Sand bottom pool - opinions?

[Wen-King Su]

I am not talking about the vinyl-lined kind with sand underneath the liner. I have an ordinary in-ground concrete pool in the back yard. The problem is it is too deep for babies. My sister had the same problem, plus her pool was cracked and needed repair. She opted to take out her pool.

Mine is in good shape, and I am not yet willing to take it out. Since the bottom drain apparently does not work, and has not worked for ages, I have the idea of partially filling the pool with sand -- a whole lot of sand -- until the water is about a foot deep. This will not block the water circulation as the working water inlet and outlets are both near the surface. I would have wanted to filled it completely with sand to make it a big sand box, but I think I need the layer of water there to deter cats. As the babies grow up, I will scoop out some sand and make the pool deeper.

A google search reveals that sand bottom pools do exist, but they are most often found in resorts and parks. My question is does this kind of thing exists in people's back yard? Will it be a problem to keep clean and sanitary?

[Charles Spitzer]

it would be a fortune in sand. also, it would be extremely hard to keep it out of the filtering system, and the abrasiveness of it would eat your pump and clog the filter quickly. since the water will percolate down into the sand bed, how do you propose filtering that water?

[Wen-King Su]

In a previous article "Charles Spitzer" writes: : ; ;it would be a fortune in sand. also, it would be extremely hard to keep it :out of the filtering system, and the abrasiveness of it would eat your pump ;and clog the filter quickly. since the water will percolate down into the :sand bed, how do you propose filtering that water?

I would imagine sand to be one of the cheapest bulk material I can buy. I figure all I should be paying for is the handling and storage, which should be low if bought by truck loads. As for sand getting into water filtration system, if sand is found sitting on the bottom of a flowing stream, I figure most of it should pretty much stay put at the bottom of a stagnant pool. I am more concerned about how to keep nasties from growing in the sand, and whether there will be problem cleaning leaves out from the bottom of the pool. Wouldn't swimming pool chlorine diffuse into the the sand for as far as it matters?

[Richard J Kinch]

Absolutely. Just how were you planning to vacuum the bottom? To sterilize deep sand?

[Charles Spitzer]

sand has fines. movement of sand produces more fines. with a filtration system, it won't be stagnant. you'll have to have some water movement somewhere. sand in streams is replenished from upstream and migrates downstream.

actually, probably not that much, but some. for example, it's been found that 6" of sand in the bottom of a saltwater marine tank has almost no water diffusion at the bottom of the sand, causing anaerobic processes to occur. lots of people depend upon the fact that there's not very much water diffusion for natural filtration to occur in tanks with sand beds.

you're talking about 6-8' of sand? probably no water diffusion at all, once the original water gets down there. you'd have to put some sort of barrier platform that would hold up the sand, with tubes through the sand down under the barrier and pump the water down there. dags reverse undergravel filtration.

[Rein]

I'd leave it and sign your kid up for swimming lessons as early as possible. Around here they advertise for 2 year olds. until then, keep him inside, or put a fence around it.

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[default]

Yeah, an inflatable wading pool is a whole lot cheaper and easier to clean up than 8 yards of pool-sand, and no children should be anywhere near either one without parental supervision.

--Goedjn

[Fogbank]

build a fence around your pool and a lock on the gate. this should be city code anyhow. supervise the kiddies in the pool. if you fill your pool with sand without proper sterilization (UV) and a very large filtration system you will acheive a breeding ground for bacteria - which will quickly send anyone who swims in it to the local emergency room.

[Rein]

On top of that.. kids can drown in 5 inches of water.

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