At Aquatique Pools, we believe that your pool should be a reflection of you and your family’s own unique lifestyle. Our award-winning designers work together with landscape architects, combining form and function to ensure that your pool is just as exciting tomorrow as it is today.

When you buy an Aquatique Pool, you’re buying the highest quality materials and construction methods available. No detail is ever too small when we’re building your dream pool!

 

ARTICLES

Crack in a Pool

After opening their pools to get them ready for the summer, many pool owners notice that their pool appears to have a small leak (never from an Aquatique Pool).
It can be difficult to find the leak and determine how to repair it. The following article should help you with these tasks. 

Your first step is to determine whether you really have a leak. There are three main causes of water loss from swimming pools (plumbing leaks, shell leaks, and evaporation or splashing). What at first appears to be a leak may be any one of these three things.

The first thing it would be important to rule out would be evaporation or splashing. It is quite common for swimmers to splash a lot while playing in the pool and a hot sun is capable or removing quite a bit of water from the pool on a daily basis.

To determine whether evaporation is what is causing your pool level to go down you will want to place a large container filled with water on the first step of your pool. You want to place enough water in the container so that its water level is equal to that of the water level in the pool. Watch what happen to the water level in the container over the course of a couple of days when no one is using the pool. The cause of your water loss is probably just evaporation if the water in the container and the water in the pool go down approximately the same amount during those days. You probably have a leak in the pool if the water level in the pool goes down much faster than the water level in the container.

The filter and pump are the first places to examine if you suspect you have a leak. See if you can find damp areas or water spots and trace them back to their origin. The pipe connections in this area are quite often to blame for pool leaks. Sometimes it is helpful to keep the pump running while you attempt to see where the leak is coming from. Once you locate the leak you can fix it yourself if you feel you have the skills and experience necessary to repair plumbing. Many people, however, will feel best hiring a professional at this point. 

You may have a leak in the pool shell if you are unable to locate a leak in the plumbing. Hiring an experienced professional is almost always the best bet in these instances.

When it comes to possible pool leaks the real key is eliminating possibilities to determine the real cause. Once you have figured out the cause of the water loss you can decide whether this is a problem you can tackle yourself or if your wisest move will be to hire a professional.

Aquatique Pools Cares about your Safety

POOL AND SPA OWNERS NEED TO INCREASE SAFETY

A safety survey recently conducted by Aquatique Pool and Spa Center indicated that many pool and spa owners are failing to meet New York and New Jersey state requirements regarding alarms and other equipment. Many others reported that they did not know whether they were the meeting the requirements or using other strongly recommended safety measures.

The survey included questions about fences, gates, alarms, drains and drain covers. More than two thirds (68%) of respondents reported that their doors were not equipped with ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) approved alarms, a requirement in the state of New York. More than half (55%) reported having no alarms, and nearly half (45%) answered that they do not have ASTM-approved safety covers for their pools and spas. Perhaps of greatest concern to Aquatique Pools is that nearly all those who answered the survey reported one or more safety issues in their backyards.

Kevin said, “Safety should always be any owner’s number one concern, just as it is ours. Our survey made some owners newly aware of safety issues they had, while reminding others that they were overdue in attending to them.”

As a result of the survey, Aquatique plans to step up its efforts to educate customers about safety and what they are legally required to do to ensure it.Kevin said, “…owners need to keep up with new requirements regarding pool equipment, such as the recent legislation in the state of New York requiring alarms. These alarms are mandatory in new pools and spas, but, for maximum safety, should also be installed in existing ones.”

Open Your Pool - A Guide

Aquatique Swimming Pool Start up - Opening a pool.

1. First remove the pool cover, being careful not to let leaves or debris fall into the water.
2. Clean your cover with a proper cover cleaner and store it in a dry, clean area away from the sun and weather.
3. Check the condition of the pump, filter and skimmer. Make sure they are in good working order so your chemicals can work as they should.
4. Fill the aquatique pool to the proper level. Vacuum if necessary.
5. Run filter for 24 hours.
6. Take water test after 24 hours
Check PH of your pool water. Normal range should be 7.4 to 7.6 (neutral). If under 7.4, add alkalinity increaser. If over 7.6, add alkalinity decreaser. Shock treat your water overnight - 1lb of shock per 10,000 gallons of water. Add algaecide per directions on the bottle Add chlorine to kill any bacteria in the pool Add stabilizer to skimmer, replace tablets when they dissolve.
7. Install dive board, grab rails and ladders. Make sure they are safe and working properly.
8. Clean all winter items, plugs, gizmos and deflate water tubes holding your cover down. Store away for use next seas.
 9. Once the pool water tests normal (neutral, see 6A above), add chlorine weekly to maintain balance throughout the pool season. Test water often and keep the chemicals balanced throughout summer usage.
Most swim pool stores that sell chemicals offer “Pool Opening Kits” to make your job easier. Opening kits are sold based on the gallon amount of water in your pool.

To Determine the Size of your aquatique Pool in Gallons

Rectangular Pool = Length x Width X Average Depth x 7.5
Round Pool = Diameter x Diameter x Average Depth x 5.9
Oval = Length x Width x Average Depth x 6.7

In Summary
Make sure you equipment, pump, filter and motor are in good condition. All “O” rings are properly lubed. I the pool water level is low, fill to about 6″ below deck. Water should run freely into your skimmer. Test your water. Clean and store your winter cover. Put all your winter plugs away for use next winter. If you discover any problems, call your local pool supply store for help.

USE YOUR POOL SAFELY - MAKE SURE ALL SMALL CHILDREN ARE ATTENDED WHILE AT YOUR POOL.

ENJOY THE HOT SUMMER IN YOUR COOL POOL!!!

Chlorinate Properly!

Swimming Pools Don’t Need to be Poisoned

There are a significant amount of swimming pool owners that have actively searched and replaced their conventional chlorinated filter systems for a more advanced and safer system. There is a growing concern on the negative health potential of chlorine and chlorinated swimming pool filter systems. 

Did you know that your body can absorb 600% to 1,000% more contamination in a solitary 10 minute shower than drinking the same tap water for an entire day? Ever notice how dry your skin is after you swim in your swimming pool and the effect it has on your hair? Your swimming pools chlorinated water is designed to attack living organic matter. Are we not living organic matter?

By replacing your aquatique pools swimming pool’s existing filter system with an alternative non chlorine system, you can stop the harmful effects of chlorine and other contaminants in your swimming pool water.
There are two types of system that I found to be highly effective. A high-end filtration and reverse osmosis system.

Most filtration systems use activated charcoal which is mostly carbon. What does mean to you? The principle of charcoal filter is absorption. Charcoal is very porous and has the ability to absorb impurities as well as most poisonous gasses.

The high-end filters offer more then just a carbon block to filter for your swimming pool. They also must have materials that will remove particles as small as one micron. Look for the ones that add negative ions for hyper-hydration and help the body in fighting common skin conditions, rejuvenates and moisturizes your skin, softens hair without chemicals.

Also, when looking to purchase this type of filter look for one that have no replaceable cartages. These are an expensive consumable and add to your swimming pools yearly cost. These filters do need to be cleaned, but at a rate once every 7 to 10 years.

The other type, reverse osmosis, is the process of water being pushed through an ultra-fine semi-permeable membrane, where it separates the liquid into to a storage tank. The brine concentrate is then disposed thru a drain. The water is then stored in a pressure tank and is treated to a final activated-charcoal polishing filtration stage to remove all remaining odors and tastes before dispensing the purified water into your swimming pool. The reverse osmosis units are considerably cheaper then the high-end filter systems, the disadvantage, they waste a lot of water. Every gallon of purified water produced, two gallons are wasted.

Which ever way you go, the benefits of a non-chlorinated aquatique swimming pool will be a cleaner, safer and more enjoyable experience.