modifying an Intex AGP

We have acquired an AGP, given to us by a family member. It's a 15'x48" tube frame, model A 15' x 48" F B02 R1, and I'd like a bit of advice on the feasibility on a couple of modifications. This pool had been set up in the original owner's yard, adjacent to our yard.

I would like to put a main drain in the center of the floor, and add a few intake and outlet ports in the side, along with an in-the-wall skimmer.

Everything I've read here and elsewhere, along with personal experience on this particular pool, points to the pump and cartridge filter system (1000GPH) that comes with the pool as being inadequate for keeping the pool maintained. So that is the main reason I would want to make these changes. I'm looking at upgrading the filter system to a better flow/filter setup, and don't think the original ports would be up to the task by themselves.

Another thing I'd appreciate some input on is this:

Is it possible to sink the liner into the ground 1 or 2 feet? My thinking on this would be to better support the base of the pool, making it more stable, and less likely to move around from people's activity while in the pool.

Having dealt with (as labor only) the installation of only one vinyl lined in ground pool before, I don't know if these modifications would be feasible, let alone advisable.

It has taken the better part of a week to get the chemistry halfway close, according to the cheap 2 tube test kit that came with it, so would probably need advice in that area, too. I do know that I need to purchase a much better kit, that I can test for more than just basic pH and chlorine levels. I have no idea what to look for in a test kit, I just know that what I have isn't going to work to help keep the chemistry balanced. From online research, I have found that the basic Cl test doesn't tell me much of anything, like how much of the Cl in the pool is FC, and how much is CC. The reagent bottles are only marked with OTO, and Phenol Red, and packaged by JED Pool tools, Inc. Not in my guesstimation a good enough kit to balance a pool and keep it that way. According to this kit's results, my Cl is staying fairly even between .5 and 1, and I'm afraid to dose the pool with too much to bring it higher without more info. The pH appears to have stabilized between 7.2 and 7.5, down from the initial reading being too high to tell. The highest color shade section on this kit is 8.2, and the first tests when we filled the pool appeared to be way higher than that. So if anyone has any recommendations in that area as well, it would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any and all input from the guru's here!

Charlie

Hi, and welcome to the forum!!

The test kit that we recommend for all pools is the K-2006. Take a look at the link in my sig--it can be bought online from different places, but at a good price through Amazon. Look for Amato industries as the seller, because they seem to have the best price so far--arond $60. This kit will measure anything you need to measure, including accurate FC/CC levels. The only thing it won't test for is salt or metals, but there are standalone kits that can be purchased with it to test for those if you need it. The OTO kit you have will work for daily "snapshots" of your water, but the better kit is going to be necessary to get the pool balanced and keep it that way.

I don't know about the modifications you want to make to the ABP, but somebody should chime in here shortly with opinions. The pump/filter on those pools is typically mismatched, so a bigger filter is always going to better, even if you can't add additional returns.

Thank you for that.

In doing a LOT more reading here, I see I will have to purchase some dichloro as well, for the obvious benefits outlined elsewhere here.

Pay day is this weekend, so will see what all I can get.

This is the first use of a brand new liner for this pool, as the old one was pretty much destroyed through the chemical concoction the previous owner kept putting in it. Her idea? throw all the chemicals the pool supplier recommended, without any actual testing. She couldn't keep it clear, nor could she keep enough carts on hand to filter out the gunk that resulted.

My plan is to do the minimum, once I get the water balanced. I really like the BBB system you folks have come up with!

Since we have high mineral content water here --household water heaters last only a few years-- I would expect that the pH would be almost uncontrollable until I take the steps outlined by PoolDoc.

The learning has only begun!

Maybe in a few years of learning, I'll want to step up to a REAL pool!

Charlie

Hey, that IS a real pool--I bet you get just as wet in yours as we do in ours! :)

Janet

I agree with aylad, everything about your intex is real; the wetness and the responsibilities. Some people seem to think these pools are toys (I bought my first one in a toy store) which never works well. FWIW I found my Intex donuts harder to maintain than my traditional AGP. With less water and poor filtration, things can go south in a hurry.

You seem to be heading in the right direction (and you're in the right place to learn) as far as maintenance and chemistry but I haven't seen yet where you've ordered the K-2006 aylad recommended. My opinion: it is the single most important start-up chemical for a new pool.

I've never see a through-the-wall skimmer for soft side pools and can't imagine how it would work. As far as additional returns: I wouldn't want to cut the pool and the one should be OK for a 15' pool. If you have the time and don't mind the back-breaking work, I supppose putting it in a hole could work, I just don't see why. You'd need to modify the ladder. Does your pool have the rope that goes around the bottom of the legs to hold them upright?

There are pump / filter choices in the Intex world (all cost more than a K-2006), sand and cartridge. Ben has made some recommendations for filter cartridge upgrades that you may want ot consider in the Construction, Equipment, Operations, Seasonal Care (P)Intex-type Pool Setup & Operations section of the forum. There's probably a lot of stuff in there you want to read anyway.

Good luck and have fun!

I guess you are right, it's just a cheap model of one. When we have to replace the liner in a few years, I am wanting to get the extra poles, tees, and bars to be able to use an 18'x48" liner.

The pool:

http://i1094.photobucket.com/albums/...h_P1010834.jpg

Picked up a cheap wally world 6 way test kit this morning, here are the results:

Chlorine .75 needs to come up a bit...
pH 7.6
total alkalinity 260 a little high, maybe?
total hardness 250 ditto here?
CYA (not tested) I haven't bought that yet.

Also purchased a large bag of baking soda, borax, bleach, and muratic acid. To be bought this afternoon: CYA

diChloro doesn't seem to be available here in podunkville, will have to wait for amazon order time.

Except for the Chlorine, do those numbers seem way out of whack? From reading here, I got the impression that I need to have the total alkalinity around 100, and the total hardness likewise.

Charlie

Alk and hardness are a little high, but not a big deal. Alk should be in the 100's range, but if your pH stays stable, it'll be okay to stay on the high side. You can lower the alk using acid, but if your fill water is 250, then you're just going to raise it again once you top off, so you might find yourself fighting a losing battle. As long as you don't have metals in the pool, and do not chlorinate with cal-hypo, then you should be fine and can leave those two alone .

You don't want to chlorinate with cal-hypo though, because your calcium level is already high, and because the high calcium, combined with the high TA, will cause milky water if you add more calcium product. Your chlorine does need to come up a bit--you want to keep 1-3 ppm at all times, until you get stabilizer in the pool. On sunny days, that may mean adding more chlorine a couple of times a day so it never gets down to zero.

You can return the baking soda (or start cooking!) because it's used to raise alk, and yours doesn't need to come up any higher. Your pH is fine--Borax is used to raise it, but if you start using dichlor, you might actually need to to keep your pH up. Don't need it for now, but you might later. The muriatic acid you'l use if/when you decide to lower your TA, or if your pH creeps too high.

If you plan to use dichlor to chlorinate, then go easy on the CYA dose, because once you get it up to your target level, you'll need to switch purely to bleach. If you hit the CYA target just adding CYA alone, then you won't be able to use your dichlor without raising it too high. I wouldn't put more than about a 20 ppm dose of CYA in the pool, and just let the dichor do the rest.

Lookin' good so far!

Janet

Update: I have just been informed by she who holds the financial keys that we will NOT be purchasing a new liner for this pool.

She wants a larger OVAL! Probably something close to 18' x 24' x 52". Sure, this is a few years before it happens, so I have time to re-arrange our back yard and do some of the dirt work needed -- retaining wall and all that, because our yard slopes about 2' in 12' back to front. She wants it along our back fence.

Unfortunately, that is where the slope is worst. So I will have my work cut out for me.....

Dig we must!

thread moved to correct location. Ben

Charlie, just some quick comments.....the tube-sided Intex pools are OK to flex and move about. That's why that rope or I can't remember if your pool has the continous heavy vinyl strap around the bottom area about a foot off the ground. They flex, don't worry about it.

The upgraded cartridges for your pool that PoolDoc recommends from Amazon are worth the money and you can clean them by soaking them.....Unicell.....they are worth the money (and money savings). I upgraded my pump/filter to the big Intex unit (didn't need to) but for me, it was worth it to get to the big cartridge filters instead of the small ones. I now change filters about every 3 weeks now, versus once a week or earlier for the Intex filters.

For safety reasons (search on this site for the pictures), I would not use anything but an Intex pump on an Intex pool.....to many dangers to swimmers if you put on the wrong pump. Put a cover on it if you have alot of trees around when there are no swimmers.

If you go with the oval, you might consider getting a nice metal sided one so you can get a new liner every few years as needed. You can then think about the deck and patio you need to upgrade for the "money lady" in the mean time.

Good luck,

Bob E.

I am resurrecting this thread I started so long ago (at least it seems that way!) with a few updates.

I did bury the pool about 16" - 18", and as I suspected, it does stabilize the pool immensely. We have had relatives and friends kids in the pool many times this year, and almost no movement from them jumping off the deck/platform.

I have also started the slow (for me) process of hard plumbing the pool, with expectation of changing to a normal pool pump later. As part of the hard plumbing, I've been working on expanding the filtration system with added filter media area. I will be adding a through the wall skimmer over the winter, while I hard plumb the intake side of the pump. While doing this, I am also planning on upgrading my heater system. Solar is not an option in our yard, due to the lack of sun. We get only a few hours of useable sun in a small portion of the yard due to trees etc. Not going onto the roof of the house for solar, as that would require a separate system with -- in my guesstimation -- a 2 hp or better pump to drive it. 100+ year old two story house, gambrel roof, 20+ft just to the eaves, 60 ft from house to pool.

Our local water supply has gone through some upgrades at the treatment plant, so our water supply has changed for the better. Testing the fill water gets me:

FC 0 (expected)
CC .5 - 1 (they use monochloramine for sanitation)
pH 8.4 or higher
TA 150
CH 180

Current pool results:

FC 5-7 (range I keep it in)
CC 0-.5
pH 7.3 (stays very stable)
TA 80
CH 240

A few pics of progress so far:

The almost done filter set:

http://i1094.photobucket.com/albums/...psa47fe4fd.jpg

I am still looking for another "B" sized canister to add into the third slot. So far, with the doubling of the filter area from 15ft^2 to 30ft^2 I have reduced the flow from 2.7 gpm/sq ft of media area to 1.3 gpm/sq ft. Adding the third filter will drop it to .9 gpm/sq ft, a more reasonable level. Even with only two, I have noted that I get much less "blow-through" of the fine silt. Pool water stays clear, even when vacuuming. With the single filter, it would start to get a slight hazy look shortly after starting to vacuum.

The new returns:

http://i1094.photobucket.com/albums/...ps227d30e1.jpg

I left the stub after the second return, for easier addition of a third return, should I decide to do that. It also gives me a way to tie the pipe to the upright.

The deck:

First section:

http://i1094.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8b42a176.jpg

Second section added:

http://i1094.photobucket.com/albums/...ps755ab84a.jpg

Current configuration:

http://i1094.photobucket.com/albums/...ps921b7d19.jpg

I will be adding a couple more sections, along with railings to complete the project. These sections will be usable on an oval, should we go ahead with that later.