I have this pool. 54" I had the same experience with the poles leaning. Mine is not on footings as I had a level spot in the yard when I started, so I'm not dealing with unpacked sand. I used excessive amounts of roundup, spread the square blue tarp that came with it, and called it good. So far, the tarp is keeping the legs from sinking. But some arent perfectly straight. Some things to keep in mind...

1. Be very aware of rotation and where you REALLY want ur pump equipment. I thought I wanted it "here" and now I wish it was "there".

2. Leveling: water dont lie. The squares on the liner should be level. Meaning if you count them down from the grey part at the top, you should be able to use that count all the way around the pool as it starts to get about a foot or so of water. Mine is no more than 1 square off from one side to the other and I'm happy. At the very least, the water will be level. So you can use a tape from the water level to the top rail to see how ur doing. If it's more than and inch and a half off from one side to the other, i'd stop and start over on your leveling before you get all the way full and decide you dont like it.

3. Have a bullet level handy. I didnt. This is why my legs arent perfect. I was eyeballing it. At first you cannot level the legs. The rope at the bottom will screw you in trying. (u'll see y) But as the pool fills, keep going round and round the pool with the level, and keep releveling the legs (both ways) until the point you cant lift them anymore. It'll be about 3ft full when you can no longer lift them. At this point, it is where it is. It's also not very stable yet. Dont worry, that last foot of water makes the pool ROCK SOLID.

4. I went around shaking the top rail as it filled and got heavier. If you do this you can hear the vinyl pop as it starts to stretch and "seat" where it'll wanna be forever.

5. If you have trees, even NEAR the pool, that small Intex filter may annoy you cleaning it. I had to go to a sand filter before I was really happy, but I wouldnt trade my partial afternoon shade for anything.

6. This pool is WAY TOUGHER than I had ever imagined. I am SO GLAD I got the Ultra. However, the ladder leaves A LOT to be desired. And as tough as it looks, the top rails are not indestructable. Some idiot, (idk who, cuz they wont admit it) was jumping from the side and bent one down a little in the middle. But the mere fact that someone 200# plus can stand on the rails and feel safe is a testament to how tough this pool really is.

I suppose at the start of next season, I'll drain it, and fix my first little mistakes at setup. But luckily, I had nothing that I couldnt live with for the first season to make me drain it immediately. I'll probably take it down this winter, and rebuild it next year, and it'll stay there for good that time. Hope this helps.