Wes,
I have three saltwater pools... I have had zero problems with all of them... I would just as soon fill them in, rather than sanitize with anything else...
In the 19 combined years I have had these pools, I have never had algae bloom.. I usually don't even answer SLAM questions, as I have zero experience performing a SLAM...
If I were to build another 100 pools, they would all be saltwater pools.
To make a saltwater pool work the best, there are several things that have to happen...
1. Make sure the salt cell is rated for at least 2 x the volume of the pool. This is because cells are rated when running at 100% output and 24/7. Making the cell larger allows you to run the cell at a lower output.
2. Salt pools are so easy to take care of, owners sometimes become complacent and forget all about keeping their water balanced.. This often leads to disappointing results.. No matter what kind of pool you have, you still must routinely test to make sure your water stays balanced...
3. You should expect that you will need to run your pump longer so that the salt cell can generate the amount of chlorine your pool needs to operate. Running longer is more costly with a single speed pump, so a VS or 2-speed pump, is almost mandatory if going with a saltwater pool.
4. A general lack of understanding about how salt systems work often leads to wrongly assuming that the salt system has failed, when most of the time it is simply operator error that is the problem, and not the salt system.. A common example is algae... If you let your FC level get too low, for too long, your pool will get an algae bloom.. Your SWCG can not generate more chlorine that an algae bloom can consume.. Many home owners assume their cell is bad, when in truth, the cell is fine and the problem is how the home owner is attacking the algae problem.
That said, if you follow the TFP pool care process, you will never get algae and you will never have to add weekly bags of "shock" or put any other magic pool store potions into your pool... EVER!
Go SWCG or go home and fill that hole in...
Thanks,
Jim R.