Newbie to Above Ground Pools

Hi All,

I'm a newbie to pools in general. I found this forum while researching an above ground pool for my kids. I'm glad I did. I did by an 8' x 12' above ground pool. I have installed it and am waiting for the pump and filter to arrive to finish the install and fill up the pool. I bought the hayward models spec'd as good for most above ground pools....22" sand filter and 1/2 hp pump.

I am so new, I don't even know what I don't know, so I'm just going to ask, where to begin? I read the 7 day Intex startup, is that a good guide for my setup? I want to start off on the right foot. I filled out the form, but here are the particulars:

8x12 pool - 46" deep at water level when filled...which by my math is roughly 2900 gallons.
Vinyl liner
Pool will get about 11 hours of direct sunlight in the summer months.
I have ordered the K-2006 testing kit

How do I get started and keep this clean and healthy? What equipment will I need - I saw the list on the 7 day Intex startup as far as what to buy before filling....bleach, borax, pool brush, pole, leaf rake, etc. Anything I'm missing?

I really do appreciate all the help here.

You are right. The Startup Recipe would be a perfect way for you to get your pool up and running.

Good for you for doing your homework ahead of time. Too many people don't and then come here for help in a panic after they have made a mess of their pool!

Besides buying the leaf rake, you also just need a net to put on the pole. You'll use that constantly -- more than a leaf rake -- to skim off floating debris. (In fact, you may or may not even need the leaf rake. I don't use one. I just use my net.) In addition, you will need some way to vacuum the pool. No leaf rake or net can remove the dirt that is inevitably going to be on the pool floor.

Your pump and filter look like a good combo. We usually see people who have badly matched setups with pumps that are too big and filters that are too small. Yours should do just fine.

You will also want to buy some dichlor. New fills have no CYA in them. Without CYA, your chlorine is quickly lost to the sun. Dichlor is an easy way to introduce the CYA (also called stabilizer) to the water. Directions for its use and what kind to buy are also in the 'recipe.' After you get your CYA up to around 50ppm, you'll want to stop using the dichlor and switch to using bleach so your CYA level doesn't get too high.

Hope this helps. Let us know if you have more questions.

Welcome to the Pool Forum. Glad you found us!

thank you! I appreciate it, glad to know I'm starting out right.

any suggestion on a good vacuum and also looking at heating options, anything to stay away from?


(Note from moderator: Two posts waiting in queue were merged.)

. . . membership updated.

Probably the most common vacs used on small pools are the battery vacs: http://pool9.net/cleaning/

Again, the most common heating for small pools are plastic roll-out solar panels, but the results from those are variable.

OK, I did my first pool test with the Taylor K-2006 kit, here are the results....I know I need to change something, but not sure what.

FC = 5 ppm
CC = 0.2 ppm
PH = 7.0
Base Demand = 3 drops to bring up
Alkalinity = 40 ppm
Hardness = 30 ppm
CYA = never got cloudy, I'm assuming that means I need to do something

The little wheel that Taylor has says that the saturation index is at 2.0

As always, I greatly appreciate your help.

Are you using the SS Recipe and dichlor? It takes a few days before you will have used enough dichlor to be able to get a CYA reading. So, don't run the CYA test again for another week or so or else you'll just be wasting your reagent.

Your pH is too low. You'll need to add some Borax to bump it us some. (Dosing info for Borax and for the dichlor are in the recipe.) You may also want to bump your alk up by using a little baking soda. Probably somewhere around 1-1/2 lbs should be about right. Instead of adding it all at once, maybe in several small doses.

CH is only a concern for AG pools when it is high, so don't worry about testing that. Yours is fine.

One more thing ----- just use a 10mL sample when you test the chlorine instead of the 25mL one as it will make your reagents last longer. You'll multiple the drop count by 0.5 instead of 0.2.

Hope this helps. Let us know if you have more questions.

(Disregard the book and wheel that comes with the kit. The kit is great, those ...... not so much.)

Fantastic! Thank you so much for the info.

SS Recipe => http://pool9.net/ssr/