Salt vs. chlorine and ozone

[Texgirl]

I understand how salt works etc. My concern is equipment corrosion, rust on my patio furniture etc. I would love to have it due to my son having eczema but the above concerns are leading me to chlorine/ozone combo.

I know many many of you dont like the ozone but I have spoken to people that have it and love it, say that is does reduce shocking and does make the water softer etc.

I am still contemplating salt due to lower cost to maintain and I do love the feel of the water.

I am looking for real experiences of corrosion or not and montly or yearly cost info.

Thanks in advance!! KIM

 

[JasonLion]

A SWG costs roughly the same as using bleach/liquid chlorine, with the difference that you pay for it up front when you purchase the unit rather than slowly over time as you care for the pool. The costs are never exactly the same and can vary based on several things but the overall average costs are very similar.

I've never heard of ozone making the water feel softer. By far the most common comment we get about ozone is from people discovering that their ozone unit hasn't been working for months and they never noticed any difference.

Salt will not cause equipment corrosion. It can in rare cases cause reduced lifetimes for patio furniture, but that is both quite rare and generally only in very dry climates. Rain washes the salt off, so if you get more or less any rain this isn't an issue. The only significant corrosion risks are to some of the softer kinds of natural stone used above the water line.

 

[duraleigh]

Texgirl, please do not double post. it is confusing for everyone. I deleted your other post and added my response here.

Welcome to the forum. That will be a very nice pool.

Salt pool - Same chlorine as a chlorine pool....just delivers it differently into your pool. Less hassle, more front money. Purchase it for convenience but not for any other reason. That said, it is A BUNCH more convenient than a manually chlorinated pool. The affect on rock around the pool is usually insignificant but it seems to occur more with the type of softer rock commonly used in Texas pools.

Manually chlorinated - Least expensive to operate (but not by much)...you don't have to pay the front money but you have to pay more per month. Use this system if you like being around your pool and like learning and understanding the water chemistry.

ozonator (and others) -

but I have spoken to people that have them and they really like them.

Ask them why they like them. Chances are they have no idea or they were told they would like them and that's good enough. The water is absolutely no "softer". Soft water means removing calcium (for the most part) and ozonators don't do that.

Unless you have an unusual situation of daily extreme bather load or perhaps an indoor pool, you will waste your hard-earned money on an ozonator.........learn more here on this forum by searching and don't be duped because others "like" them.

 

[bigdav160]

Of that group, chlorine is the worst for rust. I have to store my chlorine supplies, outside, in a separate plastic patio box.
In the garage it accelerated rust on my tools and equipment. Even in the patio box, if I store something of metal, they quickly corrode.
When I had a small above-the-ground pool the support poles quickly rusted away. This process, I'm sure, was aggravated by my lack knowledge about of water chemistry and excessive dosing with chlorine.

I've had ozone on a large (250 gallon) salt water aquarium. The idea is; ozone aids in the breakdown of organics, quickly taking them to the nitrate phase of the ammonia cycle. Since many indoor pools cannot run a salt chlorine generator, the ozone reduces the amount of chlorine sanitizer needed.

I've only had the salt generator on my pool a month. But once dialed in, it has eliminated the need to check and add chlorine daily like I had been doing.

 

[linen]

Just to be sure...this is an outdoor pool?

If it is then, as everyone has said, don't waste your money on the ozone.

 

[Texgirl]

Wow, thanks everyone for the responses and help with this decision. Sorry for double posting, was an accident!

Well, I only will have flagstone coping, no other rock work, so I am not too worried about that part, it was mainly equipment lifespan and furniture etc. I am in the Houston area, so we usually get rain.

I had one builder tell me that he has seen back door knobs rusted and customer wanting him to switch them from salt... so it really had me worried.

I have had a chlorine pool before so I know what that is like! I was hoping the Ozone system would do waht they say it will and would be easier to maintain. I am going to talk with my builder about it more... maybe taking out the ozonator and changing to salt will be a wash in pirice.... Is that possible? I am getting Hayward equipment.

Thanks again!! KIM

 

[257WbyMag]

My wife and daughter both have eczema and neither of them are affected by the chlorine in our pool. Skin reactions to pool water are usually due to the water being dirty and not having enough sanitizer to control bacteria levels.