Hidden extras re: pool installation/advertised 'Sale' price

[Pretty Butterfly]

What size pool is yours compared to your IL's? Do you guys have shade sail? We have a fibreglass pool, with shade sail and solar heating. Our pool is approx 9 x 4.5 in size and the shadesail covers about 90% of the pool and between Oct - Mar we don't need our solar on at all. So for us up here in Cairns, a fibreglass is perfect.

Ours is HEAPS bigger than theirs. Theirs isnt too big, but its a b!tch to heat!!

No shade sail... yet!!! Only been here 6 months, but we want one!!

Its a big pool, 15 x 4m. Takes up the whole of the main back yard. Luckily we have a side section!! Its good for laps. We'd use the heating about the same.

Maybe fibreglass is good anywhere!! I know the IL's hate their concrete one with a a passion, and the heating costs are just staggering. Its solar, but having the heat pump on all those hours for months is so super exxy.

[Visitor7]

It would be exxy! My dad's parents had a concrete and they hated it as well for heating, and that was only a small pool.

[Pretty Butterfly]

Yep, Im glad this one wasnt concrete, Imagine heating a pool this size!!!!

Beema, what is a mineral pool?

Ours is salt, but the salt water goes back into a grid thing and is turned into natural chlorine, then pumped back to the pool, so I guess its 50/50. It also does some oxygen thing.. I dont know much about it, thats Ad's domain!!

I assume mineral would be better, and is it hard to convert??

[AJC]

Wow - awesome responses, thanks again everyone Have been thinking about our options and I think it will be well worth getting a fibreglass comparison quote too. We are only looking at getting something small-ish 7x3m. So more plunge pool than swimming pool I guess. I agree with the comments about shade sails, we will have to add that to our budget for sure. We are in a new area so not many established trees to offer shade yet.

[*Beema*]

Yep, Im glad this one wasnt concrete, Imagine heating a pool this size!!!!

Beema, what is a mineral pool?

Ours is salt, but the salt water goes back into a grid thing and is turned into natural chlorine, then pumped back to the pool, so I guess its 50/50. It also does some oxygen thing.. I dont know much about it, thats Ad's domain!!

I assume mineral would be better, and is it hard to convert??

I have a brochure on it somewhere, but you basically add minerals to the pool rather than chemicals, it is apparently better for allergy sufferers I guess because there are no chemicals being use, the water can be used to irrigate gardens, so when it rains you could pump excess water into a tank, rather than out to stormwater or sewerage, it is a softer feeling in the water, not as harsh as Chlorine, reduces the bacteria levels in pools. You can convert yours over, it depends on what sort of pool you have, and I think that the pool may need to be drained, and you would need a different chlorinator. We have a sand filter and I think that we could keep that. But I will have a dig for the brochure and see what I can find

I love my salt pool over a chlorine one, it is really refreshing

Wo don't use a heater for our the solar blanket does an awesome job by itself I have to take it off in the hotter weather because the water gets too hot, but then again we don't use ours all year round.

[Pretty Butterfly]

I'll get Ad to check it out!!

Ours doesnt taste/smell like salt or chlorine.
We dont put chlorine in it, the salt water is natuarlly converted, so we dont add chemicals now. Just minimal salt.
I know the same water is pumped up through the big water fountain, and the birds drink it???

I would like to add minerals though, if it replaces the salt.