Smallish pool Huge question

[wookybear2008]

That is so funny you mention the pool as a gateway pool, because we have been discussing how by next summer this one will be to the hips of our shortest child when filled completely. A couple questions i have after reading three link sent earlier by the pooldr, and if you have some experience using polyquat. That was the only thing i read that i keep mulling over in my head. Also, what do y'all think of this...just curious, my husband says he can rig up another similar small filter to the pool this year so the pool will be using two of the smaller filters. Riveting how y'all feel about that or if it still wouldn't be enough. Thanks for all the feedback and please know i love learning from other experience.

[BigDave]

Rig 'em up in parallel or series? Series won't do much as the first filter will catch almost everything that will be caught. The better filter cartridges from the SSR page will help with water clarity but the pump will still only move so much water.
Polyquat might help but won't let you go a week. If you're going away for a weekend put in as much bleach as you'd use if you were home. Covering the pool with an opaque cover will help a lot.

[wookybear2008]

He tried rigging them up side by side but, and I thought I'd never say this, bit pump already attached was of a superior quality than the second add pump and when i saw that, i pulled the plug literally and figuratively, haha. Starting over with all vacations out of the way. I guess i was mostly lucky for keeping my water so incredibly clear all year until that point. I had no idea so much could go wrong. Next year when we do upgrade, any suggestions on a good ag pool to bridge the gap between what we have this year and a five to six foot ag pool? Next door neighbor's ag pool split open after ten years of use by kids and grand kids and she has three pumps total. Not sure which pump but we are getting one of them so that should surely be better than any pump coming with a prefabbed pool kit, eh? So thank you so much for all feedback and I'd surely love suggestions on a midway pool. Meagan

[PoolDoc]

The Intex Ultra pools run to 52" (3' 9" of water) and seem to last 5+ years with care. Some of them are available with sand filters, like this one

Intex 24-Foot by 12-Foot by 52-Inch Rectangular Ultra Frame Pool

Plus, if you upgrade further within a year or two, you can probably Craigslist the pool for 1/2 of what you pay!