Unlevel Playing Field: New Summer, Better Pool...still problems!

[Cloudyahh]

Hi all. Last year I joined the forum when I bought a kiddie pool for some relaxing and for our kiddos. Got rid of that pretty quickly and this summer invested a little more into an Intex Easy Set with a pump and filter. The pump is more powerful than required for my 8’x30” 639 gallon pool, but I got it for a steal and it’s been great! I downloaded the TFP app and I’m loving it. The kit I’m using is the one I got last year, the Taylor K-1003, which is not the best so let me know if you think I should spend the bucks and get another. I also purchased the Blue Devil CYA test kit which just arrived last night and I haven’t gotten to test yet (raining today). Here are my current test results as of this morning (before rain):
FC - N/A (not tested in the K-1003)
CC/TC - 3
pH - 7.6
TA - 130
CH - N/A (not tested in the K-1003)
CYA - N/A (not tested in the K-1003) & haven’t yet tested w/ new kit.

I have had the pool up and running since June 1 and have been treating it with a combo of bleach, chlorine tabs in a floater, baking soda, and muriatic acid. Haven’t had to use Borax yet.

TA has been high but I’ve slowly brought it down from 210, and PH has been pretty stable. When it rises to 7.8 or a little higher (test kit reads up to 8.2) I do the math and add muriatic acid.

Water looks pretty good - got an Intex 28003E Deluxe Pool Maintenance Kit for Above Ground Pools and an Intex Deluxe Wall Mount Surface Skimmer from Amazon, but I haven’t been able to get the skimmer to function properly. I think the main problem is my pool has quickly made it clear that the ground beneath it is not level.

I honestly DID NOT realize just how much money and work I would sink into this! ?? It’s partly fun, but now that I’m worried I may need to dump (not a big issue) and level the ground (big issue), I’m afraid I may not be able to have this pool after all.

We rent and landlord gave us permission to have a small pool (I told them 8’ and they said that’s fine), but leveling was not discussed. I’m worried the seams on the north end of our pool will burst with time, so I’m not sure what the quickest fix is, or if there even is one! Thoughts??

 

[jblizzle]

Did you actually add baking soda? Your TA is still on the high side at this point which is going to drive your pH up. Keep working it down like you are.
Really need to check the CYA to know what the proper levels of FC that need to be maintained are : FC/CYA Levels

So, leveling, the standard answer we give is that the pool should be level within 1" all around. You pool does not really have legs to worry about, but it does look to be leaning a bit.
I think those bag pools are built to be pretty resilient, but I am not going to say that you will likely be fine

 

[jimmythegreek]

For such a small pool you could easily drain it and grab a dozen bags of playsand and get it real close. Throw a tarp down first so it's easy to clean up later

 

[Teald024]

Welcome back!
For the vast majority of AGP's we say not to add under low areas to get level. In your case with a small "ring" pool, I would agree that adding some sand under the low areas is the proper way forward. It is hard to see how out of level the pool is from the picture. You would need to drain and move the pool aside to do it.

 

[zea3]

If you can, build a little box around the pool with landscape timber, maybe 6" deep and fill it with sand. Drain the pool, level the sand in the box and put the pool on top of the sand. Line the box with a tarp or roofing felt. It will prevent weeds from growing up through there and keep the sand from shifting out.

 

[Cloudyahh]

I apologize for the late reply but thanks so much everyone for your answers! We kept it up a couple more weeks until we were gone on vacation and then I drained the whole thing. School is about to begin so I’m going to take a go at the “sand pit” next season. Thank you all!!! I love this forum!!!