One return in a 40k pool, should I renovate?

[smythep]

I just moved into my new house a year ago and the ~40k gallon pool only has one return line and one skimmer basket (and a ton of trees that drop leaves into it the water). Should I be renovating it to add more returns and skimmers?

I'm very new to pool care and recently had a pool company come out to clear it up. The rep I talked to mentioned that I only had one return (I'm so new I didn't even know what that meant at first), so I got curious and started picking her brain. She seemed to think it would be better to have more, which makes sense, but I have no idea if it's necessary. I don't believe she was trying to sell me on anything, but I figured I'd come to the source here and get some more expertise.

Is it possible to keep a 40k gallon pool clean with only one return line and one skimmer? I'd love to avoid spending a ton of money if possible, but I'd also like to use the pool and had real trouble keeping up with it this year (cloudy, algae, leaves, debris, chlorine). I chalked it up to being new and figured next year would be better, but I'm wondering if the current setup isn't "ideal" and is making my life unnecessarily complicated.

 

[Jimrahbe]

S,

One return is certainly not ideal, but chemicals are what keeps your pool clear and algae free, not circulation..

If you are going to do a bunch of renovations anyway, then adding a couple of returns makes sense. But, you can maintain your pool the TFP way and continue to use the pool as is.

You should take a good long read through our pool school.

No pool guy is going to take care of your pool like you can do yourself.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[sktn77a]

40,000 gal is a HUGE pool. How did you calculate the volume?

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

had real trouble keeping up with it this year (cloudy, algae, leaves, debris, chlorine). I chalked it up to being new and figured next year would be better, but I'm wondering if the current setup isn't "ideal" and is making my life unnecessarily complicated.

Your 1 return and skimmer setup had nothing to do with your water chemistry problems.

Spend your renovation money on a robot pool cleaner to keep the surfaces of the pool clean and a Ariel SolarBreeze to skim the water surface.

Learn TFPC Methods....

Pool Care Basics Archives

Your one-stop shop for all things TFP to include: ABCs of Water Chemistry, Recommended Chemicals/Levels, Test Kits, Troubleshooting, and much more!

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[smythep]

40,000 gal is a HUGE pool. How did you calculate the volume?

Estimate I got from the seller who had it built, I don't have any calculation to back it up.

 

[smythep]

S,

One return is certainly not ideal, but chemicals are what keeps your pool clear and algae free, not circulation..

If you are going to do a bunch of renovations anyway, then adding a couple of returns makes sense. But, you can maintain your pool the TFP way and continue to use the pool as is.

You should take a good long read through our pool school.

No pool guy is going to take care of your pool like you can do yourself.

Thanks,

Jim R.

Thanks, looking through it now

 

[smythep]

Welcome to TFP.



Your 1 return and skimmer setup had nothing to do with your water chemistry problems.

Spend your renovation money on a robot pool cleaner to keep the surfaces of the pool clean and a Ariel SolarBreeze to skim the water surface.

Learn TFPC Methods....

Pool Care Basics Archives

Your one-stop shop for all things TFP to include: ABCs of Water Chemistry, Recommended Chemicals/Levels, Test Kits, Troubleshooting, and much more!

www.troublefreepool.com

Thanks, I have a robot pool cleaner, but I had an algae problem and all of the dead stuff floated to the bottom when I killed it. The robot would just kick half of the debris back up into the water. It's great when I'm doing a good job of maintaining the pool, but I've got a newborn and haven't been as dedicated this summer as I will be in the future.

On the chemical topic, I thought I was doing everything perfectly and then it started getting cloudy and then had algae. That's when I discovered algaecide, but the damage was already done.

 

[Jimrahbe]

S,

What kind of pool cleaner do you have??

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[ajw22]

That's when I discovered algaecide, but the damage was already done.

Algaecide is never the fix once you have algae.

We rarely recommend the use of algaecide except in special circumstances.

Algaecide - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[smythep]

S,

What kind of pool cleaner do you have??

Thanks,

Jim R.

The Dolphin Proteus DX3