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Pool thread

920 Views 31 Replies 13 Participants Last post by  Bradley21sanders
Figured I would do a thread where everyone can share maintenance tips, must haves, or simply show off you awesome in above, semi inground or full inground. I love water and pools and I am not going to share what I wish I had but I will show what we got now.

We have gone through a couple of the small pools that only get like 6" deep and kids basically run through them and you have to change out the water very often. So last year for my sons 2nd birthday my parents got him a small 10' dia pool that was maybe 26" deep filled up, 30" to top of the inflatable rim. Well I let the water and air out and said I would put it up for the winter so it didnt get damaged... never did. Tried to blow it up and after patching 8 holes in the air ring, from it creasing and melting together in the sun, I had enough and ordered this 12'x30".



I am certain I told the wife to get the one without the pump so that it was cheaper since the other one was still good. But I think I may have said just get the pump too idk. Wasn't too much difference so maybe the latter.

Got the test strips, shock, chlorine tablets (damn they are high) So hopefully here's to a fun clean pool summer!

Question: Any ideas to do with the old pump? The new configuration (as well as old) was 2 in 1 out. Thought about doing a T off of one of the inputs and doing a water feature with it. Little bit of PVC with holes and have a water tunnel or something.
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Looks like some summertime fun there!
Nice thing about a small pool like that is sun does a decent job on keeping the water from being chilly.
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I’m still a bit torn whether I want another one or not. What we created at the old house was awesome, but since my wife went quite a bit overboard on the landscaping, it was just way too much work. Hence, if we are ever going to have another one, the landscaping will be planned a bit differently.

Then again…, don’t necessarily see us building one anytime soon since the costs have skyrocketed and $70K+ is easily spent on one. :eek: o_O And knowing my wife, it would be much more than that for us…🤦‍♂️



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A sad thing is, many people get hyped about getting a pool. Then the honeymoon wears off and they don’t use the pool enough to make it worthwhile.
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We have a neighborhood pool. They maintain it and clean it. Just a short walk to get there. Sometimes it will get crowded, but often there are only a few people there.

This was a screen grab from the security camera on the building at our pool. I do work for the HOA sometimes and had just replaced all the material on the loungers and chairs. 30 loungers and 10 chairs. Took about 13+ hrs total. They sent out an email on our facebook page that this was completed. We are having an end of school, start of summer neighborhood pool party tomorrow so I had a deadline to get it done. Ended up getting paid $1850 for the work, so it was good income for me.

Last year we completely re-did the pool surface with pebble tech stuff and had the splash pad repainted. Interestingly, as large as this pool is, it will get pretty warm as the summer heat kicks in.

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We have two pool areas in our neighborhood. The other one was finished two years ago on the northside and is about 1/4 mile from us, so pretty convenient. Never been to either one. Just not a fan.

And who ever spend tens of thousands on a pool and ends up not using it clearly has more money than brains. But that’s how some people are. We used ours year round and it wasn’t even heated.
I have a pool in my backyard. It sucks and is the one thing I wish I could change about the house. It leaks (I will take fault as I haven't tried to get someone to repair) which means I add water. Also it seems like I keep burning up Polaris pumps and water pumps. Gotta cover it in the winter, have the pool guy come out in the summer yada yada. Not a fan.
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Not the best pictures, but our pool is an old lodge pool built in 1955. 40 ft long, 22 ft wide, 9.5 feet deep at the deep end. About 35K gallons.
Had this part of my property right at 10 years. A few places the cast iron pipe has been repaired with universal auto radiator hose, but everything works as it should with a state of the art pump and sand filter.
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I miss our pools we had in Florida. Would I ever consider one in Michigan? No way. My dog misses the pool, too. Yes that was Christmas time.
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I really like our pool. We had it re done with pebble sheen a few yrs ago. Still need the deck re done. My whole house was in rough shape when I bought it. I live in the desert so I don't have to do anything different in the winter. I feel like it's super easy to maintain. Once I got the hang of the chemicals and testing, it's been easy peasy. I have never paid for a pool guy. For anyone interested, check out troublefreepools website. It's a forum with great information. Also the test kits are great. Before I would take my samples to the pool store and they would sell me on all kind of un necessary crap.
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Some nice pools! I think I would want a salt water if it was an inground though, I have heard its less maintenance.

@JD1964 that honeymoon phase is why I worry about getting an inground and likely why I might not. That and I would need to spend the extra to have it heated so I felt it was worth it.
I agree with @jamesmross24 about maintaining the pool. It's really not that hard. Sure, it's a bit of work and takes a bit of money, but to be expected and you really don't need a pool guy to do any of that. When we had the pool we were in that busy phase in life when kids were young and going places, but we still found the time to protect our investment to make sure it was in proper working order. My wife took care of the testing/chemicals and I took care of the mechanicals and cleaning.
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Honestly I just haven't learned how to do it. I probably should take the time to do so.
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What timing to start this thread. Began getting our 24' above ground pool cleaned Tuesday. After one of the storms we had, the pool leaf cover flew away towards Roor's house and we didn't buy another one to cover it, the few trees near it shed all their leaves into it. Now I'm having to net them out from the bottom. Decided yesterday to go ahead and drain it so it will be easier to clean up. We have enjoyed ours, still may not use it as often as we should though.
Shakenfake, from all the years of owning one, it took me a good while to realize the 'Pool Supplies Box Stores' are no real help. Found a local pool company near us that has really helped with suppling us the proper chemicals to keep it clear. I bring in a water sample and she sets me up with what is required, and it works. It's not that much time consuming.
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Thanks bud, doing any pool stuff is new to me. I will need to take the time to do it myself.

really need to fix the leak though...
My pool is so old that it's just bare concrete on the sides and the bottom. no gunite or plaster of any kind. When I first acquired it 10 years ago, it took some labor to get it right, but it's been minimal maintenance since. I also removed the diving board and the slide to make the insurance company happy. They were both dysfunctional, anyway.

The toughest part of maintenance is when the live oak leaves fall, and then when the catkins drop......because no matter which way the wind is blowing, everything ends up in the pool.

As far as general maintenance, I get the water tested once a month. Once the pool temperature falls below 65 degrees, I drop pump running to 8 hours a day and no more chemicals.

Above 65 degrees, the pool pump runs 12 hours a day, I put in 3 pounds of powdered shock per week, 3 ounces of Biogard Algae Complete a week, and depending on the pool temperature, anywhere between 4 and 8 Biogard "blue" tablets a week. At the beginning of the season I dump in 20 pounds of Biogard "Optimizer," and that's about it. except for a gallon of Muriatic acid once a month to stabilize the PH.

I also have a Maytronics Dolphin Wave 75 commercial Pool Cleaning robot for the sides and walls.
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Headed into last summer here in TX, my wife discovered "Stock Tank Pools" and told me ALL about them.. I looked it up and it looked like a great idea. So for her birthday in July, we went to our local Tractor Supply and bought a big 8' tank, ordered the pump and plumbing, and built our own. :) Thing is only 2' deep so it's the perfect "sitting and soaking" type of vibe. Enjoy the sunny days outside while staying cool. Pack it away over winter and it holds up to all the crazy weather given that it's made to be out there in the fields watering all the animals all year long.

Second year now, I just set it up again last week now that we're consistently hitting 80* plus days.. :D We love this thing. During summer I use it at LEAST once a day.. hah.
Pretty easy to manage the small filter and do my own water testing and balancing to keep it clean too. Simple pleasures.







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Some nice pools! I think I would want a salt water if it was an inground though, I have heard its less maintenance.

@JD1964 that honeymoon phase is why I worry about getting an inground and likely why I might not. That and I would need to spend the extra to have it heated so I felt it was worth it.
Mine were salt. And yes, less maintence, less stinky chlorine, longer lasting swim trunks
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@Chevrolado The rubber duck makes it. Also I need a base like on your umbrella, I think. Ours is just the round style and falls over easier than it should, granted we seem to always have decently strong winds lately. Think I am going to get a couple boards today if I have time and do something like this except anchor it into the ground somehow.
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