First Time Pool Owner - Intex Ultra XTR 16'

[DjPuk]

Hi,
I've been browsing the forum for a couple of days - so much great information! We've never had a pool of any kind before and have ordered an Intex Ultra XTR 16' AGP. I have a couple of questions that I suspect smart folks here can help me with

- I've newly levelled and compacted a site for the pool; it's pretty flat. Many people seem to use pavers under each leg - is that good practice? I was going to set them straight on the ground
- Any suggestions for under-pool "bedding"? Someone recommended wall insulation - Celotex or Kingspan - this is very smooth and durable, so sounds like a good idea. Any experiences?
- I'm going to use the sand filter out of the box and see how this works. (No question here!)
- Most folk seem to fit a skimmer in the wall; seems scary and complex (cutting the liner etc). Is this a must do? What benefit does it serve?
- Any suggestions on a vacuum? I don't need a robot, just something on a long stick that I can remove the stuff off the bottom with
- Any basic list of chemical best practice? I'm planning to use a floating chlorine dispenser, but I suspect there are some guidelines on testing etc

Anything else I've missed? There seems to be a bunch that can go wrong, so any tips from folks with experience of AGP will be REALLY welcome!
Thanks!
DjP

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP! I'll get right to your questions:
- Using blocks under the legs is a good idea. It give a more stable foundation for the legs supporting all that weight and trys to keep them upright.
- Under the pool pads - personal preference based on your soil and local conditions. Some use products mostly to control tough weeds that may grow-up, others for the cushioning effect on their feet, and lastly simply to protect the liner from punctures underneeth (i.e. rocks, roots, etc). Whatever you have locally should work well.
- Aftermarket skimmers are indeed popular. Mandatory? .... not at all. But a thru-wall skimmer will help tremendously with water surface skimming to keep (more) debris from sinking. Do a search from above for thru wall skimmer and you'll see many posts, images, and instructions.
- You can get a simple suction vacuum that connects to your wall suction port, or there are products that connect to a garden hose that use hose water pressure to kick-up debris into a self-containing net. We use Amazon.com a lot here for ideas.
- We recommend one of two kits for home tesing....... a TF-100 (link below) or Taylor K-2006C. If you can get the TF-100 shipped to the UK, it's fantastic choice. Otherwise, the K-2006C will also work. But those are the only two we find to be the most relaible and easy to use.

Don't forget to update your signature with all of your pool and equipment info. When you get your test kit, add that as well. We look at it right away on every post. Great to have you with us.

 

[splashpad]

@DjPuk , welcome!
Have you visited the Pool School articles yet? Lots of reasonable chemical and care info

The skimmer provides 2 benefits, surface cleaning and the ability to use a pump powered vacuum if desired.

The chlorine tablets can create a rise in CYA (as CYA doesn't go away), which will render small doses of chlorine (liquid or tablet) eventually ineffective against algae and bacteria. Liquid chlorine (pure/plain household cleaning bleach 6-8% or Liquid Pool Shock 10-12.5%) are your best bets for a clean, happy swim season!
Plug your pool info (size/type) into the Poolmath app or PoolMath webpage for doses and you can check what adding certain chemicals will do (before adding them)

I'm not sure what test kits are available in the UK, but getting your hands on the liquid drop tests (not strips, exception: ones for salt & borates) will go a long way in saving you headache, hassle and expense!

 

[DjPuk]

Thanks both, I'll take another look at the Pool School - I swear I didn't just start posting dumb questions without looking around a little first. Even if it feels like that...
Thanks!
DjP

 

[splashpad]

Thanks both, I'll take another look at the Pool School - I swear I didn't just start posting dumb questions without looking around a little first. Even if it feels like that...
Thanks!
DjP

You didn't have dumb questions! Most of the time we'll just share/post the info from Pool School, some of it isn't intuitive to find

 

[splashpad]

Intex Ultra XTR 16' AGP

- I've newly levelled and compacted a site for the pool; it's pretty flat. Many people seem to use pavers under each leg - is that good practice? I was going to set them straight on the ground

"Pretty flat" needs to be less than 1" difference from any side-to-side point. Pavers keep the legs from sinking into the ground by distributing the weight over larger area, especially if you have soft soil conditions.

- Any suggestions for under-pool "bedding"? Someone recommended wall insulation - Celotex or Kingspan - this is very smooth and durable, so sounds like a good idea. Any experiences?

It should be a dense waterproof foam board. Depending on your soil conditions, you could also use compacted sand under where the liner rests, to add swimmer comfort and protection from soil rocks/foliage/etc

- I'm going to use the sand filter out of the box and see how this works. (No question here!)

What size is it? Be sure to use coarse sand for the media (too fine won't stay in the container, pump pressure can push it through the laterals)

- Most folk seem to fit a skimmer in the wall; seems scary and complex (cutting the liner etc). Is this a must do? What benefit does it serve?

Not a must, see note above

- Any suggestions on a vacuum? I don't need a robot, just something on a long stick that I can remove the stuff off the bottom with

see above

- Any basic list of chemical best practice? I'm planning to use a floating chlorine dispenser, but I suspect there are some guidelines on testing etc
Anything else I've missed? There seems to be a bunch that can go wrong, so any tips from folks with experience of AGP will be REALLY welcome!
Thanks!
DjP

• Check PoolMath to see how many tablets/pucks can be used before CYA goes over 30ppm (stop using them after that)
  • Chemicals & Items you will need:
    • Liquid Chlorine or Household plain bleach
    • Muriatic Acid
    • If your water is soft, either Baking Soda (to raise PH w/little effect on TA) or Washing Soda (to raise TA)
  • A drops or liquid test kit (you can get a small basic 5/6-way version at the store, or look around online for the best deal on full kit)

 

[splashpad]

@DjPuk Additional question I thought of, your pool is big enough to "winterize".

• For an above ground pool, that involves little more than:
  • balancing the water, raising FC to high level for your CYA
  • draining the sand filter
  • bringing the pump inside for the duration of freezing temps
• It provides longevity to your liner since you will not be drying it out and not having to store/not lose bits/parts! (win-win)

 

[Brett S]

I’ve had a 16’ x 48” Intex Ultraframe pool for about 7 months now and I can answer some of your questions

- I've newly levelled and compacted a site for the pool; it's pretty flat. Many people seem to use pavers under each leg - is that good practice? I was going to set them straight on the ground

I put a brick under each leg (just one standard size brick under each leg) when I set up my pool last August. It’s been up since then and the legs and the bricks under them have stayed exactly where I put them. If you have really soft soil you might need something with more surface area, but for the very sandy soil I have here in Florida the bricks seem like enough.

- Any suggestions for under-pool "bedding"? Someone recommended wall insulation - Celotex or Kingspan - this is very smooth and durable, so sounds like a good idea. Any experiences?

As I said above, my soil is very sandy, so after removing the grass and leveling the area under the pool I just put the pool directly on the ground. If I had to do it over again I probably would try some of the wall insulation that you mentioned. Despite my best efforts at leveling the ground, after I put the liner in place and set up the pool I discovered that there were definitely some small imperfections and since the liner hugs the ground the imperfections are very obvious in the bottom of the pool. It’s not the end of the world and it doesn’t bother me enough to drain the pool and put something under it, but if I was starting from scratch I definitely would.

- I'm going to use the sand filter out of the box and see how this works. (No question here!)

My pool came with a tiny 1000GPH cartridge filter and I tried to use it for a few months, but it was woefully undersized for the pool and it just didn’t really do well at keeping the pool clean. I have since replaced it with an intex 16” sand filter and that is a huge improvement. Go ahead and try your filter, but I suspect that you may want to upgrade it before too long.

- Most folk seem to fit a skimmer in the wall; seems scary and complex (cutting the liner etc). Is this a must do? What benefit does it serve?

Intex makes a skimmer that hangs on the wall and plugs into one of the returns, so it’s quick and easy to install (no cutting of the liner) and it’s also pretty cheap... around $20 on amazon. The only disadvantage is that it takes up space inside the pool and if you have kids that aren’t paying attention they could run into it while playing, but given the price and the ease of installation that’s what I used and so far I’ve been pretty happy with it.

As far as the benefit it serves, the skimmer captures leaves and bugs and other things that float on the surface of the water. You can get by without a skimmer, but you’ll need to use a net to manually remove the floating things and a vacuum to remove the things that sunk before you were able to remove them with a net. The skimmer just helps to capture those things and get them out of the water so you don’t have to. It won’t get 100% of the leaves and things that fall into the pool, but it can get a good portion of them and definitely reduces the amount of time you need to spend with a net and a vacuum.

- Any suggestions on a vacuum? I don't need a robot, just something on a long stick that I can remove the stuff off the bottom with

Intex also has a “deluxe maintenance kit” that’s available for around $25 on amazon. It includes a pole, a little vacuum, a net, and a brush. They certainly aren’t the highest quality parts you could get but they work and you can’t beat the price. The other big advantage is the fact that intex doesn’t use standard size plumbing and fittings, so to use a standard pool vac you would need to get some plumbing adapters... the vacuum in the intex kit just connects right to your intex pool.

- Any basic list of chemical best practice? I'm planning to use a floating chlorine dispenser, but I suspect there are some guidelines on testing etc

I used a floating chlorine dispenser for the first few months I owned the pool and I wound up regretting it. It was hard to keep my chlorine levels stable and it pushed my CYA level through the roof. I wound up having to partially drain and refill the pool to get my CYA level back down. I recently purchased the intex saltwater generator and so far I’ve been pretty happy with it. Again, because it’s intex it might not be the highest quality, but it’s reasonably inexpensive and just plugs in to your existing fittings so it’s a quick and easy install. I would strongly suggest going with saltwater rather than trying to use a chlorine dispenser.

Good luck and I hope you enjoy your pool as much as I have

 

[bloodfromastone]

• It provides longevity to your liner since you will not be drying it out and not having to store/not lose bits/parts! (win-win)

Is that true? Leaving an Intex pool up over winter and winterizing helps make it last longer? I've always heard with the soft sided pools, taking it down over winter was better.

 

[chayne]

i think your gonna get another split answer for that question. some take down, and some leave up. i personally take mine down each year

 

[bloodfromastone]

Ive been taking my down every year and it's a giant pain the ....to do it and then put back up again. Now, with the bigger pool, I'm not sure I want to deal with all that. I'm thinking I might just get a winterizing kit, a winter cover and some wrap and wrap it all the way down. Our winters get pretty ugly around here. My only concern is getting another 4 to 6 FEET in my backyard like we did 4 years ago.