Dan's Papers - April 25, 2008 - Dive Into Summer - East End's Swimming Pool Gurus

With summer just around the corner, it's perfectly natural to daydream about an afternoon spent lounging poolside. Innovative ideas and technologies in pool design and maintenance are popping up all over, just in time to take any Long Island backyard in a cool, new direction before the summer starts. These local companies handle small-scale upgrades, large-scale overhauls, and create installations from scratch, all while riding the cutting edge of this year's latest consumer trends in pools and spas.

Jack Anthony offers services ranging from regular weekly maintenance visits to luxury designs and renovations that incorporate waterfalls, whirl pools and other specialty features. During its three-and-a-half decades on Long Island, the company has garnered steady praise from local customers and the pool industry community. Swimming pools by Jack Anthony have been honored in National Spa and Pool Association Design & Build competitions at both regional and international levels, earning seven gold awards and 16 silver awards over the past three years alone. The company's projects have also received recognition in the national press, with photo spreads in Aqua Magazine and Pool & Spa News. An image gallery of pools and spas that have received the Jack Anthony treatment, as well as contact information for the branches in Southampton, Huntington and East Moriches, is available at www.jackanothony.com.

Like Jack Anthony, Specht-Tacular Pools in Medford is family-owned and operated, and both companies take pride in doing high-end work without the use of subcontractors. Owner Dieter Specht said his company shines at "customized jobs with negative edges, chute ascents, sun decks, everything you can imagine," and that luxury work is a particular focus for the firm. He added, "We specialize in very difficult terrain." In addition to design know-how and the ability to transform a tough landscape into a peaceful oasis, the company offers a full range of pool maintenance tools, including gentle, salt-based chlorine generators for swimmers in search of softer water. Specht-Tacular has enjoyed a presence on Long Island for 12 years and serves customers in Suffolk and Nassau. To look at photos of the company's past work, including kidney, roman end and lagoon-style pools, visit www.specht-tacular.com or call (631) 696-3900.

Blue Haven Pools, a national company with a local office in East Setauket, offers pools with an exclusive range of health-conscious equipment, including the SmartPur filtration system. Installing a SmartPur package can offer up to an 80% reduction in a pool's chlorine levels, and cut the need for algaecides by as much as 95%. To accomplish these goals, the array of processes Blue Haven uses includes electrolytic conversion of natural salt, ozonation techniques similar to those used to purify bottled water and controlled releases of silver and copper to balance pool pH. Blue Haven also offers the eco-friendly SmartMax StarPump, which employs an energy efficient, advanced fluid dynamic design that minimizes the amount of electricity used by the pool it maintains. Blue Haven installs and renovates in-ground pools, has served over 250,000 customers in 25 states, and has been ranked by Pool & Spa News as America's #1 pool builder for five years running. For more on Blue Haven products and services, visit www.bluehaven.com or call (866) 809-7665.