoo]

Several years ago, I installed a new liner and thus needed a complete new water-fill. We are on well water with high iron and fluctuating ammonia levels. We chose to spend over $1,000 on trucked-in fill water. It still had some iron, but I was able to eliminate it.... Longish story.

I have an auto-cover which saves big-time on evaporative water loss. If you are considering either an auto-cover or a reel-type cover, the following info may be helpful.

Anyway, in the years since, I have been a weather-watcher and have always (except once) been able to use rainwater for my top-offs. The one time I had to add from my well I used a MetalTrap filter: METALTRAP FILTERS (available in 3 sizes) | Hydropure Technologies

 

[xhaust50]

The Metaltrap looks like it would have been a great cheap way to fill the pool, but it is rated for 8GPM, which would take it over two days to fill. It may work well for top-offs though.

I need to figure out where to get my water tested, and may look into adding a whole house iron remover if the test indicates it is warranted. I had to replace some radiant heating parts recently because they were clogged, so I imagine the whole house filter for $2000 or so would provide more benefits than just conditioning the pool water.

 

[MarianParoo]

Yup. I used the MetalTrap for my one top-off. I can't comment on how well a whole house filter works.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Just know that it is rare for external spigots to be plumbed in to the same loop as the rest of the house. They are typically on their own plumbing loop from the main source to prevent the use of conditioned water as irrigation. So you will definitely need a plumber to look at your setup and perhaps modify one of the spigots or add a new one that is specifically used for pool fill.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006