Hello

[PoolDoc]

Dunno about your budget, but Walmart and other big box stores have Intex pools on clearance currently. You might want to look at something a little bigger. A 10' is actually harder than a larger one, because the dilution factor (diluting people goo) is NOT in your favor.

But, I can say a LOT of people here have started with, and enjoyed an Intex pool for several years before moving up.

Good luck!

[carsport]

Thanks, I'll have to look into that. I suspected a smaller pool would be more difficult to keep stable but already talked the wife up to the 10'. Now that we have had it for several weeks I could probably talk her into a larger one.

For some reason my nearest Walmart doesn't have a selection of more than the most basic of pool gear even though it's a brand new super center.

I'll start checking the other stores and sam's club.

[PoolDoc]

Walmart's clear out pool gear ASAP after July 4th.

Check Kmart, Target, other big box stores for clearance deals on Intex pools. But you may have to purchase bits and pieces from Amazon.

[carsport]

Quick question or two or three, (should I start a new thread somewhere?)

I'm pretty stable now and have come down to chlorine levels more appropriate for swimming/floating.

(1) What do I do when I go out of town? I have the filters that allow for me to stick a 1" tab in there to disperse, but the only tabs that I have are trichlor+copper-such-and-such...Should I just "shock" the pool up to around 20Cl and then cover it?

(2) When I test for CCs, which isn't every time I test the water since I've become fairly stable IMO, I get a very slight pink hue which always takes 1 drop of reagent to clear up. I have been calling this CC <0.5 but is that in any way accurate? To be more clear, it is not dark pink, but very VERY light pink.

(3) If the above really does indicate I have a small amount of CCs then should I shock to 20 and wait until there is absolutely no presence of CC? I feel like there will always be a very tiny bit of CCs in a pool.

(4) Thanks for the heads-up on the Intex deals, but my wife shot the idea down. Possibly next summer for a bigger pool. Is there a "best" size for Intex? I guess by that I mean is there a pool that provides the best mix of included pump/filter/volume. I think the most yard we're willing to sacrifice would be for a 16' pool at the most.

I've attached two screenshots of my excel spreadsheet so far: Screen Shot 2012-07-24 at 1.53.09 PM.pngScreen Shot 2012-07-24 at 1.52.59 PM.png

[PoolDoc]

1. I'd recommend a floater . . . EXCEPT that fumes from it may kill the cover, at that point. 20 ppm + cover should be OK. Just take it up to 20ppm a day BEFORE you cover (top it off if necessary) and then try to stay out of the pool for 24 hours. Gases can form from that 20 ppm + people goo. Uncovered these gases escape and cause no problem; covered they could attack your cover.

2. Do NOT worry about a minimum CC reading (0.5 if using 10ml; 0.2 if using 25 mil). I'm not quite sure what that is, but I've quite sure it's not a real problem.

[carsport]

Great, thanks. That was what I figured about the CC reading.

And FWIW, the cover does have the holes to prevent rain water from accumulating. But I will do as you suggest.

I am going to try and avoid the floater for now, I only foresee a couple of short 2-3 day trips in my future.

[Watermom]

2 or 3 day trips are no problem. It's the week or longer trips that take some planning.

[SafetyBob]

Just up the road from you and I can tell you that for the most part, as long as you have the chemistry good enough, I have found with the cover on, I can leave the pool alone for a week and feel confident that nothing will grow. That said, if someone uses it during the week, before it get's closed up for the night it ALWAYS gets it's levels tested. If you haven't got that good Taylor kit from PoolDoc's links yet, do. I know you have a small pool (like me), but it ensures absolute clarity on chemistry levels......which is the key to keeping that little pool good for the kids.

My two cents worth on pool size. I am very much in the same place as you. Every year for the past three years, I have grown in pool size. We are looking at the 15' metal frame pool or the 16' metal sided pool. We simply don't want to take any more of the back yard up with a pool and/or don't want to spend thousands of dollars on an inground either. Nice to have the option of......well, kids done with the pool, let's wrap it up and throw it out. Alot better than around 1/2 my neighbors who have filled in their pools after the kids leave.

OK, one more comment. For me, the pool cover has made all the difference THIS year over past years when I did not cover my pool(s). Chemistry does not change fast (or I can keep ahead of it now) and much less filter changing.

Hope your kiddies enjoy the pool like ours do!!

Bob E.