truxtc102, IMHO you should decide how you will use the pool 90% of the time and then go with a size. ( Like purchasing a house with that fourth bedroom just to house the inlaws who visit once every 2 years) We wanted a small pool because 90% the time it would only have 2-6 people in it. The wife had a total knee replacement so it was important for her to exercise in it. It was also important for us to be able to stand anywhere in our pool with a beverage in hand not have water over our head. We love to watch TV in 5-1 surround sound while soaking in the pool, the car races and football is taken to another level. Small pools have many advantages and disadvantages. Some advantages are less water it takes so cost is less, less chemicals needed, less maintenance( it takes me 3 mins to brush my pool), we keep the pool at 90 degrees so heating time with solar and heat pump is less, one person can put and take off the pool cover. Of course if money is no object then please put in the biggest pool and pay someone to maintain it if it begins to be a burden for you. We entertain almost every weekend so space around the pool and a summer kitchen etc was very important for us. I am including some pics Playing modified Volley Ball Here is 25 people in our pool ages 2-75 years and there is plenty of room for more. Hope this helps and please post pics of your pool build. We are very excited for you and your family. PS. Before the contractor came out we outlined our pool with stakes and string and places chairs and tables all over the yard to simulate what the final pool will look and feel like. We did this for a weekend and went out at night and various times of the day when the sun was out to see what was expected.

Best advice is sitting down and figuring out exactly what you want. Size, shape, features, finish, equipment and so on. Draw out what you want(pool shape) and then let several different pool builders bid it. Even hand them your requirements so they all bidding apples to apples. Even go as far as asking them to see pools being built by their company in different stages. So you can see quality of the work being done. Todd

Contrary to what many might believe, two speed pumps are not more efficient. It still only has two poles, generates almost as much waste heat per kilowatt used. I personally believe that another Superpump or a Pentair SuperFlo(easier to plum in as a replacement if there aren't any unions usually) will work fine for you. If you really want a more efficient pump, have a 240 VAC circuit to the pump, consider Pentair's 4 speed variable speed. It converts the 240 volt to a 3 phase service internally for the motor. The motor can now use the power drawn much more efficiently with a lot less wasted heat.

You're really riding the margin with that system. Looks like you have roughly 17k in water and you're putting a system that filters 20k in 6 1/2 hours assuming it is flowing at max capacity. The EC50 is a 25 sq ft filter at 50gpm. I think you're better off with the Pentair Clean and Clear pack. The 150 sq ft model (6x what you're looking at comes in a 1 1/2HP and it 2 speed to boot. You have the option to turn that water over very quickly when in high use or do a slow churn in the off season and save $ on pump use. Pentair #56266000 is the model. The 1HP version is still 4x the size you're looking at with a capacity of 100 sq ft. Remember, the smaller the filter, the more work you will have in upkeep.