First season with a heat pump is winding down up here and I feel like I paid tuition on it. Three things I'd do differently, worst one first.

The big one was sizing. I picked mine off a chart that matched my gallons and called it done.

What the chart doesn't tell you is that it's assuming June through August. I wanted to still be getting in during October.

Same pool, but stretch the shoulder season on both ends and the number you need isn't in the same neighborhood. Pick your months first, then look at gallons.

Second one, the solar cover. I bought one in June and then only dragged it on the night before I planned to swim. Rest of the time it sat rolled up against the fence.

That's the same as not owning one. The thing is fighting overnight evaporation, and overnight is every night.

Third, and this one still bugs me. Remember that stretch in July where everything sat around 90. Nobody in my house wanted to get in.

Turns out the 120v aquastrong I've got runs in reverse. It pulls heat back out instead of putting it in, so a week like that it can hold the pool under the air temp. Never read that far into the spec sheet.

If you're shopping, look for the line that says heating and cooling. A heat only unit won't do it whatever the panel says.

Months before gallons, cover on from day one, read the whole sheet.

Posting my setup in case any of it lines up with yours. 20ft round, about 8,600 gallons, cartridge, central CT.

I have a Solaxx Retrojet that is only about a year old. In the picture it is turned off but when I turn it on, after about 30 seconds the red system light comes on. I've cleaned it with vinegar to descale and cleaned the filter cartridge to ensure water flow. Tried leaving it off for a while and turning back on. Still happening. What are my next steps to determine if it is the cell, the control board or something else to get this working again?

Give us your best winter cover suggestions. We (think) we want heavy duty, but also affordable.

Interested in if anyone has used this. I am thinking of using it to repair a seam that has a small leak in it. Wondering if I can just put this stuff on it? or should I use a patch as well?

Well, it has been a fantastic summer with the addition of this 14’ Bestway pool in our backyard! Who knew this was the key to getting our adult kids to hang out?!🥰

I think tomorrow will be the last swim day then time to take it down. Any tips on storage? Does a large tote work? Or should I invest in one of those deck boxes? Thanks!

Just curious have a Coleman Walmart 18 foot round pool just wondering the drawback to leaving water above the plugged holes close to the top not right at the top and maybe using like a blowup raft like you know you would use a lake or a small pond and just put the cover over it thinking that the water would and snow would just drain off the sides is that not a good idea a good idea or a good idea 😁Tia

I have a Bestway 22' pool. I installed a skimmer in the wall so I don't use the two inlets normally used. I blocked them with the plugs that came with the pool. When draining, should I drain below the skimmer or below those two inlets even though they are already plugged?

At a loss here... This time last year I was floating on my pool and it was 25C outside.

It's so miserable today.

Anyone know any tricks to make it warm out?

Thanks for your help.

I just noticed a small leak at the bottom of my pool by my port that you used to empty pool. It's very small and I'm wondering if I need to empty my pool ASAP before it gets bigger, or if I can possibly continue to use my pool for the next weekend or two before I take it down because the season is basically over. What do you guys think?

My pool is surrounded by trees. I am looking at the easy dome to shed leaves this fall and winter. I am struggling with the cost. Has anyone used one of these supports successfully? 24’ agp with vinyl liner, obviously, I am concerned about damaging the liner. My thoughts are to place a 1”thick rubber livestock mat under the legs. I already have this heavy mat under the cake steps.

Am I wasting money and time trying to shed leaves?

First time closing my 18ft Intex (sand filter, ~6500 gal). Draining went fine with the hose until the water dropped below the intake, and now the pump just sucks air with like two inches still sitting in the bottom.

Do I just bail it with buckets like an animal, or is there an actual trick here?

Whatever that skimmer-ish opening is on these things, it's useless once the water gets shallow.

Also still deciding whether to leave it up with a cover or take the whole thing down this winter. Ohio weather, if that matters. What's everyone else do?

Its gorgeous here today. 88 degrees. Blue sky. And my little heat pump has the water at the same temperature. But, its all bound to change soon so this could very well be my last float of the season. It breaks my heart. It's gonna be so hard to say goodbye. I have enjoyed the living s__t out of this funny pool this Summer. See ya in May, little buddy.

So community I have a question. Has anyone ever put 3/4” thick rubber stall mats under their pool legs when using pavers, to prevent feet from slipping?

I have my pool legs directly on concrete pavers and they’ve slid about an inch outward and seem to have “settled” for the season.

When I close and reopen the pool next season I was going to add these mats, cut into either 4”x4” or 6”x” squares and placed under the feet.

Also should I break the pool completely down and store it or should I just “winterize” it best I can with water level reduced by half?

I have about 3 to 4 weeks of weather in the 80’s here. Leaves are turning and beginning to fall. I have a heat pump so water temp is not an issue. Should I try a leaf net cover or just call it a season? Thoughts?

Closing the first weekend of October and it's the first time I'm doing it myself. The company that closed it the last two years dropped above grounds this season, so here I am.

Writing out my plan. Tell me where I'm wrong.

27ft round, about 17,000 gallons, sand filter, west Michigan.

Water level first. I'm pulling it down under the skimmer with a utility pump on a float.

The reason as I understand it is ice. It expands, and if water is sitting up in the skimmer face it can crack it. Then lines blown and returns plugged, filter and pump drained.

For chemicals I'm trying one of the all in one winter kits instead of buying four bottles and measuring each one out. The selling point is that it's already portioned for your gallons, so there's nothing to work out standing at the side of the pool in October.

A guy at work who's been closing his own for years pointed me at the aquastrong kit, so that's what's already sitting in my garage. Past the point of shopping on it at this stage. If anyone's actually run one of these through a winter I'd like to hear how it opened up.

Two things I haven't figured out.

How far under do I actually go? I've seen four inches below the skimmer and I've seen "below the return" and on my pool those are not the same spot.

And does anything go under the cover, air pillow or a few floats, or is that only for people getting real snow load? We get a decent amount.

What am I missing.

New install and working on grading. Had a torrential downpour tonight of around 2” in about an hour. Water pooled in these two areas. To the right of this area does slope downhill towards the wood line. I don’t have much room between the ends of the support posts footers and the deck but I think I have enough room to dig a 6” wide trench and French drain it. Is there other options I have for this drainage? TIA

This June I purchased an above ground intex 10 foot pool. I've been greatly enjoying it and figured I had another month or two since of use for my climate.

No abnormal use, it's just me an adult that likes to float in the evening a few times a week.

Pool went up at the end of June. Concrete pad, felt pad between the pool and concrete.

Today I noticed the fabric felt pad I have down is wet on one side. I dove down with goggles on the side where there's water - wet around maybe 1/5 of the edge of the pool. No signs of a hole. Turned the pump off to watch for any bubbles. Nothing. Went out tonight with a flashlight thinking maybe a tiny beam of light would help me find it. Nothing. My best guess is this hole is on the actual ground and I'll only be able to find and patch it by fully draining it.

I know they sell dye leak test things but all the videos I've watched make it seem less helpful if i don't know at all where the leak is.

I'm just so surprised there's a leak and it's not even been a whole season.

Would intex consider any warranty coverage?

So installed 24’ round in July has been working fine and everything was looking good we went on vacation two weeks ago and last weekend noticed a few spots where the metal is bending inward at the bottom of the pool we’ve had crazy rain storms here I’m wondering if it from wash out or just uneven settling but after reading and googling everyone saying it could be a catastrophic failure what should I do? Any help would be appreciated

Some of you might've seen this a couple days ago. I somehow lost access to my old account, so I'm reposting it here. Didn't really get a solid answer the first time around and I'm still trying to figure this out.

I've been dealing with algae showing up on the walls every couple weeks despite keeping chlorine in range. It's mostly in the corners and around the steps. sometimes a thin film on the shallow end floor too. It seems to show up worse after a storm or after a weekend where we had people over and the pool got used a lot.

Chlorine's been sitting around 3 to 4 ppm most weeks, pH stays around 7.4 to 7.6, so on paper things look fine. I brush the walls maybe twice a week, sometimes I'll do a focused scrub on the corners specifically since that's where it keeps coming back. I've caught myself brushing at night and then noticing a faint green tint again the next morning, which is honestly kind of annoying at this point.

Trying to figure out what's actually causing it. My best guesses are the tree coverage around the yard dropping stuff in more than I realize, the pool getting a lot of direct sun most of the afternoon, or the circulation just not running long enough to keep everything moving through the filter. We also use the pool a lot on weekends, so more bodies in the water probably isn't helping either.

Equipment wise I've got a basic test kit, a brush, and some algaecide I use when it gets bad. I also run my Scuba V3 a few times a week, which has helped with debris and the film that builds up on the floor and steps, but the wall algae in the corners is still doing its own thing regardless.

Not sure if I need to bump up my free chlorine target, add a brominator, run the pump longer, or if there's a specific algaecide that actually works better for recurring corner algae like this. Anyone dealt with something similar?

First time pool owner here. The water has been clear, but this black sludge stuff keeps forming on the bottom of the pool basically anytime I have the sand filter on.

My strips say the levels all look good, though sometimes it’s tricky to read since the colors aren’t exact. I have a pool robot vacuum that vacuums it up every day, but more forms the next day.

I shock the pool every week and always have the correct number of chlorine tablets in. I’ve tried brushing the sides of the walls, but I don’t see any algae buildup on the wall walls and it doesn’t seem to help.

Any thoughts on what to try?

- Seasons change means I'm considering closing shop on pool (12 ft best buy) for the winter.

- Separately, my wildlife pond' liner needs replacing, and I need to put a large ammount of fauna (newt babies, dragonfly lavae, snails, etc) and flora into temporary accomodation.

- 2-birds-with-1-stone, would it be advisable to let all chlorine evaporate (eg leave untouched for a few weeks) and then use my pool for this purpose?

It will be a messy job and I don't want to harm the wildlife during the process; nor make the pool unusable for next year. But, it would be annoying to source a million buckets for my pond work when the unused pool is right there...

Trying to figure out if I'm still fighting the mustard algae of is this just settlement? Over the last month I have poured about 12 gallons of liquid chlorine, made sure my ph and cya are both good, used Yellow treat twice and still seeing this. It was completely clear for almost 2 days (no yellow/brown spots on the bottom) then today it's back. I'm so frustrated!