Hi everyone.
I have a 15' metal frame Intex. This will be our 4th summer using this pool. When the kids were little, my husband dug out a 16' square in the back yard, we lined it, put landscaping timbers and several trips to the quarry for silica sand, we had a huge sandbox. Several years later that 16' sand box was a perfect spot for a 15' pool. The first 2 years I took it down and stored it in the basement, but this year I left it up. I added more water, starting chemicals, and several vacs later, the pool is open.
I usually try to upgrade something every year. After I set it up the first year, I quickly realized that I needed a bigger pump and filter. I bought a bigger one at the beginning of the season last year along with the adapters to attach the hoses to the pool. I hated dealing with those things. They made the whole plunger stick out from the pool. I ended up putting blocks of styrofoam under them to keep them level. It was horrible. One of my friends has an 18' and have went thru several pumps (?) so they had some extra parts. I cut out the intake tube of the side of my pool and put in the screw type with the bigger intake that I got from my friend. It leaked a little bit till my very nice husband tightened it up for me. I am so glad that I done this.
The next thing I am thinking about is upgrading to a sand filter. I hate dealing with the filter cartridges and they are expensive. I think I would just need a small set up since I doubt we will be getting any bigger. Any ideas on what size I would need? I wonder if I could use the intex pump that I have and add in a sand filter? My pump is 1/2 hp which is low, but with the size of the pool I thought it might work.
Any thoughts and suggestions would be welcome.
I have a 15' metal frame Intex. This will be our 4th summer using this pool. When the kids were little, my husband dug out a 16' square in the back yard, we lined it, put landscaping timbers and several trips to the quarry for silica sand, we had a huge sandbox. Several years later that 16' sand box was a perfect spot for a 15' pool. The first 2 years I took it down and stored it in the basement, but this year I left it up. I added more water, starting chemicals, and several vacs later, the pool is open.
I usually try to upgrade something every year. After I set it up the first year, I quickly realized that I needed a bigger pump and filter. I bought a bigger one at the beginning of the season last year along with the adapters to attach the hoses to the pool. I hated dealing with those things. They made the whole plunger stick out from the pool. I ended up putting blocks of styrofoam under them to keep them level. It was horrible. One of my friends has an 18' and have went thru several pumps (?) so they had some extra parts. I cut out the intake tube of the side of my pool and put in the screw type with the bigger intake that I got from my friend. It leaked a little bit till my very nice husband tightened it up for me. I am so glad that I done this.
The next thing I am thinking about is upgrading to a sand filter. I hate dealing with the filter cartridges and they are expensive. I think I would just need a small set up since I doubt we will be getting any bigger. Any ideas on what size I would need? I wonder if I could use the intex pump that I have and add in a sand filter? My pump is 1/2 hp which is low, but with the size of the pool I thought it might work.
Any thoughts and suggestions would be welcome.
