new member--new pool w/questions

[amieelynne]

first let me say hi..I was directed over to this site/forum by my pool installer to learn about BBB and how to maintain my new pool. talk about impressed already, I can only hope that their work is as good as their advice...I'll be finding out next week when they do the install I guess

I've done tons of reading over the last week..on this site and a few others trying to get a handle on just how not to screw up my pool---and I have to say I've learned probably more than I will ever retain, but it's been enlightening and thank you to everyone here who shares their knowledge and opinions. I have a few questions and would like people opinions. I bought a 27' round agp--ground to be dug this coming saturday and the install taking place next thursday.

I bought the pool and "premium" kit before I found this site and the wealth of info--and I'm beginning to realize I probably don't need everything that came with it--the great part is my pool store said I can return anything I don't need for store credit, so at least it's not a waste and we can maybe get a few accessories that we will use out of the deal. so--to my questions...

1)I figured to have them dig out 30' round...to accomodate space for the uprights and a clear area of about 12" around for rocks/landscaping to surround the pool--does that sound about right in terms of space?

2)they gave me an in-line clorinator and two large jugs of slow poke pucks...from reading on here about CYA I'm wondering if maybe I should just return this and start with BBB from day one?

3)pool light--they included a nitelighter (50w) BUT I won't have the electrical in place this season to use it and around here we have big problems with mosquitos anyway--so do you guys who have them find that these attract a huge amount of bugs? swimming at night sounds like fun to all of us, but being eaten alive is not a good trade off

4)I bought a solar cover, but logistically a reel isn't an option due to the size of the pool and the fact that once we swung it out off the pool it would pose a decapitation hazard for poor oblivious kids running around...so I found something called a cover saddle online ( http://www.backyardcitypools.com/pool-c ... Saddle.htm ) anyone have one of these? do they work in real life or is this one of those things that sounds good in theory but is more of a pia than appears?

5)still trying to decide about a cover for winter...I didn't know you had to pump off your pool cover til I did some reading on here. I always thought you covered to pool and basically left it alone til spring guess that's not the case...so, I'm trying to decide between a winter cover and a mesh one. I'm in massachusetts--a crapshoot in winter..a few years ago we got over 12' of snow...this last year I think we got about 3' total. where the pool is going isn't totally unaccessible to get to in order to throw a pump on the cover once in awhile...but it would be a pain. I've heard some neighbors complain about taking their winter cover off and having it dump all that crud in their pools in the spring too. just how bad is clean up and repair if we went with a mesh cover--and also, I've seen mesh covers, leaf covers ect. for sale..what's the difference? which one do you want to buy to use in place of a winter cover, if we go that route? I'm thinking we won't be opening the pool next year til may/june--we just don't get really warm enough to swim until that late...it stays hotter later..so I'm hoping to not have to close it til late september. not a long season being open--but a very long season being closed--so I'm trying to figure out what would work best.

I know I have a million other questions, but I'm trying to read through other posts and see if I can find answers before asking repeat questions--I'll restrain myself from asking anymore now--I think this is enough to hit you guys with for now--thanks and wish us luck!! we are counting the hours :lol: until this pool is in and ready for swimming!!

 

[pooladdict]

Hi Amieelynne:

Welcome to this forum, you will find a wealth of knowledge on here and from certain contributors, like you I am fairly new to the pool game, put ours in last fall. All winter I read and read on another forum that has since been unattended.

I can give you my two cents worth from a newbie point of view.

1) I have seen lots of ABG's done the way you describe, will you be doing some decking around it? If so, I would plan it all out now, no sense doing the gardening and then changing plans mid stream.

2) After all my reading, I went with a SWG, for ease of use, no pucks to lug, and no CYA to build up. Our neighbor just found out the problem with pucks, his CYA was over the roof and his Chlorine requirements were easily triple what they should be. Throw out that feeder, and convert to BBB or a SWG. I love how our pool feels, and with pool open over 5 weeks now, I have only added very little of Muriatic Acid, thats it, nothing else, and crystal clear water.

3) We decided against a pool light, afterall, how much swimming really takes place at nite, and you can easily throw in a pool boya light that floats for around 130 bucks, its not only the light, but find out what an electrician will charge to get that sucker wired up. I know the one thing we didnt twig on from the start, was all was included in our set up EXCEPT FOR ELECTRICAL...we wondered why, then found out when it cost over 2K to get ours all wired up.

4) Highly recommend a solar cover, if not, you can easily lose 10 to 15 degree's at night depending on ourdoor temps. I believe an ABG loses more heat then an inground but not to sure. You should be able to rig up something to get the blanket off the pool and out of harms way.

5) We went with no cover this winter, drained water below returns, blew out lines, closed them, poured in antifreeze, then refilled to being water back up to original height. A pool builder told us to do that, so we wouldnt have any liner problems in spring, with snow an slush an such over winter, our water was 4" from overflowing in spring and our liner is still gorgeous. That winter sun I think can cause premature fading of liners, that was our reason for raising water. In regard to the cover, I simply was raking every nite after work to remove leaves, when ice finally left in spring (we had easily 3 feet of ice all winter in our pool), one simple raking, hooked up lines, got pump primed and all lines, turned on pump, poured in 5 jugs of chlorine and WHAMMO, an I mean WHAMMO, in two days we had crystal clear water, I was almost shocked. I have two neighbors who use covers, they both have them pullled into the pool due to snow an ice and trying to pull those off is like wrestling with an octopus in my opinion. Then to watch the gook on it go back into the pool, well was disheartening to see.
We will be doing the same thing this fall and I enjoy working around the yard, so some little raking of leaves is no big issue. We have 4 full grown Maples, so we get lots of leaves.

I hope you and your children enjoy your pool. We went from cottage people to pool in one year. I think the best part of this investment is....EVERYONE IS HOME, EVERYONE IS HAVING FUN..and MOST IMPORTANT...YOUR HOUSE BECOMES A GATHERING PLACE...no matter what anyone says, we all like people coming over.

Once its done, send us some pictures, we all like to see what other people have done.

Rik

 

[JasonLion]

Welcome to TFP!

I have a slightly different opinion on the in-line chlorinator. When you are first starting you need to get some CYA into the water. Using the in-line chlorinator is one way to do that. More importantly, if you ever need to go away for several days it can be very handy to have an in-line chlorinator. You don't want to be using pucks as your normal source of chlorine, but they come in handy on occasion and are much simpler to use if you have the in-line chlorinator installed.

 

[NWMNMom]

Hi, welcome to TFP and pool ownership!

A few items to note - the difference between a leaf net and a mesh cover is HUGE. The leaf net really is a visual mesh netting material that goes over any kind of cover to catch leaves during the "big drop" period when most leaves fall and then you remove it, leaving your regular cover below (some don't use any kind of regular cover) A leaf net is a HUGE plus for anyone with a lot of leaves or debris in the autumn. The MESH covers are different. They look just like a solid cover but are made of a very fine tightly woven mesh material that allows liquids to fall through the cover. A good one will last just as long as a regular quality winter cover (cheapies fall apart from ice damage)

We have TONS of trees around our pool so leaves and debris ARE a problem. I have an Arctic Armor Mesh cover and in comparison to our prior solid winter covers, I am very happy. MUCH less work - after leaves are removed in the autumn, it just sits there until spring and melt off when the water falls through the cover. We had crystal clear water with a bit of silt on the bottom when we opened. No pumping or hassle with a swamp on top. You do not have to put pillows or floats or anything under the cover or deal with all that hassle. This one has a very good warranty and we did not notice one bit of shredding or damage from our very tough winter.

 

[amieelynne]

Hi Amieelynne:

Welcome to this forum, you will find a wealth of knowledge on here and from certain contributors, like you I am fairly new to the pool game, put ours in last fall. All winter I read and read on another forum that has since been unattended.

thanks for the welcome--I'm assuming you're referring to poolforum, I've been doing a lot of reading there too. it's a shame that the owner of that site has gone MIA--it's very informative, any members of PF here should try to entice more of those members to join over here so they can share their knowledge and be part of a growing comunity vs. one that will eventually dwindle because it is made up of experienced pool people with no newbies to ask for advice.

I can give you my two cents worth from a newbie point of view.

1) I have seen lots of ABG's done the way you describe, will you be doing some decking around it? If so, I would plan it all out now, no sense doing the gardening and then changing plans mid stream.

2) After all my reading, I went with a SWG, for ease of use, no pucks to lug, and no CYA to build up. Our neighbor just found out the problem with pucks, his CYA was over the roof and his Chlorine requirements were easily triple what they should be. Throw out that feeder, and convert to BBB or a SWG. I love how our pool feels, and with pool open over 5 weeks now, I have only added very little of Muriatic Acid, thats it, nothing else, and crystal clear water.

I will be doing a deck, but not until the fall or more likely next spring. it will just be a fan deck off one side though, so I still need to plan for the other 3/4 of the pool surround. I have read about SWG's too and they sound great--it's the initial expense that's going to prevent me from doing that--just like the deck now. I've only had my house for 3 yrs and have my hand (read wallet..lol) in so many update/renovation projects right now I have to be mindful of cost. I forced myself to budget for a new pool after 2 yrs of the up and down of an intex pool...but beyond that I'm stretched too thin to sign up for another $1000 right now.

3) We decided against a pool light, afterall, how much swimming really takes place at nite, and you can easily throw in a pool boya light that floats for around 130 bucks, its not only the light, but find out what an electrician will charge to get that sucker wired up. I know the one thing we didnt twig on from the start, was all was included in our set up EXCEPT FOR ELECTRICAL...we wondered why, then found out when it cost over 2K to get ours all wired up.

I saw those floating lights--sounds like that's the way to go, I was on the fence only because the pool store threw the nitelighter in for free. they'll give me store credit for it so that's now on my list of things going back--thanks. I did know about needing an electrician, have already had some estimates and contracted with one to do the work later this summer or into the fall. WOW 2K??? mine is running 2 dedicated gfci curcuits from the box in the house out to the pool--one for the filter and one for an additional outlet and motion flood light. only $500 though...regional differences in price are amazing.

I hope you and your children enjoy your pool. We went from cottage people to pool in one year. I think the best part of this investment is....EVERYONE IS HOME, EVERYONE IS HAVING FUN..and MOST IMPORTANT...YOUR HOUSE BECOMES A GATHERING PLACE...no matter what anyone says, we all like people coming over.

Once its done, send us some pictures, we all like to see what other people have done.

Rik

I am sure we'll enjoy it and spend many hours out there each day--definately getting our money's worth in fun and enjoyment. several of my kids friends are counting down with us in the midst of all this I am building a tree fort, we already have a trampoline and other things in the yard for kids--so we are already THE HOUSE on the block for the kids to congregate at, once I add the deck I'm hoping for some adult interaction..lol thanks for all your thoughts!!

 

[amieelynne]

thanks, it does sound like a mesh cover is the way to go for us too. only one tree in the yard but it's somewhat close to the pool area and it's one huge tree--red maple that sheds like no tomorrow..I usually fill 20+ leaf bags in the fall after cleanup so I want to make sure I keep all that out of the pool. question though--I thought no matter what you had to use a pool pillow to allow for freezing of water. wouldn't that still apply with a mesh cover?

Hi, welcome to TFP and pool ownership!

A few items to note - the difference between a leaf net and a mesh cover is HUGE. The leaf net really is a visual mesh netting material that goes over any kind of cover to catch leaves during the "big drop" period when most leaves fall and then you remove it, leaving your regular cover below (some don't use any kind of regular cover) A leaf net is a HUGE plus for anyone with a lot of leaves or debris in the autumn. The MESH covers are different. They look just like a solid cover but are made of a very fine tightly woven mesh material that allows liquids to fall through the cover. A good one will last just as long as a regular quality winter cover (cheapies fall apart from ice damage)

We have TONS of trees around our pool so leaves and debris ARE a problem. I have an Arctic Armor Mesh cover and in comparison to our prior solid winter covers, I am very happy. MUCH less work - after leaves are removed in the autumn, it just sits there until spring and melt off when the water falls through the cover. We had crystal clear water with a bit of silt on the bottom when we opened. No pumping or hassle with a swamp on top. You do not have to put pillows or floats or anything under the cover or deal with all that hassle. This one has a very good warranty and we did not notice one bit of shredding or damage from our very tough winter.

 

[JasonLion]

There are two kinds of mesh covers. The cheaper giant sheet of mesh leaf covers that need to be held down with water bags or tied to the rim tend to get frozen into the ice if you leave them on when your pool freezes. That will reduce their lifetime significantly. I have heard of people only getting one to two years out of them before they tear apart from ice damage. That is why the manufacturers tend to recommend taking them off after leaf season is over. You can simply take them off and leave the pool uncovered after leaf season ends. A pool pillow is a great idea with this kind of cover, helping to support the weight of the leaves that accumulate and reducing the stress on the side walls.

The more expensive mesh covers that tie down to springs anchored in the deck every several feet all around are much longer lasting and are more commonly left on all winter. This style doesn't need a pillow. This style won't work for an above ground pool unless you have a very sloid deck all the way around.

 

[NWMNMom]

Correct, all mesh covers in the past WERE a problem if used in the winter and considered "throw aways" if used all winter because they were debris covers and meant to allow rain through during the swimming season and keep leaves out, then take off and put on your winter cover.

The one I am talking about IS actually a WINTER cover meant for AG pools and meant to keep on ALL winter, designed and warranted to hold up to ice and snow. Very good warranty - we had absolutely no shredding or damage from ice on ours and we live in far NW MN - can't get much colder than the Nation's Ice Box. This brand's directions do NOT recommend using a pillow which is intended to keep water from pooling on solid covers - there is no pooling when it drops through on a mesh. You are right, it does not use springs though on their AG version - they do make one for the IG pools with springs out of exactly the same material as their AG. Other and cheaper brands may have other specs, but I am only covering one specific brand, which was considered a premium quality winter cover for ice/snow use by the reviews and consumer reports we researched before making a purchase. BTW, no winter cover, solid or mesh, will last forever, they all have to be replaced as they wear. We had plenty of damage and replacement issues with solids over the years so if I get the same or more from our mesh, I'm happy. It certainly was a TON of less work than the solid.