Our First Pool -- Intex 9 x 12

[BlackQueen40]

Thank you so much for the helpful tips. I will definitely check out the recipe and see about ordering the test kit. I will definitely be doing a lot of reading as well as I want very much to get things right the first time. :-)

[Watermom]

Good deal. We'll be here if you need us!

[PoolDoc]

Go ahead and start site prep, NOW. The pool site should be about 12' x 15' and should be LEVEL. Not nearly level, but actually level.

Maybe 5% of Intex pools have problems. Intex will eventually honor warranties, but it's MUCH easier to return the pool during the 30-day window Amazon or Walmart have. But you need to be ready to put your pool up right away, and start using it, so any defects will show up before the 30 days are gone.

. . . membership upgraded.

[BlackQueen40]

I would but that is going to be my husband's job. He's a construction worker, mainly industrial electrician and instrument tech, but he's had to do lots of other things through the years including leveling ground so he's borrowing the equipment he needs from work to get the leveling exactly right. He's a stickler for everything being as perfect as possible. He will be home July 2, so on the 3rd we will pick up the pool and get started. In the meantime, I am trying to learn as much as possible about maintenance and care as that will be mainly my job. I have done some reading on various sites and even watched a few videos on YouTube where people messed things up so I know that we will need to make sure to get the pads for the braces level on the ground. The main thing I am wondering about is what the best practice would be on putting down sand and either a ground cover or thick black plastic. I read on one site where a guy said he put down the black plastic to make sure weeds didn't sprout and grow through the liner. I've read conflicting advice on whether you should have a half inch or one inch of sand for the base. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. :-)

[PoolDoc]

+ Sand tends to move. Only use it if you can be 100% sure that water won't run under you pool. Usually that means you have an almost flat yard that never has runoff move across it during heavy rains. Limestone sand is OK.

+ Heavy plastic (or the black/silver tarps) is OK, but trim it so that it does NOT channel water under the pool.

+ If you can don't buy the pool till the grading is done.

[BlackQueen40]

Thank you for the advice. My husband measured everything first before we ordered the pool. I think he pretty much knows how he's going to do it but I always like to be as well informed as I can be and then ask him if he thought of these things. I usually get a yes but occasionally I get a no. Also, I decided to go ahead and get the salt water filter system and will run it and the sand filter so should I still follow the Super Simple Recipe?

[PoolDoc]

Actually, if you're going with the salt system, you'll need to

1. Order a K2006 & the AquaCheck salt strips; be sure to watch the videos BEFORE you test: http://pool9.net/tk/

The reason for this is that the SSR pretty much ignores everything except pH and chlorine, and lets the CYA float upward. You can't do that with an SWCG in play, since if your TA (alkalinity) and/or CH (calcium) are too high you can end up fouling the plates in the SWCG.

2. Run the plain SSR for 2 weeks OR until the CYA level has reached 30 ppm (the target level for the Intex SWCG units).

3. Before you turn your SWCG on, report your pH, TA, and CH levels, so we can make sure you don't have a problem.

4. Using the AquaCheck strips to bring the salt level to 3,000 ppm (Intex target level). REMEMBER that the AquaCheck strips can NOT be read directly; you must use the conversion table on the bottle.