# Information About Pools



## Killbuzz (Apr 30, 2017)

I figured I'd start a topic covering pools. I know there are pool specific forums out there but I'd like to hear TLF's thoughts on this.

My wife and I decided about a year ago that we wanted an in-ground pool to help us through these extreme South Texas summers. We've shopped around and have narrowed the pool builder down to two choices. I know they are a business so they need to make a profit but I can't help but think they are trying to sell me things I really don't need. I do know that I need a variable speed pump to help on the cost of electricity but other than that everything seems like things I may not need.

Take for instance the Paramount PV3 pool cleaner (link). The builder says this system will eliminate the need of a traditional pool cleaner (the robot) and that it will push debris towards a drain via some popup nozzles. While it sounds cool I've read reviews that said the nozzles like to stick open or closed. It's also around $6000-7000 for the system compared to a robot which I can get a good one for $1200.

They are also trying to sell me a contraption which will help eliminate hard water which we are notorious for in South Texas. It's called a Broadhead Concepts non-chemical water conditioner but I can't find any info on it other than what was provided in the pool company's book. The designer said it's a new piece of a equipment that has been used in the oil industry for years. Basically it temporarily reverses the charge of hard water minerals so they won't bond to anything like tile or pipes. They lose their charge for a period of 72 hours but since the water would have been recirculated by then it would just lose the charge once again. It sounds interesting but idk.

So what are your thoughts? What feature or piece of equipment were you glad you went with or wished you went with? What do you like or hate about owning a pool?


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

I'm going to move this to the outdoor living subforum. Good topic.


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## Jimefam (Jun 22, 2018)

I can tell you in my old house we had those pop up nozzles and they worked so so. Still needed the robot and in the end just went with a pool cleaning service.


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## DR_GREENTHUMB (May 24, 2018)

@Killbuzz 
You do not need those other extras. My cleaner is a Polaris 280, he cleans the pool spotless and is ~$400 I think, you will also need a booster pump to run him. 6-7K is ridiculous! I would suggest adding a heat pump for that cost. I have a heat pump and it chills and warms the water depending on what you want, I can extend my pool season around 2 extra months of swimming, opening early and swimming into November.

I also added a solar cover to work with my heat pump, it just allows the pool to retain it's heat during the evening hours when it cools off. I added a Rocky Roller to help getting the cover on and off.

I would suggest to get a SWG (salt water generator). By not having to manually dose the chlorine will save you tons of time and energy.

I would definitely pass on the hard water item, sounds like snake oil to me. There is hard water all over the nation and you just adapt to your environment on what your readings are.

You only care about these things, if you keep them in check you will be fine.
FC - free chlorine
CC - combined chlorine
TA - total alkalinity
CH - calcium hardness
CYA - cyanaric acid
PH

Join this forum (https://www.troublefreepool.com/) and read, read, post this question too if you want additional feedback.


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## chrismar (May 25, 2017)

Agree with the others. No need for the "extras".

We've had in-ground, 17,500 gallon fiberglass pool for 4 seasons now. In NJ, our seasons are pretty short-- June through September (and that's with our gas heater to extended it by a week or two on either end).

We also have a well, with you guessed it, hard water! It's basically a non-issue for us. You don't fill your pool that often (mostly just top offs when the level gets low), so a device to prevent hard water in a pool is pretty silly IMHO.

As far as a cleaner goes, I have a Maytronics Dolphin (electric, plug-in robotic cleaner), and sadly she's starting to show her age. That's ok with me, though, she's 4 and she's been a workhorse for us and she came "free" with the pool. I wouldn't hesitate to get another electric-type cleaner again. You don't need a special booster pump or port and they're easy to operate and clean.

My "must haves" are:

* Variable or two-speed pump (will save you TONS of $$)
* Salt Water Chlorine Generator (virtually eliminates the need for chlorine. If the pool needs a little boost I just add some regular household bleach to get things back in balance.)
* A "good" test kit. Trouble Free Pool has one they sell. I have a Taylor K-2006.
* TFP "Pool Math" app. I think it's $7 or $8 a year, but it makes keeping your pool chemistry in balance brain dead easy.

In all honesty, with the above my pool maintenance is maybe 2 hours a week and an additional 1/2 hour once or twice a season to clean my cartridge filter. I sweep the pool maybe 2-3 times a week, check the chemical levels once a week, check/clean the robot and skimmer basket every day or every other day and that's about it.

Good luck and keep us posted on the build and any other questions!


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## Killbuzz (Apr 30, 2017)

@DR_GREENTHUMB Thanks for the link to that forum, I've already started digging into their vast amounts of topics. As for the heater it too would be a waste for me since I only have about three months (Dec, Jan, Feb) where it would be beneficial. Based off of a lot of people's feedback, I am not going to go with those popup cleaners. I am interested in a robot even though they can be pricey ($1000) but they don't run off of the pump which would be nice for energy savings. As for salt water, I've talked to three pool companies and neither have even mentioned saltwater. My aunt had a salt water pool and I loved it. I know a lot of people around here like to use flagstone for their copping and saltwater destroys that. We are going with travertine but I haven't looked into what saltwater does to it. As for the non-chemical water conditioner I think I'm going to pass on it as well.

@chrismar I've been looking at some of the dolphins as well. I just wish they weren't so much for what they are.

Thanks for the input gents!


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## StyleGuy (Jun 19, 2018)

like others mentioned troublefreepool.com is where you need to research. I know someone that is getting a cleaner like you mentioned in their new pool. They were asking me about it and I had no idea it cost that much. I have a Polaris 280 with the booster pump and I'm happy with it. I've pretty much rebuilt it last year and it works great. I only get about 4 years out of the booster pump before they die. I swapped out my pool pump for a variable a few years ago and it was a good decision. I know a lot of people have the swg for easy maintenance but I have always used chlorine and I don't find it difficult. Just don't neglect it. Several of my neighbors have switched back to chlorine from salt water due to the corrosive nature of salt. Some have mentioned replacing their heater several times meanwhile mine is 10 years old and going strong.


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## randy (Jun 29, 2018)

I've been thinking about digging a pool as well. We have a portion of property that would make a great spot (it's currently all trees). Taking the trees down will help the grass too. My only issue is that it would be an investment we'd never get back out of the house, so if we did it- we'd have to commit to staying here. Tough decision with the 4th kid on the way, but also a great time to have a pool with the kids so young.


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## erdons (Apr 3, 2018)

The troublefreepool under construction section is a huge help. So many knowledgeable people on there. I'd still go with a robot/Polaris or suction cleaner over what your pool builder is trying to sell. I'd also look into a salt water system, they aren't too expensive and you'll never have to buy chlorine as it makes it's own chlorine for you. If I could go back I would have gotten multiple lights, 1 light is not enough for me.


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## DR_GREENTHUMB (May 24, 2018)

randy said:


> I've been thinking about digging a pool as well. We have a portion of property that would make a great spot (it's currently all trees). Taking the trees down will help the grass too. My only issue is that it would be an investment we'd never get back out of the house, so if we did it- we'd have to commit to staying here. Tough decision with the 4th kid on the way, but also a great time to have a pool with the kids so young.


Our kids was one of the deciding factors in getting the pool, they have fun, they learn to swim, it wears them out!

Oh yea and I love it too! After doing the lawn it's the next best thing to a cold one! lol


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## Gibby (Apr 3, 2018)

Following as my wife has been begging for a pool for a few years


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## NJ-lawn (Jun 25, 2018)

We have a 20k gallon Viking fiberglass pool. We went with the swg, works great but they are expensive. FYI you have to replace the salt cell too, my cell replacement cost about $300. I think I paid $1200 for the system. I think it's worth it, once you get everything balanced there's very little maintenance.

We also have a heat pump, it's nice you can extend the season a little but the down side for me was the copper pipe caused metal stains on the fiberglass so I now installed a valve to bypass the pump because we didn't use it much anyway and the stains are a real pita to get rid of.

I also recommend a robot.....I have a Blue Diamond and it works great. Mine came with a remote control which is nice, sometimes it will miss a spot here and there. It's independent of the pool pump so I can run both at the same time. Pretty cheap to run also.

I also belong to trouble free pools. Great site, buy a good test kit and a magnetic stirrer is worth every penny. Really speeds up testing. Don't get your water tests at pool stores, they will sell you chemicals that you don't need. Join TFP it will save you a ton of money and feels good to test your own water.


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## randy (Jun 29, 2018)

We've got all the permits and we're about to pull the trigger on a pool dig. We've got a plot of land that is all trees near the house, so we've got to take the trees down first (this will help our grass too). We are looking at 16' (limited by septic) x 40' which is a really long pool, but will be great for laps. We are also looking at a liner over steel pool. The quotes we have been getting are in the $30k range.


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## ctrav (Aug 18, 2018)

randy said:


> We've got all the permits and we're about to pull the trigger on a pool dig. We've got a plot of land that is all trees near the house, so we've got to take the trees down first (this will help our grass too). We are looking at 16' (limited by septic) x 40' which is a really long pool, but will be great for laps. We are also looking at a liner over steel pool. The quotes we have been getting are in the $30k range.


Randy I highly recommend you check out troublefreepool.com Really awesome folks with great knowledge base and eager to help! Im a member there and built my pool with the help of TFP...

My Pool...


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## Gibby (Apr 3, 2018)

ctrav said:


> randy said:
> 
> 
> > We've got all the permits and we're about to pull the trigger on a pool dig. We've got a plot of land that is all trees near the house, so we've got to take the trees down first (this will help our grass too). We are looking at 16' (limited by septic) x 40' which is a really long pool, but will be great for laps. We are also looking at a liner over steel pool. The quotes we have been getting are in the $30k range.
> ...


You built it yourself?


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## ctrav (Aug 18, 2018)

Gibby said:


> ctrav said:
> 
> 
> > randy said:
> ...


I had a builder but I ran everything through TFP and they made sure I asked the right questions.


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## ronjon84790 (Aug 2, 2018)

I built my own pool. I knew nothing about pools when I started. My neighbor owns diypoolplans.com. He drew up the plans for me and I pulled the permit and did a lot of work myself. Then subbed out the rest. It was really easy, just time consuming. But my job is flexible so it worked out great.

TFP is a great site! Endless amounts of info and help.

We live in a smaller community with limited competition on pool builders. Fiberglass pools start at 50k. No spa. Our pool would have cost $75-$80k. I spent right around $40k. I could have saved even more, but upgraded almost everything.


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## ctrav (Aug 18, 2018)

ronjon84790 said:


> I built my own pool. I knew nothing about pools when I started. My neighbor owns diypoolplans.com. He drew up the plans for me and I pulled the permit and did a lot of work myself. Then subbed out the rest. It was really easy, just time consuming. But my job is flexible so it worked out great.
> 
> TFP is a great site! Endless amounts of info and help.
> 
> ...


Beautiful and you got a steal!


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## ronjon84790 (Aug 2, 2018)

@ctrav Thanks Man!


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## dfw_pilot (Jan 28, 2017)

Wow, @ctrav and @ronjon84790, nice pools!


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## ctrav (Aug 18, 2018)

Appreciate that...the girls love it!


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## ronjon84790 (Aug 2, 2018)

@dfw_pilot Thanks Man!


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## Hexadecimal 00FF00 (Sep 20, 2018)

Killbuzz said:


> Take for instance the Paramount PV3 pool cleaner (link). The builder says this system will eliminate the need of a traditional pool cleaner (the robot) and that it will push debris towards a drain via some popup nozzles. While it sounds cool I've read reviews that said the nozzles like to stick open or closed. It's also around $6000-7000 for the system compared to a robot which I can get a good one for $1200.


The salesman is correct in that PV3 eliminates the need for the robot and the system uses pop-up rotary heads (like a lawn irrigation system) to push debris to a single drain for collection. The system is not cheap but, to me, it is absolutely worth it. It does a fantastic job and there's no messing with the robot or having its tail spray water out of the pool. Each PV3 installation is custom designed to the specific pool. My system has about 30 heads (20' x 40' pool) and since Summer '13 when it was built I had one problem with one head. Paramount sent the necessary warranty replacement part (they were going to send a tech to install) with no hassle and I installed it myself in about 15 minutes.

I'm not familiar with the Broadhead Concepts system. Sounds like snakeoil to me. I'm in Texas with hard water and its not a problem for me.

Get a control panel that has plenty of capacity for future expansion... adding to the pool itself or even landscape lighting, for example. You don't want to outgrow a small panel in a year and have to change it out.

Follow the methodology at https://www.troublefreepool.com/ for maintaining chemistry which will help maintain equipment and the pool itself.


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