using sw ideas on a pool?

[digidana]

ok, maybe a little off topic...but i really want to know what ya'll think. we have a pool, and i HATE it. too much $ and effort to maintain, kids use it for the first couple weeks then it just sits, and last year we picked up some sort of black algae that we couldn't kill. we've been fighting it for 10 years now. last summer it came down to either filling it in or selling the house. we almost went up for sale, but decided not to with the market the way it is. so, we were thinking that we'd turn part of it into a koi pond, fill the rest in, and turn it into a courtyard type thing. well, it turns out that at the moment, its probably cheaper to keep it as a pool/mosquito pit, but i can't help but think there has to be a way to incorporate what we've learned about keeping clean SW into how to keep a clean pool without a ton of chemicals. we have a small koi pond now, and just discovered the wonders of the UV sterilizer on the pond. the sterilizer we weren't using on the tank anymore took the pond from pea soup to "holy crap, i can see the bottom!" clean in about 5 days.

i've been researching pool UV sterilizers and not finding much. what else would work? maybe a huge trickle filter? we have a great spot for it. a refugium?

 

[ct_vol]

What type of pool do you have??? Some people use salt to treat algae others use chlorine... Have you spoken with any pool maintanence people???

 

[digidana]

its about a 40,000 gallon in-ground pool. i've tried 4 years in a row to get a pool maintenance guy out here. they either don't show up, or show up once and disappear. last year's guy saw the black algae and told me to call him after i got rid of if...which i never could. its pretty frustrating.

 

[tangboy]

Get some larger heaters in it... shark pool anyone?

 

[ct_vol]

Dana~ Talk to me about it the next time I see you... I worked for a pool place when I was 17... Do your pH and Chlorine levels check out??? Have you tried shocking it and using a coagulate??? Do you have a sand filter??? If so, how often do you backflush it???

 

[digidana]

right now its just a big frog pond. the pump siezed up over the winter apparently. we have a new one on the way. its pea soup at the moment, nothing checks out. i just hate messing with it and dread dumping more $ into it just to have the black algae take over. yeah, we have a sand filter and backwash it all the time.

why is it the the tanks stay so clean without chemicals and its such a fight with the pool? would a huge protein skimmer on the pool keep it clear??

 

[ct_vol]

lol The pools are exposed to the elements a bit more...

When was the last time you changed the sand in the filter???

 

[Pandarian]

I have found with our pool, if the chlorine levels are too high, or too low, it causes problems.

Usually in the spring; we remove the cover, shock it, clean it up, and then correct the chlorine levels. It is usually good to go for the rest of the summer. For maintenance; we turn on the filter almost daily, maintain correct levels, and clean out the fallen leaves.