Looking to buy our first pool.. Wondering about pricing and options..

[hrsdennis]

To add to what Ben said, the filter is the most important part of your pool. In my forty plus years of installing above grounds I have had plenty of access to free used pools. People pay me to remove them from their yards when they are tired of them. Whenever I needed a pool I had access to a free one. I would add to it the cheapest liner I could find. During the internet age it would be the cheapest blue 20 gauge I could find. I know how to take care of a liner and get the most out of them. If I had to change it in five years, the new liner was cheep and the labor free. The only place I was picky was what I used to clean the pool with. I have always used top notch filter equipment and my kids always swam in sparkling clean water. They did not care whether or not there were fish all over the liner, or whether there were huge 8" resin top seats surrounding them. Actually, these were not options when I was raising kids, but anyway, they always had sparkling clean water to swim in.

The filter equipment you choose will have a direct bearing on how much enjoyment you get out of the pool.

Later, Dennis

[tbird2340]

To add to what Ben said, the filter is the most important part of your pool. In my forty plus years of installing above grounds I have had plenty of access to free used pools. People pay me to remove them from their yards when they are tired of them. Whenever I needed a pool I had access to a free one. I would add to it the cheapest liner I could find. During the internet age it would be the cheapest blue 20 gauge I could find. I know how to take care of a liner and get the most out of them. If I had to change it in five years, the new liner was cheep and the labor free. The only place I was picky was what I used to clean the pool with. I have always used top notch filter equipment and my kids always swam in sparkling clean water. They did not care whether or not there were fish all over the liner, or whether there were huge 8" resin top seats surrounding them. Actually, these were not options when I was raising kids, but anyway, they always had sparkling clean water to swim in.

The filter equipment you choose will have a direct bearing on how much enjoyment you get out of the pool.

Later, Dennis

Thank you Dennis.. So are you in agreement with this filter and this pump?

[hrsdennis]

definitely

[tbird2340]

O.M.G.!! I got the filter today.. The 27".. It is HUUUUUUUUGE!!! The delivery guy was like "This must be one huge pool..."

Sure hope you guys were right! LOL

[PoolDoc]

Wait till you see the water.

Be SURE to use labeled filter sand -- and not the Quikrete 'filter sand' Lowes is selling.

[tbird2340]

Where is the best place to get the sand? I just checked Leslie's website and their sand is $25 for 25lbs!!! That would cost me $350 just for sand.. I'm sure hoping I can get it a lot cheaper somewhere else or I'm going to be kicking myself for getting a filter this big..

Thanks

[tbird2340]

How about this sand? http://www.acehardware.com/product/i...uctId=11683357

[PoolDoc]

I think the HTH sand is probably as good as you'll get. It costs about $8 standard wholesale (non-Florida markets), so $13 is not a bad price for a hard to handle product.

The Leslie's prices is probably a 'free shipping' price; if there's a local Leslie's store, they may be MUCH cheaper, since local supplies would have been delivered in bulk by truck.

[PoolDoc]

I should add, if you want to save a bit of money, and can get the crummy Quikrete sand for less, you should be able to use that cheap sand for the first 150lbs or so.

One tip: put enough water in the filter to cover the laterals with 6" of water BEFORE adding sand. That will keep you from busting laterals when you pour the sand in.

[BigDave]

I looked on Leslies web site and the $25 for 25lb price is for zeosand. I couldn't find a price for filtersand.