Let me start off by saying last year I got the kids one of those Walmart pools (6' Dia by 3' high)that you fill up with water and inflate the top ring and it also comes with a pump and filter. Well anyway, my wife and I figured that we need to start adding chemicals to it because after about a week the water would turn green and nasty looking. So we went to Lowes and bought some stuff to correct the Ph and kill the fungus which worked good but then when I started going organic this year I noticed the the area around the patio where a lot of the water from the pool would go took longer to break down. My question is, I want to get them another one this year but I would like to use something in the water to keep it from turning nasty without killing my "herd" that I have going right now?

There are chlorine-free pool chemicals to keep water clear, but I can't say how effective they are or how safe the water is. Most of what I'm seeing offhand indicates that biological methods eventually fail as the micros become resistant to it, and require a large shock of chlorine to clean the water at that point.

The major advantage of most chlorine-based chemicals is that they kill every micro-organism, but as you noticed they do that in the soil as well on exposure (or at least knock the population way down). That trade-off might be worth it for sterile water in the pool that isn't going to make anybody violently ill. Or very dead.

If this is going to be a yearly thing, I might mulch the area around the pool and add salt-resistant plants. Once the kids grow up and don't want the pool any more, turn it back to lawn. Or simply accept the slower breakdown in that area as long as the lawn's healthy.

In all honesty, I would have put down a 3-6" deep run of crusher rock along with 2" of sand and gravel in a circle about 5 feet or so wider than the pool itself. That way you don't have to worry about the water killing the lawn nor do you have to worry about every tree in 100 ft. seeking out your pool so they can puncture the bottom of it and drink deep from the cool cup of water you've poured for them.

I've seen St. Augustine grow right through the bottom of a hard-bottomed plastic kiddie pool that was being used for (far too long) as a "make-shift" goldfish-pond. Never under-estimate a plants determination to seek out water, lol...

Oh no! No rocks!!

Use mulch. And I know people who would put the mulch inside the pool along with aerators. Makes it a giant compost tea pool. But cleaning all the mulch off every time you swim sort of takes away from the fun.

The pool sits on the patio and the grass around the patio is very healthy! Thanks for the advice so far!!!!

MQ, I had of those same pools a few years ago. It was the best $40 I've every spent in my life.
To hell with the grass - let the kids have fun because these are YOUR memories as a parent.

Later on after the pool is gone, like mine, your grass will come back just fine, like nothing was ever there before.

A balanced pool should not harm grass. I suspect someone who is a lawn geek could be turned into a pool geek without much problem. Go read this site: Click here for more information It's all about testing and keeping ahead of the water biology. Sound familiar?

I bought one of those pools seven or eight years ago. The ring can be a pain in the butt, eventually it starts to lose air every few days. Using the above site, the pool was clearer than any other I know. I moved up to the frame set, the biggest my yard would hold. After some experimenting, I settled on outdoor carpet 3' bigger than the pool. It keeps a lot of muck out. This year I am making hubby build a deck for it.

Have fun!

Mightyquinn wrote: we need to start adding chemicals

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/forum.php

Some good info at another great forum. They preach (and I) the BBB method of treating pool water. Bleach, borax and baking soda. Save the cash, my neighbor spends 4 times the amount as I do for our pool and I think, (in other words I don't know) the water might be easier on the grass.

Actually, the two links are the same folks. I knew I'd find like minded people here!