ᐅ Pool in the garden? – Need some inspiration!

With us, it is not tilted. You can notice the difference in the water temperature depending on whether it is in the sun on the sunny main area or in the cool Rhön.

Are you satisfied with the balls? An acquaintance threw them out again and went back to sand.

haydee schrieb:

I don’t understand what is insufficient about the sand filter pump.
The pool is 4x2m (13x6.5 ft) x 1m (3.3 ft), filled to about 90%, so roughly 7 cubic meters (247 cubic feet) of water.
Pump capacity is 3 cubic meters per hour (106 cubic feet per hour).
Sand 8.5 kg (19 lbs).

Take a look at the pump curve. The 3 m³/h (106 ft³/h) flow rate is only achieved without any back pressure. With piping and the pump being positioned lower, the actual flow is considerably less. Even running 24 hours a day, that’s actually too little. The amount of sand is too low to form a stable filter bed. That’s why the pump is so weak...

@Evolith Two hours per day is far too little. Your water might not have turned green, but the water parameters were most likely poor.

Every summer, pool forums are full of people with above-ground pools asking for help. Usually, eventually they upgrade to a larger filtration system with a suitable pump. Then the problems disappear.

haydee schrieb:

In our case, it’s not tilted. You can notice the difference in water temperature whether it’s in the sun in a sunny location or in the cool Rhön region.
Are you satisfied with the filter balls? A friend of mine threw them out again and switched back to sand.

We are very satisfied. They filter really well, and at the end of the season, we rinse them a bit and put them in the washing machine—they come out like new.

rick2018 schrieb:

Take a look at the pump curve. The 3 m³/h (about 13.2 gpm) flow rate is only achieved without back pressure. With piping and since it’s installed lower, the actual flow is significantly less. Even running 24 hours a day, it’s really too little. The amount of sand is too low to form a stable filter bed. That’s why the pump is so weak…

@Evolith Two hours per day is far too little. Your water might not have turned green, but the water quality was probably poor.

Every summer, pool forums fill up with people needing help with above-ground pools. Usually, eventually, they go for a larger filtration system with a suitable pump. Then the problems disappear.

By the end, the water quality was perfectly fine. Not pristine, but it doesn’t have to be. Since my kids also liked to drink from puddles, I’m quite relaxed about this kind of thing. It just shouldn’t get completely out of control or turn green.

@rick2018. Since the water values indicated by the test stick were still fine at the end of the season, it’s acceptable to me and somehow the filtration was sufficient. The pool is unheated and only used for 4-5 months, with maybe 2 months having temperatures above 20°C (68°F). In your case, the water is constantly in the pool. I can imagine that with continuous use (frame pool with sand filter), the water might turn green or cause gastrointestinal issues.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to having the pool set up again. I use it daily. The next one will be a bit bigger, so hopefully the little one can learn to swim.

The test sticks or shake tests are not reliable and, for example, do not measure free chlorine or even the redox value.
If the pool is often covered, it is less problematic. Problems can occur if biomass gets in.
If you don’t have any problems, that's good.
Unfortunately, many do have issues due to undersized equipment.
Today, I opened the pool and added the Riboter.

This is covered due to liability.
The organic material will be removed.

It is only slightly shorter compared to yours. That should not be forgotten.