So How Do We Aereate an AGP?

[jj]

Well I guess that's my question...how do you aereate your ABG pools?
No waterfalls, no kids....we did get out there and cut a rug one afternoon but we still didn't stir it up very much for very long. jenn

 

[MeSue]

I have been wondering the same thing. One thing I have seen mentioned in here is to point the return jet up so that it breaks the surface of the water. I only have one return and it has a PoolSkim attached so I have no way to aim it up. I suppose the PoolSkim aerates it a little, but probably not enough to have much effect.

 

[SteveE]

I'm sure others will chime in, but i my case I was able to attach a 6 foot section of hose to the return. I have it attached to the side of the pool so that it shoots out the water at about a 45 degree angle. When was reducing alkalinity using muriatic acid, I would let the pump run like this for several hours each night. It worked great!

 

[jj]

Yes, ours is pointing up and does ripple the surface constantly.
But with all the instructions to aerate I think there must be more.
What about the air compressor? Is that kosher? jenn

Apparently I really wanted that to be a lonnnng word. I should use spell check. I noticed it when I clicked (the story of my life) I also pronounce it with three syllables :lol:

aerate
One entry found for aerate.

Main Entry: aer·ate
Pronunciation: 'er-"At
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): aer·at·ed; aer·at·ing
1 : to supply or impregnate (as the soil or a liquid) with air

 

[JasonLion]

Someone once managed to tie a short piece of garden hose with one end in front of the return to catch some of the flow and the other end pointing up in the air to make a fountain. Not really recommended, but entertaining.

Someone else managed to make their return into a venturi jet, which draws in air from above using a cleverly cut piece of garden hose to make bubbles.

Another person make a custom fitting which allowed them to use an air compressor to inject air into the pipe before the return, producing really dramatic amounts of aeration (think pool sized hot tub).

Getting back to the real world, pointing the return up so it breaks the surface is simplest, at least if your return can be aimed.

 

[matt4x4]

Buy an Aqualuminator light - they're cool anyways - it replaces your return and for a few bucks more you can buy a detacheable fountain that can be directed straight up or out over your pool, also the flow rate can be adjusted from minimum to maximum.

 

[MikeInTN]

You can buy fountains that attach via a hose to a fitting that replaces the eye and ring on your return; last time I checked, they cost anywhere between $60 - $100. Or, if you're handy, you can make an aerator out of PVC and either use an air compressor, as Jason said, or go get a special tool from a pool store and remove the inner fitting from your return pipe where it enters the pool, and then use a 1 1/2 inch threaded fitting to connect your aerator to your return. Dave aka Duraleigh did this on his pool; go check his post about it.

 

[heatmisr]

don't know where he got it, but the previous owner of our house had a plastic tulip attachment on the return. it shot the water up about 12 feet in the air and had a shower effect. it was definitely not expensive looking. check some local pool stores for decorative attachments.

 

[jj]

I will try for the attachable fountain. I'm kinda over the 'make do' days unless it's for green purposes
I can't say that's my hubs opinion though as he will probably want some hideous black hose spouting water from our lovely pool. LOL jenn

 

[Guest]

sorry to kinda steal this thred, butwhat does pointing all the returns do, my pool guy when he opend it said i want all the ripples i can get, so all 4 of my returns are pointed up. is that bad, or helping somthing.

 

[JasonLion]

The two major goals when aiming returns are to cause the water to move in a way that will sweep debris into the skimmers and to get through mixing of the water. For a roughly oval pool the best way to do this is usually to get the water going around in a circle and to have at least one return pointed down towards the deep end (if you have a deep end).

 

[crazycanuck]

The more ripples you have, the faster your pool water will evaporate. Now with that being said... you do want a little surface action to move your debris to your skimmer. I have my shallow end return pointing up toward the skimmer and the deep return pointing down to help circulate the warmer water (and and chemicals) to the bottom.

 

[jj]

I'm wondering if this means anything to people who have experience...we have one return.
We definately have movement on the top of our water. In fact so much so that if you are lying on a float it keeps you pushed over to the other side.
And if you are swimming around the pool it's hard to get by it, it pushes you out.
Is this the 1 1/2 hp pump in the small pool?
And I won't say what it does if you linger in front of it