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RAR

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Jul 23, 2013
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Hello TFP Members,

First time poster here... I've been a lurker for quite some time and have been researching pools for a few years now. We are really serious about having a pool built for us right now but have struggled quite a bit with freeform vs rectangular and size. Our backyard is 50x80, but I have easements to deal with so it's more like, 40x60. I really want a diving pool and after working with a few pool builders on designs, I designed my first pool in Visio with just over 1000 sqf surface area, and about 50k gallons. It is 46' long, average 24' wide, and 10' deep.

I live in South Texas and it is hot and humid... swim season is about 10 months. Back of my house faces North and the pool will have direct sunlight all day. I decided to scale down and purchased Pool Studio design software. I've designed about 10 different pools, (not to mention trying all the templates in the software), and we feel that a simple rectangular, Geometric pool looks best with architecture of the house and size of our yard.

I've narrowed the design to a 19x42 and 20x42 Geometric design, with 9' diving end. 865 sqf vs 900 sft. Aprox, 37,000 gallons vs 41000 gallons.

What can I expect the monthly chemical costs to be on a pool this size using the BBB method, in a hot climate with full sunlight exposure all day long?
 
Welcome to TFP!

The difference in chemical cost will be miniscule. Typical chlorine use is 2-3ppm per day. Even assuming 4ppm per day for your pool, the 5,000 gallon increase will only take an extra quart of bleach a day and even less if you use 12%. Probably 75 cents a day max extra over your smaller choice which will probably use a bit over a gallon a day.

Unless you are planning on natural stone around the pool, go with a SWCG and don't worry about it.

One consideration with large pool sizes is that things like solar cover reels will generally need to be commercial rather than residential to work.
 
That would be a tough one to answer.

Check your current LC prices in your local area, and play around with the pool calculator, setting your CYA to various levels.

Expect a loss of FC to be 4-6 ppm (guestimate!!) for CYA of 40-50, or 3-5 with CYA 60-80 (again, guesstimate!!).

Add to that your electricity costs for running your (proposed) pump9(s), there are charts in various places here on the forums and in pool school giving ball park estimates for power usage.

These and whatever other ideas that show up should get you a reasonable cost of ownership estimate, excluding initial fill, of course.
 
I was planning on using Flagstone for decking... around 800 sqf. Otherwise I would consider the SWCG. I just don't want to deal with sealing the stone and I'm getting a great price on the flagstone... however, it's Mexican flagstone and very porous, but is fine with chlorine pools. I could use pavers, but it will actually cost more per sqf than the Flagstone.
 
10% liquid chlorine is the highest I've found and the best price I've found is $3.99 a gallon.

Regarding the solar covers; I read into them and it sounds like I can use the 5mm thick covers and with minimal heat transfer. With 40k gallons, I don't think it will make much of a difference on water temperature but from what I've read can cut down on chemical costs. Other than being an eye sore, sounds like a good investment.
 
RAR said:
I was planning on using Flagstone for decking... around 800 sqf. Otherwise I would consider the SWCG. I just don't want to deal with sealing the stone and I'm getting a great price on the flagstone... however, it's Mexican flagstone and very porous, but is fine with chlorine pools. I could use pavers, but it will actually cost more per sqf than the Flagstone.
Click to expand...

Yea, I hear mixed reviews on sealers from builders. Very controversial among the ones I've spoken with but they all have you sign a salt waver for flagstone. At least the ones I've talked too and that doesn't seem good to me.
 
rjledoux said:
You will want to run with higher than normal CYA in the south Texas sun. I suggest using salt water levels for CYA and normal levels of FC if you plan to use bleach as your FC source.
Click to expand...


You say this because?

I've not seen that recommended here, and I am not sure the forum would make this suggestion. I don't mind being corrected but I dont know that I would agree.
 
The abnormally high UV he's going to experience. If you search it's not that uncommon to see intentionally elevated CYA in high exposure areas. The only time it will really hurt you is if you need to SLAM. If it's new construction and he stays on top of the chemistry from day one then he should never need to SLAM.
 

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rjledoux said:
The abnormally high UV he's going to experience. If you search it's not that uncommon to see intentionally elevated CYA in high exposure areas. The only time it will really hurt you is if you need to SLAM. If it's new construction and he stays on top of the chemistry from day one then he should never need to SLAM.
Click to expand...


First I've heard of it so where should I search? I may have missed it somewhere here, but I never recall anything like that on TFP. We have some really expert chemical folks here though, so I'll be intersted to see if they have said something like this that I missed. I just don't think South TX UV is that much higher to be honest.
 
Our UV Index is normally at the top of the scale. 10-11 with 11 being the max, very high to extreme. Using the pool calculator, that could be approximately 1-1.5 gallons of 10% liquid chlorine per day... assuming it hasn't been sitting on the shelf very long. That could be quite a bit of trips to the store and lots of hauling. Sounds like the SWCG may be a bit more convenient but will increase construction costs since I have to use different decking material plus the upfront costs for the salt system.
 
Hey RAR, I forgot my manners in omitting a Welcome to TFP! Sorry about that and for hijacking off topic on CYA. Yea, Robbie has a point about hauling jugs. I'm looking into getting industrial bleach by the 55 drum. It's 12% and if I can get it delivered one at a time, and dropped on the ground I am going that route. We expect our build will wind up in the 30K gallon range and it would work out nicely to have that. I am still on the fence about salt, but pretty much decided to start with manual bleach and work it from there. We want Flagstone too so its a consideration for us as well. I much prefer it to pavers but that is all personal taste. Looking forward to hearing more about your build, so keep us posted.
 
1. 40-60 CYA for manually chlorinated pools. 70 might be a bit better, but then wouldn't 80 be better still? 90? 100? Folks can pick there CYA level anywhere they want but the numbers TFP suggests are derived from thousands of experiences across the country.

2. Removing and replacing a solar cover on a pool that size is not an insignificant task......I've tried it. My guess is you will happily pay for the extra chlorine loss after you wrestle that monster back and forth a few times.

Ahhhh! They make cover reels, though.......not so quick! :mrgreen: The money for a reel to hold that solar cover will quickly negate any chlorine savings you would gain.
 
My pool builder said salt or stone, you can have either, but don't use both. I picked salt. My pool is a rectangle built as a salt pool. No stone anywhere. Pebble tech surface, cantilever concrete deck with vinyl textured finish. I love the salt. 8 years I've had to replace the cell (t-15) once, so <$500 total cost for chlorine so far.

Don't use stone with salt. I have watched neighbors' pools as salt damaged and eroded the stone.
 
Thanks for the warm welcome, Brushpup!

I've read that salt systems and manually adding chlorine are a wash in terms of cost over the long run. However, looking at salt systems such as the Auto Pilot SC60, it only costs about $1500. The salt is relatively cheap for startup. Around 29, 40 lb bags is about 150 bucks. Seems I would be spending over 2k a year in chlorine and if the Auto Pilot last several years it will cost less than liquid chlorine. Do larger pools benefit more from a SWCG? Seems like they do, yet everything I read says it's the same in terms of cost.
 
Not an expert at all, but just sharing my experience. I couldnt handle management of my large pool until I switched to a SWG, last year. it was just too much hauling chlorine and harder for me to keep levels of chlorine consistent over time. To me its just easier, and easier means more time swimming and less time messing with pool chemistry.

Also, the feel of a salt pool is just phenomenal, almost velvety soft, with no residue on skin. I don't have that bad chlorine feel I got from the pre-salt pool.
 

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