Salt vs. ozone+UV with chlorine

[Sippmanjr]

Hi all,

I am looking for some information. I am very new and about to break ground on my pool. I have received many different opinions and all seem very biased. I am trying to decide between the paramount ozone+ UV supplemented by chlorine or a salt chlorination system. I know many factors apply so I will provide location and hardscape

southern california
stacked natural flagstone (not manufactured stone)
integral colored concrete, with integral colored pour in place coping
tear drop spa with flowing over flagstone

here is what I have heard. Many pool services say they only like chlorine. I have done research and found that the reason they recommend chlorine is because they actually make money on providing and charging for chlorine . I like the way salt feels on the skin for sure but will it damage my hardscape . When people say it will damage is this over 5 years or 20?

i am not a fan of full chorine because my kids swim year around and don't want the ill effects. I know salt creates chlorine but it is a purer for right?

Will the paramount ozone +UV system help greatly reduce the chlorine use to the point where you don't smell or feel it on your skin like a normal chorine pool? The website says it reduce chlorine use by 70% but I don't know if I buy that. Someone had replied that sun is the key factor in eating away chlorine so the reduction in chorine will not happen in an outdoor pool only indoor. Is this true?

Thank you you all for your help , I have spent many hours researching both these methods and cannot come up with an answer.

 

[tim5055]

Welcome to TFP!!

While the sales folks will sell you ozone/UV systems and tell you you can use less chlorine they are being less than fully truthful. You can use less but your pool is going to be susceptible to algae and may not be properly sanitized.

The chlorine from a salt water system is no more pure or any different than the chlorine you get from a pool store or even from a bottle of household bleach.

i am not a fan of full chlorine because my kids swim year around and don't want the ill effects.

I'm not sure how to answer this because you obviously have been told by sales people that chlorine is bad in some way.... It's not.

How much Pool School have you read? Start with these:
ABCs of Water Chemistry
Recommended Pool Chemicals
How to Chlorinate Your Pool

 

[Sippmanjr]

Ozone and UV sanitization together (paramount)

Hi all,

Many people on here seem to have a very negative opinion on ozone and uv sanitizer a for residential pools. None of them seem to have actually used a system though. I am in Southern California and many people here seem to have trouble with salt water and it deteriorating natural stone. We are using flagstone and lots of natural stone for veneer. Does anyone have experience with these systems? They say you need to use very little chlorine and that is what I'm looking for . Being in Southern California the kids swim A LOT and other chlorine pools they swim in seem to dry out hair and skin. Thank you for your help , hopefully someone has used this system or something close

 

[pooldv]

Re: Ozone and UV sanitization together (paramount)

I haven't used one of these systems. The reason most folks here don't use them is because they are familiar with them and they do understand them. Don't mistake lack of doing or using something with not understanding it and what it does or does not do. I'm sure you can think of lots of things that you don't use for very good reasons.

Here is what I do know if you maintain enough chlorine in your pool to kill bacteria, viruses and pathogens that it will also kill algae. This makes any alternative sanitizer systems redundant. Most alternative sanitizer systems do not actually sanitize the pool at all. Or if they do only while they are running and only at the equipment and there is no residual killing/sanitation in the pool where the people are swimming.

Maintaining chlorine above minimum for your CYA will kill bacteria, viruses, pathogens and algae at a sufficient rate to assure that person to person disease transmission is prevented. [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]

More here on UV, ozone and others, Alternative sanitizers and pools--The Truth!!