The Brand Story
AquaStar: Two Pool Men in Ventura and the Problem at the Bottom of the Pool
Wade Arens spent most of his life in the water. He grew up in Southern California, played on an NCAA championship water polo team at UC Irvine, earned All-American honors in swimming and diving, and coached swimmers and water polo players before he ever sold a pool. In the early 1970s he started building pools and selling spas, and by the early 1990s he was calling on builders as a regional rep for Pebble Technology. He knew how pools were put together, and he knew which parts nobody gave enough thought to. In 2002 he and his business partner Olaf Mjelde set out to fix one of them: the drain cover.
Chapter 1 · 2002
Starting at the drain
AquaStar Pool Products began as a drain cover manufacturer in Ventura, California, a small company entering a category already crowded with some of the industry's largest names. Within a few years it was competing with them head to head. Arens took the role of technical coordinator, overseeing product testing, writing technical papers and acting as the company's liaison with government agencies, including the Consumer Product Safety Commission. In a business where a drain cover's rating can be a matter of life and death, that work set the tone for everything AquaStar made afterward.
His background mattered. Years of building pools and calling on builders for Pebble Technology had taught him how a drain actually gets set into a shell, how plaster crews work around it and what happens to a fitting after years of sun and sanitizer. The company has long continued to describe its products as built to survive harsh pool chemicals and intense ultraviolet light.
Chapter 2 · 2007 to 2009
When the law caught up with the drain
The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act of 2007 required public pools to fit every suction outlet with an anti-entrapment cover meeting ASME/ANSI A112.19.8-2007 by December 19, 2008. Very few covers already in the water met the new standard, and the rule hit the industry hard in 2009 as pool operators scrambled for compliant parts. Because the federal law left enforcement to the states, health inspectors became the people checking the paperwork, and a cover's certification and rated flow suddenly mattered as much as its fit. AquaStar, which had spent years designing and testing drains, was able to ship compliant products quickly.
The company's people were also in the room where the rules were written. AquaStar's Steve Barnes has worked on federal drain cover standards since 2002 and chairs the drain cover standard committee. The VGBA marking and flow range printed on an AquaStar cover, such as 126 to 600 gallons per minute on an 18-inch square Wave cover, comes out of that history.
Chapter 3 · Remembering a founder
The strongest guy in the room
Arens lived with cancer for roughly ten years. He died at 59, survived by his wife Charlice, three children and two grandchildren. Colleagues remembered a relationship builder with a relentlessly upbeat outlook.
Olaf Mjelde called him "the strongest guy I ever knew."
Chapter 4 · 2009 to today
Beyond the drain
In 2009 Todd Pieri joined AquaStar after time at Pool Corp, and he has since been promoted to president. Under his leadership the company has grown well past drain covers into pumps, filters and ozone systems. Its Pipeline filter drew real attention from working pool professionals, some of whom adopted it on their own installations.
The catalog grew name by name: Aqua Stop, Chem Star, FillStar, FlowStar, Full Circle, Moflow, Pro Star and the AquaThunder spa line among them, along with Ultimate Ozone sanitation. Many of them are the everyday fittings and accessories a pool builder handles on every job, now made by the same company that once made only drains.
AquaStar still makes its products close to home. The company operates seven buildings within about two square miles of each other in Ventura, with an eighth planned, and in early 2023 it opened a 100,000-square-foot facility that brings molding, assembly and shipping under one roof. AquaStar says each of its products is designed and manufactured in the USA, built to stand up to harsh pool chemistry and strong ultraviolet light.
The Lineup
What AquaStar builds today
AquaStar's catalog now spans drains and covers, fittings, skimmers, spa jets, pumps, filters and ozone sanitation, sold under family names like AquaThunder, FlowStar, Aqua Stop, FillStar and Pipeline. HVAC365 carries a wide cross-section:
- Drain and suction covers: VGBA-marked covers and frames such as the Wave 18-inch square cover for gunite floors and walls, rated from 126 to 600 gpm.
- Channel drains: long, low-profile suction outlets that spread flow across a wider opening.
- Pool skimmers: including the FlowStar water-bonded skimmer with a flush face.
- Return fittings: adjustable floor returns, flush-mount returns with built-in water stops, three-piece directional eyeball wall inlets and remodel extenders for resurfaced pools.
- Spa jets: the AquaThunder family of jet bodies, jet barrels and therapeutic spinner inserts, with more under spa equipment.
- Pumps: the Pipeline variable-speed residential pump, a 3 hp, 230-volt single-phase unit for in-ground and above-ground pools.
The full range of AquaStar circulation parts is gathered under drains, inlets and skimmers.
At a Glance
AquaStar by the numbers
- Founded
- 2002
- Founders
- Wade Arens and Olaf Mjelde
- Headquarters
- Ventura, California
- First product category
- Pool drain covers
- Main facility
- 100,000 sq ft, opened 2023
- Made in
- USA, per the company
- President
- Todd Pieri
- Product families
- AquaThunder, FlowStar, Pipeline, Aqua Stop, FillStar
Questions
Frequently asked questions about AquaStar
Who founded AquaStar Pool Products?
AquaStar was founded in 2002 by Wade Arens, a former pool builder and competitive swimmer, and his business partner Olaf Mjelde.
Where are AquaStar pool products made?
AquaStar is based in Ventura, California, where it operates a cluster of buildings including a 100,000-square-foot facility opened in 2023. The company says its products are designed and manufactured in the USA.
What is AquaStar known for?
AquaStar began as a drain cover manufacturer and is best known for VGBA-compliant suction outlet covers. It has since expanded into fittings, skimmers, spa jets, pumps, filters and ozone systems.
What does VGBA mean on an AquaStar drain cover?
VGBA refers to the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act of 2007, which requires anti-entrapment suction outlet covers meeting ASME/ANSI A112.19.8. Each AquaStar cover lists a rated flow range that must match the drain it serves.
Who runs AquaStar today?
Todd Pieri, who joined AquaStar from Pool Corp in 2009, has been promoted to president. Co-founder Olaf Mjelde helped lead the company from its start in 2002.
What is AquaThunder?
AquaThunder is the AquaStar family of spa jet parts, including jet bodies, jet barrels and therapeutic spinner inserts.
