Beginning to research for pool...

[Watermom]

This thread may help you some. http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthr...ound-Pool-FAQs

I can't help with all of your questions but will give you some opinions on a few of them

I would go with a sand filter if I were you. Sand filters are the easiest to use, and do a pretty good job. I have always had sand filters and never had any trouble. When you have to backwash them, it is a matter of turning the handle on the multi-port valve and that is that. DE and cartridge filters are both, in my opinion, more hassle. I would never want to have either one of them I don't think. Simply my opinion.

I also would not want a chlorinator. The pucks that it uses have CYA in them. Now, all outdoor pools need some CYA but only some. We have people come here all the time who uses trichlor pucks for long periods of time and they can't understand why they get algae. The problem is that as your CYA level rises, so must your chlorine level and most people don't know that. All they know is that they are keeping their chlorine levels the same as they always have and it worked before and now it doesn't and they have a green pool. More about the CYA and chlorine relationship can be found here:> http://pool9.net/cl-cya/

Once you pick out what pool you want, someone here can help with a recommendation for a pump. I will tell you that when it comes to pool pumps, bigger is NOT better. Ideally, you want a smaller pump paired with a big filter. Many places sell pump/filter combos for AG pool packages that are grossly mismatched. Usually a pump that is too big and a filter that is too small. Too much power on the pump will force debris through the sand bed (or destroy a cartridge filter) without actually filtering. We see this ALL the time on the forum.

I'm not sure about the depth of the sand. I can't remember what we have. We do have a foam sand cove on our pool. My liner is 28 mil. It is actually an inground liner (I have a 27ft AG pool) because I didn't like any of the pattern choices they had on the AG pools. I did have to pay more for it but I wanted something I would be happy with.

Another thread you might find useful: http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthr...ng-a-new-liner

Use this to search with instead of the search feature that is part of the forum software. It will search the entire forum plus our sister website www.poolsolutions.com:> http://pool9.net/search/

Hope this helps you some!

[PoolDoc]

@ Watermom: my bad; I read all the stuff about leveling and excavation and missed the "semi-inground" reference. I deleted the posts about in-ground pools.