Thanks Ben,

I have seen Google Earth of my house. The Google Earth picture was taken about 3 years ago when I first added the defined garden area in the back yard but before I had planted anything. Google Earth, I think updates sections of the US about every 6 or 7 years so probably won't see it like it is for another few years. As I have a few other shots that might provide a better view in the back yard surrounded by the garden, let me post them along with the comparison shot from Google Earth.









The desire to build a pool (and the expense) has been kicked around by my wife and I for dozens of years. We decided finally to bite the bullet and have one put in after we retired.. I searched hundreds of pool pictures and found a free-form pool that I thought would look good in the back yard and meet our needs. My wife wanted the spa so that was part of the total design. The pool area nearest the house has a shallow ledge about 7 inches deep and has the fountains.

It is a small pool and I think it is about 10,000 gallons. It is 4.5 feet deep at the drain and 4 ft in all other areas except the shallow ledge. I never would have thought to put a shallow pool in until my wife and I visited Cancun last summer and swam in their large but 4 ft deep shallow pool. I found it relaxing and provided ease to maneuver, proper depth for exercise and still deep enough to swim. That is what led us to the depth parameters and we have been very satisfied. Grand kids (8 and 10) came to visit last week and they loved it too. It is a great play pool.

Here is a list of the basic installed equipment:

Pentair WF 2.0hp pool pump
Pentair C&C 420sf cartridge filter
Pentair automatic pool cleaner (Kreepy Krauly - Legend)
Pentair Booster pump
Pentair Master 400btu NG heater
Intermatic dual timer with freeze protect
Pool and spa Lights
Blower Silencer 2hp

The heater is probably bigger than normal but my wife wanted the ability to heat the pool and it does this nicely within about 4 hours. It takes about 20 minutes to heat the spa after turned on. Seems pretty efficient as the gas bill, surprisingly is not bad.

The Kreepy Krauly works excellently and keeps the bottom of the pool spotless. I run it about 3 hours a day unless the yard is cut then run it longer. Glad I opted to get the booster pump to drive it. The cartridge filter has reached 20 psi and needs cleaning. I will tackle that soon (if there are any tricks or posts on this please point the way). The blower for the spa works great but I wish it had a two position switch with one lower blowing speed. The mechanical timers work ok.

As for the chemistry management - after doing some reading in the forum I see what you are saying about managing the pH and the alkalinity. I have a chemical management service but frankly, they are just not getting the parameters right. The pH was 8+ on the last visit and the chlorine has been zero each time he has checked for the past 4 weeks. I thought it was time I learned how to manage the pool myself and save myself a lot of money that gave me little benefits.

Glad to see your chemical test kit recommendations as I had already ordered the Taylor complete FAS-DTP Pool Test Kit (K-2006) along with extra reagents. It should get here in another day or two. I set up an Excel spreadsheet to record and track the readings for:

pH
Chlorine: Free, Combined and Total
Cyanuric Acid
Calcium Hardness
Total Alkalinity

I have a BS in Zoology so have a full science background and understand the testing but not sure on the results and managements as it relates to my particular pool conditions. So, I am going to spend some time reading in the forum to gather the wisdom of managing a plastered gunite pool with a water fall and fountain. I have a feeling that this may be complex but certainly not unique so any help in this area (point me to some posts) will be greatly appreciated.

Glad I found this place. Thanks for the welcome.