Maintaining an above ground pool

[Grumpafrump]

We have been waffling for years on whether to install a swimming pool, but have come to the conclusion that the investment isn’t worth the work or the potential hit to property value. Instead, we have bought a fairly large above ground pool for our kids to use in the summers (don’t worry, we’ll put it somewhere that isn’t visible from the house, and as we live in the country, nobody else will be able to see it either). I like that it’s something that can be dismantled out of season, and hopefully maintenance will be a lot less time consuming and expensive than a proper in-ground one.

If you have one that you set up every year, what are your top tips for keeping things running smoothly? We have a sand filter and a heater to take the edge off if/when we have any cool summer weather. Anything else we should know?

How big is your pool?

It’s 16x8 feet and 48 inches high.

We got one last summer. We haven't got a heater yet as wanted to see how we got on with it first, before spending out even more!

We have a decent sand filter and made sure it was powerful enough for the size (think ours is 16ft, but the deeper version). I used the little cotton balls, rather than the sand and they worked perfectly. Tried using the chlorine tablets in a floater, but could never seem to get the level up enough, so I mixed up the chlorine in the end. Checked levels every day if being used, or every few days if not.

Got 1 of those bubble covers and did seem to keep the heat in a bit.

We got a round one and I love it, as you can swim in a circle and feel like you can go for miles 🤣.

Oh, think I used to put the filter on most evenings, for about 4 hours max. Never had any issues with algae or anything.

That’s all really helpful, thanks!

Did you buy foam squares to go under it or anything? Ours will be sitting on decking, so the ground is even, but I wonder if we need to have something sort of squishy underneath?

You will want a insulating cover, it stops the water evapourating as much, you dont need so much chemicals because of that and it also helps to keep the water warm and leaf bits etc out

Mine is on grass, but I bought the big black foam squares from Halfords. They're really good.

Learn to be on top of your chlorine levels. On warmish days to hot, check multiple times. Amoebic meningitis is not to be mucked about with.

@CellophaneFlower very interested in your circular pool - would you be up for sharing the brand/make by any chance? It's my dream to have one and feels like it might be possible by the sounds of the discussion here.

Have you checked your decking can take the weight?

Sure, it's this one.

The stone effect one just so happened to be the cheapest version I could find at the time. Just checked and I did pay that a year ago, but it may be cheaper elsewhere now.

Speaking as someone who used to work for a shop that sold swimming pool stuff, can I please ask that whenever the pool is unattended, can you make sure that there is a way for stray animals such as cats, foxes and squirrels to be able to climb out of the water should they fall in. Fishing out drowned pets is a sad business, as my colleagues used to have to do regularly on maintenance visits. If you have A-frame moveable ladder steps you can turn them round so the steps are on the inside when the pool is not in use. This has the double effect of stopping small children from being able to get into the pool when you aren't looking. Fishing out drowned children is even worse.

@Pinkdelight3 this is the pump I used, that size is fine for the pool. I did ridiculous amounts of research at the time 🙈 I think I used the Bestway filter balls in it, got them off eBay.

Brilliant, thank you @CellophaneFlower - will investigate!

The steps have rungs both sides. I do remove mine when the pool isn't in use though, just to remove temptation from the children. The water level is practically to the top though, so I hope animals could climb out, I'm not sure the steps would help much in that respect. It's very tall, so probably less likely for an incident than a lower one.

@SinisterKnitter Yes, we had that checked that last year when we were first looking into the idea. It was only just built 3 years ago and is in good condition, so it should be fine with the weight.

@tailinthejam Indeed we do intend to do this, we have double sided steps. We have our own cats plus a lot of furry visitors, so I have been looking into how to make it as safe as we can for them.

You can float a plank on the water so animals can scramble up onto it.

It suddenly occurred to me earlier - why would anyone have pool steps with steps only on the outside anyway 😂

I put ours up in early July and take down first week in September. We’ve got a strong bubble type cover that is brilliant for keeping leaves, bugs and dust out.

Our Bestaway heater is so pointless I don’t use it. The filter needs to be on for a few hours every day. If it’s warm and the pool is used all day the filter needs to be on all night ideally.

It sits on foam pads as ours is on concrete.
I use chlorine granules. If the weather is cold and the cover is on the chlorine levels stay very stable.

You can buy a pool hoover that is useful, but not a necessity. The cover keeps most of the dirt out.

When you’re filling the pool make sure you smooth the floor out so there aren’t any creases. You can’t get rid of them once there’s more than a few inches of water and they’re uncomfortable under foot all summer.

Don’t hang on until the bitter end at the end of the season. It’s a lot more pleasant taking it down, drying and packing it away on a nice September day than a freezing day later on.

I had loads of questions when we got our above ground pool last summer—stuff like water levels, cleaning routines, even just figuring out the right filter settings. I found https://backyardpoolspa.com/forum/index.php?forums/above-ground-pools.16/ really useful. Loads of pool owners post there, and it's easier to ask something random without feeling silly. Most tips I picked up there worked better than anything I read in the manuals.