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Other than that, all is well.
I learned early to upgrade to (at least) the pump that ships with the larger 18’ easy set or straight sided pools. I would also just go ahead and buy the extra hoses/clamps/valves and vacuum needed to really keep these pools clean. I’m a fairly “particular” person and wish I had someone to tell me everything from the start so here;
1) Start with a level surface. This is a must. I actually like a slight concave toward the center so it’s deepest there, but you can’t go more than 6-8” as it will affect the sidewall angles. I drove rebar into the center, drilled a hole at the end of an 8 foot 2x4” at a slight angle and used it to screed a circle in the dirt.
2) buy the upgraded pump/filter (the kind that has separate pump and filter housings. The reason for this is the single stack pump/filters aren’t powerful enough to be able to use a vacuum (which you will need unless you like soaking in a soupy suspension of cloudiness). Buying the bigger pump means you’ll also need sizing adapters and new tubing. Now is when you should also plan on adding extra valves to be able to hook up an inlet for a vacuum so you don’t have to take the normal stuff apart to use a vacuum. You can buy the bigger pump and all the parts for $200. You can get the pump cheaper (and extra pools for that matter) if you keep an eye out in off seasons as they always blow these items out in fall/winter. I’ve purchased 2 pools for $150 and a big pump for $49 this way.
3) buy extra filters as you’ll need to use 2-3 just during vacuuming. Or you can add a “T” valve after the pump to be able to just pump all the vacuumed (dirty) water into the yard instead of back into the pool. This way you could just remove the filter while vacuuming. Of course you may have to add water after.
4) Buy a vacuum head that will stay flat and not get caught on the bottom and also has bristles that stick out sideways as well as underneath and downward. These pools have a large curved corner at their bottom and the right vacuum head helps with this shape.
Some other personal tips;
1) I bought a skimmer bag that hangs over the lip of the pool to help catch floating debris. This really helps keeping the pool clean by getting stuff before it sinks to the floor.
2) I also modified the pool/water side of the water inlet nozzle that would normally shoot clean water “straight” into the interior of the pool. Some pool inlets have “ball-like” nozzles so you can adjust the angle at which the water is pumped into the pool. The only Intex nozzles like that are for the pools that have larger holes through the sidewall (not these easy set pools). So I snipped out an inner ring/flange on the part that screws on, on the inside of the pool which allowed for a standard pvc flared flange and then 90° elbow to be attached to it. This then shoots the inlet water out “along the sidewall of the pool” (as opposed to perpendicularly straight into the center). This creates a circular current of all the water in the pool helping to filter (especially with the added skimmer bag).