I have friends and neighbors which just installed a new pool. Their pool is ~30k gal, SWCG, IGVL, cartridge filter. They are using a Maytronics robot cleaner. They have a water knife water feature.
I inherited an existing pool ~3 years ago when we bought our home. I have been using the methods and suggestions from this forum during that time to manage my pool.
In talking with my neighbors, they've explained that their pool installer told them they don't have to balance their pool. Just add salt when the reading on the control module (Hayward AquaPro) gets down below 3000ppm. I, being a nosy neighbor, tested their water. When I tested it, the pool had been open for a week. There was no Cl, no CYA, and CH and TA were essentially a match to the city water they used to fill, both low at TA of 35 and CH at 75. Their pH was 7.5 and salt was at 3100. I told them they had no Cl and that that is what sanitizes the pool. They are new pool owners and I was concerned that their installer had disappeared when he cashed their check. I even took a sample to the local pool store and had them test it, and there findings matched mine. I offered to help them balance their pool. They called the installer and he told them "I don't put any of that stuff in my pool. I've been doing pools for 25 years and all that stuff is just a waste of money. As long as you have salt and your pH is right you won't ever have any problems." My friends, who mind you have all of three weeks of experience with a pool, kind of looked at me like I was the idiot for "buying into pool balancing." Their response to no Cl which apparently was an issue of great enough significance to actually address was turning the SWCG up to 85%.
My questions are: Are they right? Is all the other stuff a waste of time and money? Is their pool safe for my kids to swim in? What will happen with their pool?
I inherited an existing pool ~3 years ago when we bought our home. I have been using the methods and suggestions from this forum during that time to manage my pool.
In talking with my neighbors, they've explained that their pool installer told them they don't have to balance their pool. Just add salt when the reading on the control module (Hayward AquaPro) gets down below 3000ppm. I, being a nosy neighbor, tested their water. When I tested it, the pool had been open for a week. There was no Cl, no CYA, and CH and TA were essentially a match to the city water they used to fill, both low at TA of 35 and CH at 75. Their pH was 7.5 and salt was at 3100. I told them they had no Cl and that that is what sanitizes the pool. They are new pool owners and I was concerned that their installer had disappeared when he cashed their check. I even took a sample to the local pool store and had them test it, and there findings matched mine. I offered to help them balance their pool. They called the installer and he told them "I don't put any of that stuff in my pool. I've been doing pools for 25 years and all that stuff is just a waste of money. As long as you have salt and your pH is right you won't ever have any problems." My friends, who mind you have all of three weeks of experience with a pool, kind of looked at me like I was the idiot for "buying into pool balancing." Their response to no Cl which apparently was an issue of great enough significance to actually address was turning the SWCG up to 85%.
My questions are: Are they right? Is all the other stuff a waste of time and money? Is their pool safe for my kids to swim in? What will happen with their pool?