nature2 inline vs saltwater?

[bryan4]

Hi all,

Im Bryan from Pearland, Tx. Im guessing the opinions to this question are buried somewhere within this board, but i cant seem to find it.... We are in planning phase of a new pool, and the builder we have chosen has come HIGHLY recommended. I work with about 10 people who ALL either have built a saltwater pool, or who have converted from chlorine pools... The builder seems VERY adamant that we "dont want that" and keeps trying to walk us into this automatic chlorinator with nature2 water purifier system...... As far as corrosion issues, we have heard that flagstone may have issues with salt systems, but we dont plan on using flagstone.... I grew up with chlorine pools, and was on swim team for years, and dealt with hair, skin, eye irritation issues with chlorine.... If i can avoid that for my children id like to... Thank you so much in advance for any advice you can give me on this topic!


Bryan---Tx

 

[JasonLion]

Chlorine has a bad rap. With a little attention every day (or with a SWG less often) a chlorine pool won't have any of the problems you describe. I strongly recommend a salt system (SWG), they have the fewest problems and typically require the least attention.

Nature2 requires chlorine, as do all of the alternative systems except for Baquacil and Bromine. They don't tend to mention that, but they do require chlorine. Nature2 is a mineral system (which means copper and silver). Metals tend to cause stains unless you are very careful with the PH. And since they require chlorine anyway, it is much simpler (and less expensive) to go with chlorine only. Baquacil works great the first year and after that problems mount. Bromine doesn't work outdoors.

 

[donaldm823]

Hi all,

Im Bryan from Pearland, Tx. Im guessing the opinions to this question are buried somewhere within this board, but i cant seem to find it.... We are in planning phase of a new pool, and the builder we have chosen has come HIGHLY recommended. I work with about 10 people who ALL either have built a saltwater pool, or who have converted from chlorine pools... The builder seems VERY adamant that we "dont want that" and keeps trying to walk us into this automatic chlorinator with nature2 water purifier system...... As far as corrosion issues, we have heard that flagstone may have issues with salt systems, but we dont plan on using flagstone.... I grew up with chlorine pools, and was on swim team for years, and dealt with hair, skin, eye irritation issues with chlorine.... If i can avoid that for my children id like to... Thank you so much in advance for any advice you can give me on this topic!


Bryan---Tx

Bryan-I have a 2yr old in ground concrete pool with white plaster-and concrete deck around the coping. Pool builder built it with the NAture 2 system and using TRI tabs in floaters since I have a gas heater for the pool (the autofeeders may allow some chlorine migration back to the heater degrading the heater core quickly). This year (my second year), I shifted to the BBB system(liquid chlorine adds) and last month I further shifted to a SWG (Autopilot Digital) and took the NAture 2 cartridge out of its cannister. We love the SWG system-chlorine control is very easy and stable and, the yellow-orange stains that were developing on the pool bottom are starting to fade-so I am convinced the NAture 2 system was causing stains. ALso, I did have one algae breakout this year BEFORE I shifted to the SWG. Never saw the green, but my chlorine inventory went to 0ppm overnight, and took me some hefty chlorox adds to restore-in the meantime, the water did get cloudy. Synopsis is that the NAture 2 system may work for normal days, but for the one day of rain or heavy chlorine draw-it may not adequately prevent the algae due to the low inventory of chlorine available. It also costs you a $100.00 cartridge each 6 months. I also am very careful with balancing the water and maintaining pH in band (7.4 to 7.7), so the stains were coming from the NAture 2 even with controlled pH and water balanced.

Recommendation-go with the SWG, and save that $100.00 per 6 months cost of the cartridge. (SWG will cost you in the $2000.00 range if installed by a retailer). The BBB method of chlorine is the only way to go, and the salt water generator just generates chlorine from salt instead of adding liquid chlorine (Chlorox) by hand (I was using a 1.4 gal jug every 2 days with chlorine in the 1.0ppm range per Nature2). I now keep chlorine in the 2.5 to 3.5ppm range and have been very happy. As for the term "salt water pools", it is a misnomer. Salt level is 3000ppm where as the ocean is 35,000ppm. You can not even detect there is salt in my pool from taste-but the water does feel very "silky" like soft water feels. I have not seen any corrosion issues and have not had to add any salt in the past month (besides a bag of salt is cheap-even the expensive pool salt is only $10.00 for a 50lb bag that will easily get you thru the summer season)

 

[crazycanuck]

An SWG (salt) system does not replace chlorine, it merely uses salt in the water to produce chlorine. So you still have chlorine in your water but from a different source. The softness you feel is more than likely from the salt in the water... and people report less of the "chlorine smell" because the SWG is very good at providing a constant amount of chlorine on a daily basis which some pool owners have problems doing. Many SWG owners do not need to shock their pools.

 

[bryan4]

Thanks so much for your input on this decision.... We have decided to go with swg pool... I can always pay to have it switched over to something else down the road if for some reason we dont like it or have problems i suppose... So glad i found this forum for pool owners, and look forward to using it in the future. THANKS again!

 

[DaveNJ]

After you get the water balanced out and the system dialed in you will be amazed. I still test the water frequently, but only add a little acid every week to lower ph. For me the salt system was a good choice.