Affinity Pools FAQs
Seasonal Care
We would advise that the Inpond can be run during the winter, however care should be taken to make sure it is fully immersed and cannot freeze solid. If you do not wish to keep the unit running during the winter, please follow the annual maintenance procedure in the instruction booklet and store frost free in the house or garage until spring.
Although the water temperature will rise in the summer, this is usually gradual and, in the UK, is unlikely be too hot for your fish. The problem that does occur in hot weather is the lack of oxygen as this is used up much faster in warm conditions. In warm weather, ensure you have your fountain/waterfall running day and night which helps to oxygenate the pool. If you are concerned about the fish, or they are ‘gasping’ at the surface then you can add a Pond Air system to help introduce more oxygen to the pool. You can also do a partial water change.
Yes, Affinity has been designed for outdoor use, all year around in the UK. The water may freeze to a certain level (depending on the outside temperature). You can prevent the surface from closing over completely by using an Ice Vent Heater or Pond Air pump. Our UK test pools have coped with some harsh weather over the winter (without any heaters!) and the liner, surround and the fish all survived well!
Another option to help prevent freezing is to add a product such as Pond Guardian Tonic Salt (never use regular table or sea salt). These carefully balanced salts decreases the freezing temperature of water and are also an added benefit to the fish as they prepare for winter.
Cleaning
Agitate the water in your pond and use a very fine net and sweep the water, if you do not have a fine net, we would then recommend filling the net up with polymer wool.
To clean the Inpond, please refer to our ‘How to… Clean and Maintain Inpond’ film.
The inner liner of the pool and the windows will get a fine build up of soft algae. This is perfectly natural and can be left on the liner. The windows should be gently cleaned by wiping with the Affinity Window Cleaning Pads (never use any abrasive materials to clean the windows as you risk scratching them).
The outer surface of the panels can be rinsed off with a gentle hose and a clean sponge, or a can of plain water. Do not to get this water in the pool as tap water is not safe unless Tapsafe has been added. Never use any cleaning products, detergents or chemicals on the pool or windows.
Scoop out any debris that falls into the pool i.e. leaves, using a pond fish net. This helps to avoid them sinking and breaking down as waste in to bottom of the pool.
The viewing windows are made from strong, shatterproof PVC. The nature of the material means that it is essential to clean the windows (both inside and out) with the Affinity window cleaning pads to avoid seriously scratching the surface and permanently damaging the window.
The inside of the window will get a light layer of soft green algae which is perfectly natural in any water feature. Gentle wipe this away using a fresh cleaning pad. If the outer needs a clean, rinse the surface dirt with a little water first to remove larger particles, then wipe gentle with a clean cleaning pad, if necessary.
We would recommend the water be emptied to below the window level and then a natural way is to gently rub the window with either lemon or white vinegar, taking care not to spill any into the water. You may wish to remove any livestock before so as not to increase their stress levels. The windows would need to be wiped clean to remove any traces of the lemon or vinegar before re-filling and returning the fish to the pond.
Affinity General
We are sorry to inform you that unfortunately we do not sell a specific cover for the Affinity pools. We recommend that a pond net is placed over the top of the Affinity, pulled tightly, then either knotted weighed down or use bull dog clips. See our You Tube channel for a useful How To make your own cover for your pool.
The pool can be hard to be put together because the panels are packed away at particularly low temperatures, which result in them becoming less flexible and less stretchy.
We subsequently recommend warming the weaved panels in hot water while assembling and this will then give you the correct tension and enable the brace bars to be fitted into place. Alternatively the panels can also be warmed in an airing cupboard overnight or if it’s a sunny day leave them and the liner out in the sunshine for 20-30 minutes to make them more flexible.
To check that the UVC lamp is operating, open the filter unit and remove the filter foams and polymer wool cartridge. Positioned on top of the yellow contact chamber is a round viewing window where you should be able to see a faint blue light. This operation should be carried out at dusk. Turning the lamp on and off may aid visual identification.
If you do not have the viewing window, we would advise that a white piece of card is held against the UVC contact chamber inlet, you should see a faint blue light reflected on the paper.
Stones and sand can be placed in your Affinity Pool, however please be sure that there are no sharp edges on the stones that could damage the pool’s liner.
Green water (or pea green water) is a type of single celled algae and is common in warm, sunny months of the year and after starting a new pond. The presences of green water is not a failing of the product or equipment but is a completely natural process. Because of the tiny size of the algae cells they do not get caught in the filter.
Treat your entire pond with Green Away, you can calculate the correct dosage here.
Test your pond for high nitrate levels and treat any water quality issues.
To prevent further algal blooms use Sludge Buster to help remove any dead algae.
Check all your equipment is working properly – especially UVCs. Carry out any maintenance needed, or replace faulty or broken parts.
To Support your fish dose with Pond Guardian Tonic Salt to help support the fish’s immune system
You can use the pump to remove water by removing the fountain head and tipping the top of the pipe out of the pool, or by attaching a hose to the top of the riser pipe and taking that over and out of the pool
Affinity will act as an oasis in your garden and could attract a large variety of wildlife. Birds may visit for a drink or a bath, and a whole selection of water borne fauna will be attracted by the addition of the pool.
Yes, the liner in the Affinity pools is 1mm, fibre reinforced PVC, thicker than the average pond liner, which are usually 0.5mm. You should not be concerned.
The Affinity Grand pools are a great size for growing plants like Waterlilies due to their larger volume and surface area
Select a flat, clear and level area, other than that, the pool can go almost anywhere. The Half Moon lends itself very well to being positioned against a wall or fence and the Octagon to a central location such as a deck or patio but it is your choice. Affinity Pools can go on most surfaces (including gravel) but ensure the ground is free from protruding, sharp objects, and that the underlay is used. Position the pool where it won’t get knocked or banged, i.e. in a thoroughfare or behind a door as this would scare and traumatise the fish. Also avoid placing it where it will get a lot of waste falling in i.e. under a tree.
Get the most pleasure from the pool by putting it where you can also see it lit up at night.
Ensure the ground is solid, level and free from sharp objects that would damage the pool liner. Always use the liner underlay to protect the liner, even on smooth, flat ground.
The Affinity is a complete kit and comes with everything needed to build the pool, which includes a specially designed multi tool for looking all the plugs! We do not recommend that you use powered tools to build Affinity due to the risk of damage to the aluminium structure.
If the site is not already level, the only suggestion would be a spirit level.
An Affinity pool should not take longer than 2 hours to build – precise timings depend from size to size
It very much depends on the water pressure, if you are filling from a hose on the mains water supply and the size of your chose pool. We have found the Mocha Octagon (400 litres) has taken about 40 minutes, the Grand Octagon (708 litres) could take up to twice as long as this.
If you damage or puncture the liner at any point, it is possible to firstly try to fix a small hole in the main body of the liner with a ‘pond liner puncture repair kit’. If the damage is too large for this then you can replace the entire liner. See Accessories page.
If you are finding it tricky to use both corner screws, it is acceptable to leave one of the screws out. The other screws are sufficient to hold the liner in place.