Building a pool - Anything special for scuba?

[divad]

There already is one within driving distance of the OP.

http://www.familyscuba.com/index.cfm?SECTION=699

I was thinking of a surface-mount grain silo.

 

[Penopolypants]

Choosing a chemical free or reduced chemical design would definitely be easier on your gear, and well as your body.

Natural swimming pools are becoming very popular in Europe (and are even used for public pools), but are just now starting to catch on in the US. Apparently they tend to attract frogs, though.

http://www.naturalswimmingpools.com/index.htm

Salt water pools are more expensive to start and to replace parts, but less time and money is spent on maintenance. They aren't exactly cholrine free....the salt is broken down into chlorine (the basic components of salt are sodium and chloride). The water is then recycled, and the salt is extracted back out to repeat the process. It still seems to be much less harsh than a traditional pool.

One of our local public pools is a salt water pool, and it's very popular. You definitely don't notice a harsh chemical smell when you're around it like you would with a traditional pool.

Ionized pools are another option. I don't know much about these, but they sound promising. The water is fresh water that is purified using an ionization process. You can either use a small ionizer and combine it with a chemical system, and use less chemicals, or you can use a large ionizer and no chemicals.

I'm envious, I wish I were building a pool....

 

[friscuba]

IMHO the salt pools are icky. If I am going to get all salty and icky I want more than swimmming, I want some legit BT out of it. And I am not sure salt is any better for your equiment, especially the inside of a BC if not rinsed adequately.

I'm thinking the "salt water" part of what is often referred to as "salt water pools" these days is really a misnomer. They use salts as an agent for water quality, much like water sofeners do. Just because you have a water softener in the house doesn't mean you are drinking or showering in ocean-like salt water.

 

[Cacia]

I have an ozone (O3) pool and the water is very nice. Also, don't put Indonesian tiles on the bottom like I did because I am a nervous Nellie with the tanks. A tiled pool is easier to manage the chemistry though.

 

[OE2X]

A little bit ago myself and another advisor were discussing how he would like to renovate his pool.

He would like make a swim through cavern for his.

Something that I've always liked in a few resort pools that I've experienced is to have "beach" that gradually slopes down. You can rest your head out of the water, with your feet deep. If I were to have a pool this would be a feature that (while not diving related) I would enjoy.

 

[Aric M L]

Id think a beach would be nice to practice shore dives, instead of always just jumping on in

 

[Lamnid]

wow you guys gotta be careful - you're really racking up the bill for the dream pool!

 

[rocketry]

Something VERY important is that your pool has multiple layers of lining and/or a reinforced lining. With in-ground pools, the integrity of the lining is critical, because even small rips or tears can create large leakage problems very quickly. With normal swimming, not much attention needs to be paid to the lining, because there is not much that could put the lining at risk. But, when you introduce scuba tanks, guages, computers, dragging octos and everything else associated with diving, you run the rsik of damaging your large and very-wet investment. I myself have 2 dogs, and therefore I need to be careful of this especially with paws and nails risking the integrity of my pool. Just BE CAREFUL with all of your gear in your pool. large municipal pools (like the ones used for OW classes) are built to handle such rigors. Your standard backyard pool, will not be. Ask your contractor about your options, but be advised, there will be an added expense.

One more thing I thought of, If you are diving in your pool, a compressor may be a valuable investment. It beats 3 trips to the LDS!

 

[rjsimp]

Go with a saltwater pool instead of chlorine. I'm not sure on the specifics but this is what the owner of my LDS has at his house to use for pool classes. I think he just did it by dumping in bags of pool salt (I saw some stacked on the deck). One of my friends just build a built a pool (not meant for any scuba use) that is saltwater too, but they went the super expensive way. They have automatic salting systems, automatic water level systems, two gas heaters for the pool and an electric one for the hot tub (that's another thing, definately attach a hot tub to it), automatic vacuums, lighting that changes colors, everything. Just ask some of the pool companies you get quotes from about the various salting methods.

The salt-chlorine system is not necessarily the best idea if you are trying to minimize corosion on your scuba equipment. Not only do you still have to maintain the same chlorine levels in your pool (produced by breaking down the sodium chloride into sodium and chlorine) as you would with a normal tri-chlor pools (because that is what actually does the disinfecting), but you have the added salt in the water which in itself is very corrosive and would need to be rinsed from your gear in much the same way as when you go diving in the ocean. Not that the salt levels are near what they are in the ocean, but the salt is still in the water and will cause issues if not rinsed.

I have had a pool for several years and in a well maintained pool, you should not smell chlorine at all. When you have that chlorine smell (like at your local public pool or scuba shop pool) it means there is a high amount of combined chlorine in the pool. Combined chlorine is the chlorine that has bound itself to nasties and is actually not even effective anymore because it is already being used. The FREE chlorine is the chlorine that actually is working for you. If this happens to your pool, you should shock it to break free the combined chlorine and oxidize any of the impurities in the water. It is actually possible to have a pool at 10ppm chlorine and not smell at all, but if you keep your pool at 1.5 to 2ppm and shock it once a month, you will never smell chlorine. Most public pools are kept at 5ppm or more because of the high use rate.

BTW, use of scuba equipment in a pool with 1.5 or 2ppm chlorine will not cause any issues with your gear although it is a good idea to just spray it off. I would especially do this with wet suits if you wear them in the pool (I don't unless it is really cold). Just keep in mind, the Salt systems will STILL have the 1.5 or 2ppm chlorine but also have the added salt so you have two issues there with your gear.

 

[OBXDIVEGUY]

Put a bus on the bottom of it.