Michelle,

I have this pool. It was installed in May 2001. The discussions about the wall strength/maindrain have not been a concern in my experience. I am in Ohio and have clay soil that does not drain well. I have a "footer" drain around the pool with a sump. This has been trouble free.

THe AFT unit is neat, quiet and mostly problem free. As I live in Ohio, I have plumbing to the heater. This year, I developed a leak in my pipe to the heater. If you do not need a heater, then you will never have to worry about a pipe leak.

My water quality is perfect. I have never had an algae bloom and my pool clears in two days after opening. The filter bags need changed daily during opening week and then weekly during the year. I just wash them in the washing machine, or you can hose them off. This is pool season number five and I have 3 pairs of bags and they have held up well and never replaced.

One potential problem with the pool is flooding of the AFT. If your installer has been putting in this pool for sometime, then they should be aware of this issue. Make sure that you have the proper drainage lines from the AFT. Further, I would inspect them very carefully during installation and note their location in case you need to snake them in the future. Also, put a small screen over the opening to the drain so that dirt, twirly birds and the like don't get a chance to clog the lines.

Closing the pool is a snap as no water is drained and just the pump and pipes are removed.

Make sure that they put a timer on your electrical suppy. You can cycle 6 hours off and on. Only run the pump on low. I only use high to vacuum, but I only do that in the spring. I use an Aquabot for the remainder of the year.

My pool is the Figi model and 25,000 gallons with a very very very high bathing load. I have three boys and all their friends...my pool is always clear...i just use my share of bleach

A big plus of the pool is that I can point the return line up, turn on high and shoot a very large fountain of water to lower my alkalinity using the technique that is well described on this site.

The only issue that I have is that this pool is owned by a French company that opened a plant is the states (georgia I think...you can google it) that was closed last year. As a result, some dealers are no longer installing the pool. Parts are not much of a concern, once you have the pool, the other stuff is small stuff and there still are some US suppliers for parts...the parts that would be needed are bags, the rings that hold the bags (my kids have broken) and pump. The pump bearings can be repacked by any pump repair shop.

When I look at traditional pools, main drain, 3 returns, two skimmers...that is a lot of pipe that can leak...read some of the threads on trying to find leaks and god forbid...repairing a main drain leak...you will never have to worry about that...

Tony