Our Big Wet Dream (pool construction from start to finish) (Venice: living, homeowner)

[Messing About]

Thanks NPHO - still awaiting our Salt Clorine Generator to be installed. Contractor said we have to wait a month after water. Should be later next week. When you put the salt in, does it just get dumped in the pool?

HH- thank you but that's not what we were looking for. We did find a gold mine at Mr. T's Garden Center on 776, Southwest of US 41. Not sure if it's Englewood or South Venice but it's a great place. Large selection of plants, pots, pool and beach house decor, and waterfalls, statues and "spitters" for pools.

We found the chairs we were looking for to match the table/umbrella we bought at SAMs. We found some cool patio signs and we found a bronze concrete double dolphin spitter for a very competitive price, after looking at 6 places total.

I spent 30 minutes at the Home Depot trying to find the fittings needed to connect the spitter to the stubbed out PVC installed with the pool. I think I've got it but it got dark, so will try tomorrow.

Here's a shot of the deck dining set we picked up for $200 total.

[nphomeowner]

Yes, you just dump the salt in the pool as close to the bottom drain as you can and just brush it into the drain. It dissolves almost instantly. Pretty easy.

Love the red patio set, adds a nice pop of color!!!

[Harbor Hopper]

Originally Posted by nphomeowner

If you do the boost and the chlorine level isn't holding that's usually an indication that salt may be needed. It doesn't happen often.

Not necessarily. The #1 reason for no/low chlorine after boosting is the lack of stabilizer (cyanuric acid). With low stabilizer, any chlorine produced is consumed & evaporated quickly, so you never get ahead. You should only need to add salt maybe 2x per year. Stabilizer more like 5-6x per year.

[nphomeowner]

Well I don't guess at it, I have a sample of the water checked. Last time our chlorine wouldn't hold it was in fact in need of salt. True it's only about twice a year and the stabilizer is more often. But again, I have the water analyzed every few weeks to keep it sparkling.

[Messing About]

Yeah, I'm not on the salt yet but a gallon of liquid chlorine is gone 48 hours later. Wonder if I need that stabilizer stuff. Where do you get it HH?

[Harbor Hopper]

Any pool store, and yes, you need it regularly. Not cheap stuff. The pool builder should be doing all of this for you the first month MA. Pretty disappointing that they're not...

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by Messing About

Yeah, I'm not on the salt yet but a gallon of liquid chlorine is gone 48 hours later. Wonder if I need that stabilizer stuff. Where do you get it HH?

If you have an inline chlorinator, you can use the 3" chlorine tablets. Very affordable.

[Ohky0815]

Alright well ill be down in 15hrs driving time to come to the pool party- you provide the towels and ill bring the food!

[Messing About]

Final piece in place. $200 from Mr. T's Garden Center. Made by Massarelli's. They have a website with hundreds of pieces. This concrete sculpture weighs 73 pounds. The base is a second piece I needed and painted myself to match. I needed the base for the plumbing fittings to fit and be hidden. Pool was plumbed for this water feature in the original plans.

I tried to talk my wife into a 5' Tarpon that weighed 700 pounds but she brought me back to my senses, lol.
It only cost $440 and was cool! They also have sailfish, larger dolphins, turtles, otters and all sorts of other statues. When they are designed as pool fountains, they call them Spitters. Massarelli's wholesales out to several outlets around SWFL but they don't sell direct.

Thanks for enjoying our wet dream thread. I may update again after the salt chlorine generator is in, but this should be the last of my photos. Thanks for all 13,000 hits. I'd love to host a party for all of you but my wife would sooner allow me to put up the "7 foot tall, 2000 pound Tarpon monstrosity" as she calls it.

[nphomeowner]

Love the "spitter"! Couldn't help be notice the lounge chairs, they look very nice and very similar to ones I had purchased and returned. Ours started to rust after several rains so I returned them. I hope yours are aluminum!!