newbie with questions

[G22inSC]

The family has finally made the decision to take the plunge and purchase a AG pool for the kids and wife. We are looking into using a local pool shop with a deal for a Blue Cascade Serenity 27' with several items thrown in (light, ladder, manual vac, auto cleaner, summer's supply of chemicals, etc.) They utilize the pool frog system (King Technology) but it looks like everyone hear does otherwise. Is there a reason to not use the system at first and just go without? I don't know what the reaction would be if I told them to leave all that out and I will just take care of the chemicals myself. The package also includes the hayward 18" sand filter with the 1HP FloMatrix pump. Is this a good setup or should I up the filter size and/or lower the pump to the 3/4HP if possible? What do you'll think?

[G22inSC]

It looks we are taking steps backwards now. The pool people (grading man and pool installers actually) came out and looked at the backyard last night. It appears as though we can't put in a 27' AG because if the lower end is on top of the ground the upper end is 7" under ground. They stated with the slope of the yard etc, the sand would wash out from under the pool and lead to problems. Their solution was an above ground/in ground pool. I don't have the details from the store yet but they stated they thought it was made by Fabcote. It utilizes steel walls and can be buried/backfilled. Does this sound correct or a load of you know what? I have never heard of this type pool and was unable to locate any information last night on the internet. Need some adivce please.

[PoolDoc]

Hi G22;

I started to look up your pump & filter combo last night, but ran out of time. Unlike Pentair, Hayward makes their data hard to access. What I can tell you is that the filter is too small. Somehow, years ago the swimming pool equipment manufacturers got approval to rate AG sand filters at higher flow rates than IG units -- in spite of the fact the filters work identically. The AG filter ratings are bogus, and result in dirt being pushed through the sand.

Your pool should be around 15,000 gallons. For an 8 hour filter turnover, you need a flow rate of 35 GPM. For this flow rate, an ADEQUATELY sized filter would be a 21" filter or larger, like an S210T On the other hand, almost any pump should be big enough: the FloMatrix 3/4 HP should be fine.