I have been looking on craigslist to get a cheap easy set pool (the kind that you inflate the ring and fill with water).
I found a few used very cheap
I have a few questions
What depth and width do you reccomend? I want to get in with her and don't want it to be to shallow.
I also want it deep enough for her to learn to swim better (shes 5 and between 39" -41 " i believe)
also what kind of chemicals do you have to buy for it
what maintenance does it require?
J. an FYI, I would be leary buying used...they probably have tons of holes. My suggestion...make friends that have pools and/or a public pool. =) Good luck!!!
I would be scared to use a ring type pool. I have now heard too many scary stories! Also, a used pool...I would be leary! We have an intex 4ftx12ft (w/metal pole supports from Wal-Mart) we bought 3 summers ago. It was perfect for our girls. (3 and 6 at the time.) J. deep enough for us to enjoy too. I think we paid $150. We don't take it down in the winter, and 2 of them were in Buffalo NY! We will be retiring it at the end of this season, and graduating to a larger pool. I find the maintenance easy and I actually enjoy it. I skim every day, and check the chlorine. Add chlorine as needed. It's very easy!
I hated mine! They aren't very sturdy, usually could only get one season out of one. The filter is too small to be useful and those cartridges seem like a breading ground for algae.
See if you can find a three foot frame type. Much easier to maintain.
Please consider looking at the research on these. They are not very safe. If a person even leans on the ring it can "unbalance" the pool and it will start to roll like a burrito with the person trapped in the rolls where they can drown. These are not very safe and most people have gotten rid of them. The ones that have the straight sides are about the same cost and are much safer and sturdier.
Our pool had a hole in the ring about twice a month and the fixing it was almost a constant issue. They are higher maintenance in my opinion.
My friend had a pool she bought at the same time as I did. Mine didn't last a month without needing some sort of patch or something. Hers never had any issues and she still uses it today.
They have even moved and the only thing they did was to do the same thing they did at their old house. They smoothed out a spot and put some sand down. Then they paid the pool out and popped the poles in their slots. They were swimming the next morning when the water had it filled.
The one I had was easy to set up too. BUT if the ground had the slightest bit of uneveness the pool had to be drained and moved. IT cannot be on anything that is not absolutely flat.
Another friend go the east set one and they put it on sand too. The pool was round when they started but by the time the water was even half way the pool was starting to be football shaped.
The more structure a pool has the safer it is. Go with the safer pool. The kind that has poles on the sides.
Hers was an Intex and had the pump and chemicals with it to start out. All she had to do was set it up and add water. The rest was supplied.
Here is a link to Intex. Both kinds are on here but I really think the metal frame pools would be much much safer and I won't use an above ground pool with the soft sides ever again.
We have the same Intex one that Queen posted. My oldest sister had it 4 summers for her 11 grandkids and got tons of use out of it. It has a small leak on the top, something my husband easily patched up. We have salt in our well water and that's what we use to fill it, since the salt is a natural antibacterial. We only fill it up as we use it, then empty and leave in sun when done.
We had an approx 4' ring pool for 2 seasons. In the 2nd I kept having to patch it. That said maintenance was easy. Make sure you keep enough chlorine in it (you need more when it is really hot or when it is raining).
Depending on the water where you live you may need to have the water chemistry adjusted at the begininning of the season. Alkalinity or pH that is off can cause your eyes to sting etc. any professional pool company should be able to test a sample you bring in and tell you what you need to add if anything.
If you get a cartridge filter the cartridges are easy to clean. The only way they would get algae build up on them is if you let you pool run out of chlorine and develop algae. Een if you do not see it yet, the filter will pull it out. If that happens a soak in a soloution of chlorine and water and then hoseing it off should clean it.
Good luck and have fun!
Got this one a few weeks ago, at Target, and LOVE IT!
It is on sale right now (we paid $30, it is $25 now)
http://www.target.com/p/Intex-Blue-120in-Swim-Center/-/A-...
We've J. been emptying it as needed, and using a net to get the bugs/leaves out.
