Newbie: in ground pool recommendations

[mhnewcomb]

I would be concerned about the liner and sand aspects because of my leak nightmare earlier this season.

First, I think the thicker the better on the liner, especially on the floor. My husband used a leaf bagger to more quickly get the leaves out of the bottom this year, but he DRAGGED it up the slope and ripped two huge holes in the liner. My only other leak was a rip in a corner, and it was the bottom piece of the liner.

The sand only concerns me, too. I'm pretty sure that's what we have, and I now have a huge sinkhole where the biggest slope hole was. (Looks like a moon crater, created when the leak repair guy marked the leak with his screwdriver.) I can't help but wonder if that wouldn't have happened had there been the mixture underneath instead.

However, I am FAR from expert on this. Maybe one of these great and helpful folks will debunk my theory and be able to help you more.

[JimCrackorn]

The pool we are looking at (16x32 Oasis) has a 30ml liner on the whole thing, and a concrete bottom if that gives you a comparison.

[mas985]

I think the reason you have the 1 1/2 HP pump is for the cleaner, correct? Otherwise it is way oversized for your pool. For general circulation, a 3/4 HP high efficiency pump is more than adequate. In fact, with the proper plumbing, it may be ok for the 360 as well. You would just need be able to switch the return exclusively to the 360 and have at least 2" pipes going to the cleaner. If it does not work well, you could always add the booster later. Just have the plumber make sure there is a spot for it on the pad and make it easy for a cut in.

If you go with Hayward, then I would highly recommend the Northstar 3/4 HP full rate pump. This pump has more power than some 1 HP pumps but uses the same electricity.

[Tcap]

Hi,

We put in a 20x40 liner pool at the end of August last season. We are in NE so in the same general area of the country as you. Our liner is 28mil all the way around. We have a Hayward DE filter and have been very happy so far. We have a lot of pine trees around us and the DE filter has done a great job keeping the water clean. We have the goldline (owned by Hayward I think) Aqualogic P4 SWG - and LOVE IT! We also have the Hayward colorlogic light and are very happy with that as well. We have a rectangle shape so one light was fine for us, but if you have a different shape, I would recommend more than one light.

As far as the bottom goes - we have a sand \ vermiculite mixture. We were told that it would be porous enough to let water through without causing sink holes or erosion like sand. I have read about problems with plain concrete \ sand where the bottom of the pool looks rough and even can spring holes because of rough concrete. The bottom of our pool is very smooth and is very even. At night when the light is on, it looks so smooth and level.

Good luck with your purchase!!!