Razz, looking at the pics, I think I'd recommend draining unless the water is a huge expense.

Also, it looks like the 'Ultra' Intex design is less tolerant of out of level settings, than the prior design. It appears to me that that's the source of your assembly problem.

If you decide to drain and refill, let me know, and I'll give you a recipe. But, first we need to know what you will fill with, and especially, whether it has metals (iron or manganese) in it.