INTEX 12x36 Owner Wants to Thank YOU for Simple Plan!!

[southside]

Hello there! Found your forum via post link from Waterbear on Pool & Spa Forum. He has helped me immensely with hot water chemistry, and now you've helped me with the simple Intex care plan!

We had a larger Intex pool the past couple of years, and I swore I was never going to have another. Not because I don't like the Intex name; but because of the hard work (and money) I put into balancing the water only to have an imbalance that drove me NUTS!! I grew more and more frustrated as I dumped various "recommended" products into my pool and saw that they did nothing to solve the problem(s). Oh, what headaches I would have avoided had I known about this forum!

Being that the heat is so bad this year, and I hate being stuck inside the house, I broke down and purchased another pool. Very small, but just the right size in my mind -- less water, less to maintain. Of course, it was only after I had set up and filled my pool (with city water ... whew!) that I saw your Simple Intex Pool Recipe! So, along with vacuuming and regular filter rinsing, this is what I've done for the last two weeks since the pool has been up:

1) Dichlor granules (mixed with water before adding to pool) on a nightly basis
2) Testing chlorine and pH in a.m.; adjusting chlorine (pH has been stable)
3) Added the trichlor tabs in floater today, because I just cannot seem to keep chlorine levels stable
4) Purchased a GOOD pump filter ... I cannot believe the difference that makes in water clarity. PLUS the better filters do not cost much more than the "cheap" filters.

Hopefully the trichlor will help stabilize the chlorine (for at least a day or two!) and won't drive the pH down too fast. I will keep my eye on it and add borax if need be. Any other tips or recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Thank you again for your wonderful forum!

[PoolDoc]

Thanks for the feed back!

Honestly, I don't wouldn't worry too much about stable chlorine. If it's high every evening (from dichlor doses) and there is some left at the end of the day, you should stay both sanitary and algae free -- which is the point, after all.

If you don't object, I'm going to move this onto the Intex recipe thread, to encourage other folks to offer feed back (good or bad) so I can make corrections to the recipe.

Thanks!

[CarlD]

Hey, Ben, Southside's story sounds like mine, years ago.

I got an Intex 15'x36' at the beginning of 2000, and went through a lot of the same problems. In 2001, I found PF and learned to use the B-B-B system (It didn't have a name then) and had a GREAT season. 2002, I added a 4'x10' solar panel and had the largest inflatable home hot tub in New Jersey. That fall, I started construction of my current pool, and had no fear of maintaining it because of what I learned on the Intex Donut. My wife and I say all the time that the little donut never owed us a dime!

Carl

[southside]

Thanks for the quick reply, PoolDoc! Regarding the chlorine, it has been ZERO by evening or next morning ... that's why I decided to add the floater with trichlor tabs. Interestingly, after last night's dichlor treatment and adding the floater, this afternoon's test read 1.5 ppm on both FC & TC, which is the first time it hasn't been zero! If you'd rather I not use the trichlor in the floater, but continue with simply dichlor additions, please let me know. I'm adaptable!

The only suggestion I have on your wonderful "recipe" is to include dose equivalents for smaller pools. Mine is 12x36 and holds almost 1800 gallons, but your chart starts at 2500 gallons. Just a thought ... esp for anyone who may be mathematically challenged like myself! lol

[PoolDoc]

The only suggestion I have on your wonderful "recipe" is to include dose equivalents for smaller pools. Mine is 12x36 and holds almost 1800 gallons, but your chart starts at 2500 gallons.

I'll have to think about that. I may need to make a second page, for pools under 2500 gallons. When gallons get really low, the 'pool' starts acting more like a spa, than a pool. This happens because there are fewer gallons per person. With small pools, regular draining and refilling probably needs to be a part of the recipe. Also, it's harder to 'store' enough chlorine in a pool, when it's really small, to be able to take care of 2 or 3 people's 'goop'. In turn, that requires a different dosing strategy.

Trichlor is fine, so long as you pay attention to your pH levels, which will tend to drop. Just use borax to keep them above 7.2, and you'll be OK.