Pools

>>1208468
They've had robots to clean the things for like 200 years now.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automated_pool_cleaner

>>1208476
But do you really need robots? I mean pools have all those drains and openings at water level... Why would it have those things if they don't clean the pool

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>>1208479
The bottom water usually isn't turbulent enough to get rocks and other small refuse up to the weir. The circulator cleans the water of microscopic things and surface scum, but doesn't reach far enough down to scrub dirt off the underwater surfaces. Just leave Pic related run during the week and the problem is mostly solved. You'll want to skim leaves during the fall, and occasionally you'll have need to brush parts of the bottom or pull errant animals out. You might want to cover it when not in use, and very rarely you might need to change the water.
To further answer your OP, your local pool supply shop carries test kits and other treatments you will need to keep it safe and pleasant. It's easy to do, like fill test vial 1 with water to line, add 5 drops of reagent A, 15 drops of reagent C, and compare colors to read out pH or chlorine percentage or whatever. Knowing this, if needed, you add treatment to correct according to the capacity of the pool. I'm sure wikiHow's got a book on it.

I just bought a house with a pool.the robot doesn't get everything from the nooks. I have to brush all that stuff to the middle. I still skim it. & add chemicals every week or 2. & it gets cloudy after heavy rain.

Pain in the ads. I'd hire some1 if I could afford it. So I got a bigger lawnmower.... So I had more time to clean the pool.

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>>1208468
>cleans and maintains itself
That's a lake.
Do a little research before you jump to 4chan.
I don't own a pool and I can answer nearly all of your questions.

>>1208468
When you buy a pool they give you a video on how to maintain it. You can youtube or google this shit as well.

It is highly automated, but you still need to regularly skim leaves, and sweep the sides of the pool so rocks find their way to the drain.

You also need to regularly check the balance of chemicals in it to keep it clear. If it gets out of whack in my experience, you start growing shit, usually pretty bright green algae over a large area, or very dark spotty algae.

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>>1208969
I did read about it, I was under the impression the built-in drains and skimmers would eat up debris automatically. I read that pool return jets were designed so they created a flow of water leading back to the drains and skimmers.

>what is an in-floor cleaning system

It exists since the 70s. If your pool doesn't have it, whoever designed the thing fucked up.

>>1209118
>the built-in drains

Sigh. For the rest of my life when I see the term "pool drain" I'll think about that kid who sat on one that had strong enough suction to pull his intestines out.

But not all of my pool memories are tragic. There was the time I noticed that girl alone in the apartment complex pool with her legs up on the edge, just clinging to the wall for 20 minutes or so. The next time I was in the pool I went over there, and yep, it was one of those pulsating jets shooting the water back into the pool.

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>>1209150
Yeah delta-pressure accidents are always nasty but the drains seem to be built to prevent that nowadays. They're convex and the suction is lateral. People can no longer form a perfect seal over them. There's also an emergency pump shut-off mechanism in case they somehow do. Personally, pool ladders are scarier to me. When I was a kid I used to play near one, I somehow ended up in this general position and almost drowned.

Also that's a cool story about the girl's "hydrotherapy" haha if you ask me that's what the stuff was designed for

>no cuck jokes about your wife fucking the pool boy

You disappoint me, 4chan

>>1209290
I think you're also required to have two drains now, connected to the suction line by a tee and spaced out like in >>1209118. That way suction can't build up and hold you onto one of them.

Do you guys even swim you neckbeards

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>>1210098
fuck yeah we swim

>>1209150
that is actually just a fictional short story but there have been real reports of children being drowned by it

>>1209929
Go back to /pol/

I would go for a low bio-load lake(pool).
So you only need a small sump filtration system. Making it basically an aquarium, without living things.

It's cheap since you need no aditives, but you need to have air supply most of the day and a couple of pumps.

And you may need to cover the top of the pool when not in use, so algae dont grow.

In theory you shoudl have pristine water all day every day, since the minimum bio charge that comes is is from the air/pollen and such and have no fish or anything.

The negative is that is you have frogs/mosquitoes/dragonfly nearby. They will probably make it a Lake in no time.

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>>1208468
Long time pool owner here.

To maintain the chemicals in the pool, you need three highly sophisticated and difficult to find chemicals:

(1) Bleach (for chlorine)
(2) Borax (for pH)
(3) Baking Soda (stabilizer)

Anybody who sells you $$$ "pool grade" versions of the above is an asshole.

You do need some kind of mechanical work involved to get out leaves and debris. Also, don't plant any trees that are messy near the pool. Southern Live Oaks are the best because they never lose leaves, their roots don't heave concrete and grow in virtually any climate. Date palms and ash trees are the worst. Just trust me on this.

They make fancy robots to clean the pool at night, but I never found them to do a great job. A 1/2 hour every weekend was plenty for my pool with an old fashion brush and net.

If you are designing a pool, the only thing I can recommend is to OVERSIZE your pump and get a DE filter. Don't go nuts, but most pool makers always go with shitty sized pumps that don't last the first heavy leaf dropping you get.

>>1209150
Fun fact. failed presidential candidate John Edwards made his fortune suing the fuck out of these assholes for these murder drains.

>>1210876
Bleach has soap added a lot of times. Boric acid is also a detergent. Muriatic is 4 bucks a gallon. Detergents destroy seals. Hydraulic systems have tendency to not work when they leak.

>>1210876
>>1211080

Thanks for the tips. Have you guys got any experience with ozonation of the water as an alternative to chlorination? At first glance it appears to be more effective at disinfection and also less irritating for the pool users. Also these chemical things can be integrated into the piping system, right?

I'm looking into this so called In-Floor Cleaning System mentioned above... Cyclean and shit. It seems extremely neat, but I have literally never seen it on any actual pool ever. If it's so efficient, why isn't it more widespread? Also, it's on the floor right? So how does it clean the water line, or suspended particles? Those would be eventually caught by the filter and skimmers I guess, but it takes time depending on the pump's power

I always overdimension my stuff... Both as safety margin and for future proofing. I simply don't like today's engineering obsession with saving money by buying the cheapest shit that "solves the problem". If I'm gonna spend thousands of dollars on a glorified water tank to swim in I might as well spend the extra cash and sleep with a clean conscience. It's also the reason for my coming here, I just want to learn as much as possible and have some idea of what I want before paying the professionals to come up with a concrete project

>>1210879
>murder drains

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AEtbFm_CjE0

Every fucking time

>>1210876
>putting bleach and borax in pools

what

>>1211946
Woth bleach he probably means hipoclorite. Which is what they use for pool maintenance.

borax can work as a PH Buffer, so your eyes don't itch and such. But it isn't necessary.

>>1210876
>They make fancy robots to clean the pool at night, but I never found them to do a great job.


I have a Dolphin Nautilus robot. I love it and will buy another if this one dies. It would take me more like an hour to do it manually -- 3 minutes of actual labor with the 'bot. And it does a better job than lazy-ass me.

Been in the pool industry for three years, currently a swimming pool service technician. There's a lot to learn and I'll write what I know on how to make it as easy as i can tomorrow.

>>1210876
This is incorrect.

>(1) Bleach (for chlorine)
You can use Bleach to sanitize a pool, I wouldn't recommend it for a few reasons. Sodium Hypochlorite in Bleach is about half as concentrated as liquid chlorine meaning you need about twice as much bleach to get the same effect as liquid chlorine. Liquid chlorine is normally not advisable for most pools about 2000 gallons due to cost effectiveness. It's better to buy a 25 lb of granular chlorine about once a month and put in 1 lb / 10000 gallons per week.

>(2) Borax (for pH)

I've maintained hundreds if not over thousands of pools, I'm currently maintaining 160 this summer, from private to commercial properties. Borax would raise pH. I'd say there's been maybe 10 pools i've ever dealt with that have had an issue with low pH. The most common thing you have to deal with is high pH which is fixed through muriatic acid. If you do ever have to raise pH you do it through soda ash, maybe a 5 lb bag will be all you need for 5 years if you ever have to use it.

>(3) Baking Soda (stabilizer)
No, Cyanuric Acid is what effects stabilizer. Baking Soda raises your total alkalinity. Muriatic Acid lowers it. Stabilizer affects your Total Alkalinity but baking soda doesn't raise it. I wouldn't recomment putting in cyanuric acid if you have chlorine tabs though because that's already going to be dissolving in your pool.

> Anybody who sells you $$$ "pool grade" versions of the above is an asshole.

Pool companies make a bit more money on chemicals but in most cases triple to quintuple your liner life.

>You do need some kind of mechanical work involved to get out leaves and debris. Also, don't plant any trees that are messy near the pool. Southern Live Oaks are the best because they never lose leaves, their roots don't heave concrete and grow in virtually any climate. Date palms and ash trees are the worst. Just trust me on this.

This is accurate

>>1210876
>They make fancy robots to clean the pool at night, but I never found them to do a great job. A 1/2 hour every weekend was plenty for my pool with an old fashion brush and net.

I'd also recommend a good old vacuum head and hose and possibly a skim vac. But skim vacs aren't 100% necessary if you're willing to clean out your pump filter every month.

>If you are designing a pool, the only thing I can recommend is to OVERSIZE your pump and get a DE filter. Don't go nuts, but most pool makers always go with shitty sized pumps that don't last the first heavy leaf dropping you get.

I agree with the pump thing not the DE. DE filters are faulty, I've dealt with maybe a dozen and none have worked properly. A good old fashion sand filter is tried and true for over 2000 years.

>>1208948
How often do you backwash your pool?

>>1211144
I've seen one or two before, they aren't very common. Less so than DE filters. I would switch to a salt system, it's cheaper in the long run and you don't have to worry about putting chlorine in every week.

For cleaning I'd just get a good old fashion vac hose and head, cheaper and doesn't take but 30 minutes of your week.

I'll write up my experiences for a dream pool that saves as much money as you can later.

Big cans of drink mix for lemonade.

It'll kill a lot of shit

A packet you can buy at gas stations will sterilize 55 gallons. Kill bugs and stuff

But so will minnows, goldfish, etc.

Make a koi pond and swim in that