AGP Newbie from western Canada

[Aaron2024]

Hello all, just joined and just impulse bought what's in my signature below! haha I'm totally new to AGPs, looking forward to the journey and destination . Will be lurking and learning! Feel free to say hello! Wish me luck...

*Edit* no signature below post? Seems I'm forum inept lol see paste below...

8403 gal, Intex Ultra XTR 12'x24'x52" vinyl, 0.3 HP SX2100 pump, 12" diameter #20 Krystal Clear sand filter, 1600gph, 69987lbs 90% capacity water weight (243lbs/sqft). NEW TO AGP's, STILL IN BOX. OVER THINKER.

-Aaron2024

 

[Mdragger88]

Welcome
I see your signature- gotta turn mobile devices sideways.

Here’s some links to get you started

How to level above ground pool - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Test Kits Compared

Just Filled Your Pool with Water? Here's What To Do Next - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Pool Care Basics

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP!

 

[Aaron2024]

That's awesome thanks for the links! I'll be checking them... picking up a water test kit today and the lovely chemicals... may go salt water in the future but for now chlorine. Pool hasn't even arrived yet but other boxes are showing up already haha.

Excited to get the pool going!

 

[Aaron2024]

@Mdragger88 any advice or thoughts on those copper ionizer floaties? Also it's nice to see I can just dump bleach in the water haha... I'm looking over the links you sent and looking at the test kits (intimidating) but seems reasonably straight forward. Chlorine + CYA balance equals happy pool.

Do people have to test SWG pools just as often or is there ways to automate the process enough to almost not have to test? (As in regular pool or salt water automation.) Not that I'm wanting to avoid testing... just wondering what's out there these days to make pool life as easy as possible and not snake oil.

 

[Newdude]

thoughts on those copper ionizer floaties?

They are harmful and don't do what they say they'll do.

Do people have to test SWG pools just as often or is there ways to automate the process enough to almost not have to test?

Many go a week at a time once they've mastered the system.

Many have gone on vacation for 2 weeks and some have done 3 weeks without issues.

 

[Mdragger88]

@Mdragger88 any advice or thoughts on those copper ionizer floaties?

Nope avoid. You don’t want copper in your water.

Also it's nice to see I can just dump bleach in the water haha... I'm looking over the links you sent and looking at the test kits (intimidating) but seems reasonably straight forward. Chlorine + CYA balance equals happy pool.

For the most part that’s the jest of it.
Chlorine (in balance w/cya) is King
Ph (in the 7’s) is queen
Then worry with all the rest.
There’s really not alot to buy in advance besides the test kit, some granular cya & muriatic acid. Liquid chlorine degrades overtime so you just buy it as you go.

Do people have to test SWG pools just as often or is there ways to automate the process enough to almost not have to test? (As in regular pool or salt water automation.) Not that I'm wanting to avoid testing... just wondering what's out there these days to make pool life as easy as possible and not snake oil.

The swcg feeds the pool fc for you, based on how you run it (time & % settings)
The schedule & percentage change depending upon the season so regular testing is still quite imperative.
Automated, yes.
Without adjustments based on your testing, no.
A swcg Certainly makes it easier to manage the pool but nothing is set it & forget it.

 

[Aaron2024]

Okay that's good to know thanks @Newdude and @Mdragger88 can't trust the Amazon reviews I guess for some things out there, they make the copper ionizers sound like miracle technology haha

the Taylor K-2006C kit is likely what I'll try to hunt down but it's a little expensive on Amazon ($251 modern slave tickets to trade in for it $$$) I'll keep my eyes open anyways as I'll definitely need to pick something up before we get too ahead of ourselves.

So far I bought the pool package from intex in my signature, a 25' PVC flat backwash hose, 1HP DekoPro submersible pump, Intex deluxe maintenance kit (vacuum, broom, leaf grabber etc), intex skimmer... (will go hayward later most likely), and Intex ZX300 Deluxe auto vacuum.

Wondering if I should grab the check valve for the submersible pump to prevent backflow... stuff on the shopping list just prioritising...

Pool base foundation is 3/4" or less river rock that's been compacted over weed barrier for over 7 years in the back yard, plucked clean of "pokies" and debris, will be buying something to put over the rock... either XPS foam board or a suitable alternative... Looking at cattle mats (rubber), Astro turf fake sod grass, gym tiles foam/rubber, tarps/gorilla pad... a jello mold of gummy bears glued together whatever works! XPS foam has gone up like crazy in price since I last looked... cattle mats are almost better priced!

Well this got long haha sorry! Just giving the game plan here in case anyone wants to provide some insights for me

 

[Aaron2024]

@Texas Splash hey my pool arrives (supposed to) tomorrow, should I create a new thread/post somewhere if I'm going to add content/ask questions etc or could I just keep running off this one to keep it simple? Not sure how moderate the mod squad is here for categorizing etc haha

Cheers!

Also, I'm thinking I might buy the Taylor K-2005C water test kit instead of the K-2006C strictly because the water test color vials have two measures instead of just one (color for Chlorine/PH)... is there any reasons the 2006C is recommended over the 2005C outside of just being newer?

Last thing... is it true the test regents only last (or remain accurate) for 1 year? ...I'll need to buy the kit again every year? If this is true... shouldn't the smaller home use 2005/2006 versions be enough or is the Texas sized one just the go to because... bigger? Haha... the K-2006C is $251 on Amazon.ca which makes it less inviting to buy even once, let alone every year! so, figured I'd see what you guys say.

Thanks!

 

[Mdragger88]

The k2005 is missing the fas/dpd test which is necessary to accurately measure fc & cc separately over 5ppm up to 50ppm. Most pools need more than 5ppm fc on a regular basis. Its accuracy is necessary for the tfp protocols like doing an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test & carrying out the
SLAM Process if needed.
It is included in the k2006 (c)
It is a test with a definitive end point instead of attempting to color match different shades like the one in the k2005.
You don’t need to buy a whole new kit each year. You can buy replacement reagents individually as you use them up. Most people go through the fas/dpd reagent and powder within a year anyway.
Many get by with some reagents being up to 2 yrs old if stored properly (cool dark dry place without extreme temp swings)
The cya reagent is pretty robust if stored properly.
They don’t automatically go bad in a year. That’s just the guaranteed period.

 

[Texas Splash]

should I create a new thread/post

I would. This is your intro thread and many people might pass by it. But feel free to create a new thread in the forum linked below. We can move any applicable testing or chemistry posts from here to that thread as well.

Testing and Balancing Your Water

FC, CC, pH, TA, CH, CYA - what you should be testing and why

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Aaron2024]

Cool alright thanks that makes sense then @Texas Splash

 

[Aaron2024]

The k2005 is missing the fas/dpd test which is necessary to accurately measure fc & cc separately over 5ppm up to 50ppm. Most pools need more than 5ppm fc on a regular basis. Its accuracy is necessary for the tfp protocols like doing an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test & carrying out the
SLAM Process if needed.
It is included in the k2006 (c)
It is a test with a definitive end point instead of attempting to color match different shades like the one in the k2005.
You don’t need to buy a whole new kit each year. You can buy replacement reagents individually as you use them up. Most people go through the fas/dpd reagent and powder within a year anyway.
Many get by with some reagents being up to 2 yrs old if stored properly (cool dark dry place without extreme temp swings)
The cya reagent is pretty robust if stored properly.
They don’t automatically go bad in a year. That’s just the guaranteed period.

That's a great amount of detail/info thanks for that! I suppose I'm sold on 2006 then! Haha @Mdragger88

 

[PoolStored]

That's a great amount of detail/info thanks for that! I suppose I'm sold on 2006 then! Haha

It is a bit steep, even in US dollars. I can tell you that the price of the kit, and TFP, can save you more in pool store spending than you might think...

Check it out. Link-->I knew I was Pool Stored when...

 

[Aaron2024]

It is a bit steep, even in US dollars. I can tell you that the price of the kit, and TFP, can save you more in pool store spending than you might think...

Check it out. Link-->I knew I was Pool Stored when...

@PoolStored 14 pages of walls of text with pool store problems and good humor I got to the bottom of page 1 with many liked posts haha I definitely appreciate and understand the "pool stored" problem now lol.

Seems to be a constant trend too that SWG is the way... looks like I'll be considering that upgrade sooner rather than later now I think!

12'x24'x52' intex ultraXTR apparently runs 210lbs of salt with a little tolerance using the intex QS1200 SWG... 40mg/hr chlorine or something to that effect estimated... time to pull the wallet out again lol

 

[PoolStored]

Red pill, Blue pill...

 

[Aaron2024]

Red pill, Blue pill...

Haha I caught the reference... also there's a spring pill and a winter pill lmao @PoolStored

 

[Aaron2024]

So I called the local pool store to ask if they had the Taylor K-2005C/K-2006C kits... they had me repeat the names above multiple times completely unsure what to look for exactly in their inventory (red flag?) Then came back with a home use sized K-2005 model and said the price was $306+tax but they could go down to $250 lmao... so Amazon pricing isn't looking so terrible anymore for the "(C)" sized kit now. Regardless, I let them know I'd think about it and left it at that. @PoolStored gotta mark up the mark ups I guess

 

[Aaron2024]

A nice big box has arrived! Of course the only day in over a month we see rain!

Typical.

 

[PoolStored]