shocking!

[nlindelldc]

Thanks again! I have a call into the pool builder to cancel my Nature 2 system. Thinking of going with a Hayward Aqua Rite

 

[ward1983]

As far as the cleaner, I would recommend considering at least. My pool has tons of leaves that fall into it, and my polaris 280 picks up every single leaf from the bottom in about 2 hours. Every leaf it picks up is one that I don't have to with a net or vacuum, which would otherwise be a daily task. The downside is the need for a booster pump and additional plumbing, so a robotic one might be a better idea for a new pool.

 

[nlindelldc]

I will have very few leaves in the pool, my issue will most be dust and dirt. Searching the forums for suggestions also

 

[Divin Dave]

SWG's are the next best thing to sliced bread and robot pool cleaners. I recommend to consider it.

Scratch the nature 2. If you need tabs on occasion, get a couple of 5 dollar tab floaters at walmart.

Thanks for the info on that. From what I am reading, if I do go with a SWG, I really don't need a tablet feeder. Is that correct?

And why does a SWG conflict with using stone? We were planning to add a rock waterfall made out of cast concrete. Will that be a problem?

One more question. Do you think I need an automatic pool cleaner? My builder has not recommended it.

Thanks again everyone, this site is so awesome!

 

[jtaves85mcss]

+1 on canceling the Nature 2. I will also give you a word of advice on an inline tablet feeder to do your research to find highly rated products. Some tend to clog over time. The issue with floating tablet feeders is finding one that works well and is well constructed, there are a few failure stories where they will come apart and dump tabs on the floor, which can sit for days and bleach your liner.

When I leave for vacation, I have to carefully test my FC to ensure the in line feeder is working for a few days (and clean it out well before and after use), otherwise I have no idea if it is working.

 

[n240sxguy]

Welcome to TFP. Pool stores tend to go with the extremely lazy, and expensive, philosophy of bringing in water once a week and dumping a lot of chemicals in your pool based on what their test results tell you. TFP is all about knowledge. You spend a few minutes testing your water, and add only what your pool needs. No ritualistic dumping of shock to try to fight off a green pool. I never added "shock" to my pool last year, and I have the prettiest pool of anyone I know. Never had a hint of algae because I follow what is taught on this site. I would also vote for some form of cleaner. I have a polaris 280. I was questioning whether it was worth having at all last summer when we bought our house/pool. I don't have the super fine bag for it, so manually vacuuming works better during the summer to get out the fine dirt and dust that has blown into the pool. When the leaves started falling I saw the real value of it. I could put it in for an hour and all the leaves were gone vs me trying to scoop them out with the net. So worth it. If you don't have leaves to worry about, you may be better off with a suction side cleaner, or a robot.

 

[Patrick_B]

So i was in your EXACT same shoes last year. We decided to get a pool and while researching which one i wanted and things like that i found this site.

My In-Laws have a pool and they go the pool store once or twice a month and do it that way. And by August, their pool is ALWAYS green. And it seemed to keep getting earlier and earlier when it would turn green. But, my wife insisted that we listen to the pool store and do it that way. Well, when i found this site, I told her I was going to manage the pool with bleach. She literally freaked out. Saying that her kids were NOT swimming in bleach water. After a few weeks of showing her pics from this site of how CLEAR other peoples pools were, she agreed to let me try it this way.

I told her and myself that I would give it a few weeks and if i smelled bleach or had algae or if anything seemed not right, i would switch to the pool store way with pucks and shock. Well, after 3 weeks, my pool was crystal clear and everything was fine. But in my head, i kept hearing the pool store say "You need THIS, and you will need THAT" So i had myself convinced that it was just a new pool and for some reason the water hadnt had a long enough chance to get green. So i decided to stick with this method till the end of the end of the season. Just as a test.

After we closed the pool down, my wife said...."Honey, you did a super job with the pool this year. I can't believe it didn't turn green like mom and dads pool." And I showed her under the cover yesterday and you could see the tiny grains of sand resting on the bottom of the liner still. Its still crystal clear after all winter.

If you take nothing from my story, listen to this next part. These guys here know their stuff. They have nothing to gain from selling you bleach...lol And the test kit they provide is a little more expensive at first but actually turns out cheaper than the taylor kit in the long run. I haven't read ONE horror story from anybody on this site that follows these methods. No bleach smell, no green hair, no burning eyes, nothing. And I would think somewhere, somebody would have at least one bad thing to say about these methods.

That has to say something right?

Thank you for sharing your story. That is really fantastic to hear!