adding a skimmer, how shallow will it make the pool?

[chinolofus]

after getting goggles and really seeing all the debris floating around in the pool i realized the junky skimmer that came with the intex pool isnt cutting it. i saw the skimmers that clamp onto the side but have seen a few people say the wont stay in place.

im thinking maybe adding a hayward through the wall skimmer but i really dont want to lose much depth. my pool is only 42" deep as it is and im 6' tall.

also is my pump that came with my pool powerful enough to run either of those skimmers? i currently have whatever came with the pool. i cant remember what my sig says but its an intex 15'x48" metal frame.

and will a more powerful pump/filter help clean out the small debris with just the factor skimmer? i dont mind leaves since i barely get them and they are easy to scoop out. its the hair and tiny bugs that are floating around that annoy me.

also does it matter which input the factory skimmer is attached to? right now i have it on the top hole and the return is the lower hole.
i had it the other way but i had to switch it for my eco saver solar heater, which im returning (leaks, too cheap) but i havent switched it back.

 

[Bama Rambler]

There are several threads here where people have put the thru the wall skimmer above the top seam and not lost any depth.

 

[chinolofus]

oh cool. ive only seen it below the seam so i thought thats how it had to be done.

 

[blaib]

I actually had the same question, I just don't want to loose any depth

Brian

 

[dks75]

I put mine so the screws are just below the seam and I only lost a bit. It's really not that noticable swimming. I saw the above the seam thread right after I put it in . but man is it clean now . The 1000 gph pump does seem to run the skimmer just ok, but wow what a difference when it's running off the sand filter.

 

[chinolofus]

does anyone have a link to the above the seam install?

 

[ugafan]

i saw this photo in another thread.

the skimmer works best with the water level a little below halfway on the skimmer. that would be two squares below the grey for this install. that should give you an idea of how much water you would lose based on placement.

 

[chinolofus]

thanks i appreciate it.

 

[asxetos]

The surface skimmer removes water from the surface.

If you need goggles to see debris in the water column, it figures that debris is not on the surface, therefore the surface skimmer can not do much to help remove it.


A safer bet would be a high flow filter / pump, maybe a sand filter.

If the filtered water is returned to the pool above the surface then the resulting agitation will break any oil film present and you would not need a skimmer at all, however this would require a separate return hose support over the pool side in order to have that splashing effect and break the surface oil film.

 

[Bama Rambler]

Asxetos - - I'm not sure why you would have oil in your pool, but over here something is bad wrong if there's an oil sheen on our pool. Also a surface skimmer does more than just skim the surface.

 

[asxetos]

By "oil film" I mean the invisible - sometimes only one molecule thick - film created on the surface of water. Sunscreen or natural body oils or just airborne pollutants are enough to have this film on the surface.

In nature this film is washed away by surface movement, ending up deposited on the shores. In closed water systems it can either be removed directly by surface skimming or indirectly after being broken up by surface agitation.


I agree that a surface skimmer is a valuable piece of equipment, but there are other ways around that if a skimmer is not desired for some reason.