Ionizer

[Tattooed Nurse]

We are setting up our pool and looking to put a power ionizer hybrid pool system in. I have read pros and cons. My understanding is that helps to control algae by sanitizing the water with copper and silver. I really like this idea since we have grandkids and a dog that loves to swim. Reading that it also stains. What are the expert opinions on this system and has anyone been using this long term? Thank you in advance for your advice and opinions.

 

[JohnT]

Welcome to TFP!

An ionizer is a waste of money. It may help with algae, but it doesn’t sanitize the pool. A properly sanitized pool won’t have algae, so there is no need for an ionizer. And it can stain pool surfaces and blond hair.

Using an ionizer doesn’t change in any way the amount of chlorine you need in the pool. Get a SWCG and forget the ionizer.

 

[Newdude]

Hey Kary and Welocme !!

Unless it deploys a tent over the pool, the sun will burn off 4 or even 5 FC a day this time of year in TX. That's your battle with sanitary water. Saying you need any less FC than the sun will burn off is a bold faced lie, and the ionizer does nothing for that.

The industry is fixated on algae control which just so happens to be very profitable. It's SO much easier (and cheaper) to not have algae that needs controlling.

 

[Tattooed Nurse]

Welcome to TFP!

An ionizer is a waste of money. It may help with algae, but it doesn’t sanitize the pool. A properly sanitized pool won’t have algae, so there is no need for an ionizer. And it can stain pool surfaces and blond hair.

Using an ionizer doesn’t change in any way the amount of chlorine you need in the pool. Get a SWCG and forget the ionizer.

I'm very new to this and not sure what a SWCG is but I will look it up. Thank you for your advice! Very much appreciated!!

 

[Tattooed Nurse]

I'm very new to this and not sure what a SWCG is but I will look it up. Thank you for your advice! Very much appreciated!!

Just looked it up. So we are not setting up a saltwater pool. Can SWCG still be used if we are not setting up a saltwater pool?

 

[Newdude]

So we are not setting up a saltwater pool.

Why not ? They're amazing. It simply uses a slightly elevated salinity level (10% of seawater, compared to about 5% using bleach) to produce your daily chlorine for you. For pools above 10k gallons or so it's cheaper than using bleach in the long run and for larger pools it much cheaper. The convienence of not lugging jugs from the store simply cannot be overstated. My SWG makes the equivalaent of 1000 gallons of bleach. That's a ton of lugging I'll never do.

 

[Aubie99]

You're in good hands here with all the knowledge. SWG is the only way to go in my opinion. You can convert any pool (maybe with exception of commercial pools) to a SWG. If you are diligent with the testing of your pool water, you should only ever need to add minimal chemicals (salt, cya, acid, baking soda) to keep water levels in check. Once you get the hang of it, it's a pretty much set it and forget it setup (but don't get lax on your testing). Big rain events and big pool parties will have me testing more frequently to make sure pool chemistry doesn't get away from me.

 

[TinFoilHat]

All you need to add is a few bags of salt to the level up to what the cell requires and voila!, you almost have chlorine.

 

[Tattooed Nurse]

Thank you all! So we have decided to setup a salt pool. Anyone have any recommendations for the best/top of the line SWCG ?
Pool brand:Trevi
Size: 12x24x54
Gallons: 10,000
Surface: Vinyl

 

[Orion7319]

I think most people here would recommend a circupool salt water system. I think the consensus is they are the best bang for your buck. I can’t speak to them myself, as I have a Hayward Aquarite 900. It’s been great and hasn’t given me any trouble in the 5 years I’ve owned it (probably just jinxed myself with that one) and I run it 24/7.

Welcome to CircuPool - Salt Water Pool Systems - Chlorine Generators - Energy Efficient Pumps - Advanced Filtration

www.circupool.com

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

The CircuPool RJ series is pretty popular here. They have a decent 7-year prorated warranty even with DIY installs. The vendor stands behind the product and provides good customer service and support. I would buy one again after being an owner for over 3 years.

Check out the link below for the RJ-20. You can bump up to the RJ-30 for an additional $10. The last time I purchased from the vendor they did not charge sales tax.

CircuPool RJ-20 PLUS Saltwater Chlorinator | Discount Salt Pool

www.discountsaltpool.com

 

[Tattooed Nurse]

I think most people here would recommend a circupool salt water system. I think the consensus is they are the best bang for your buck. I can’t speak to them myself, as I have a Hayward Aquarite 900. It’s been great and hasn’t given me any trouble in the 5 years I’ve owned it (probably just jinxed myself with that one) and I run it 24/7.

Welcome to CircuPool - Salt Water Pool Systems - Chlorine Generators - Energy Efficient Pumps - Advanced Filtration

www.circupool.com

We are looking at both circupool and Hayward. Did you get your SWCG @ 2 X your pool capacity?

 

[PoolStored]

We are looking at both circupool and Hayward. Did you get your SWCG @ 2 X your pool capacity?

We recommend it. I would say the overwhelming majority of people that have decided to get an SWCG, based on advice from TFP, have gotten one that is at least 2x.

 

[Orion7319]

We are looking at both circupool and Hayward. Did you get your SWCG @ 2 X your pool capacity?

Well it’s more capacity, then rated for my pool. I have the T-cel 940 which is longer lasting and the more durable version of their largest cell the t-15. I can’t really go bigger than this. You can’t buy a 940 cell online or directly however. They are only available to certified installers. Every now and then one will pop up on eBay. Usually I tend to do things myself, however when we got the house five years ago I was recovering from a completely blown disk in my lower back from a car wreck. I went with the 940 because I had to have someone else install it anyway. If I was doing a DIY I and installing a complete system myself, I would probably go with Circupool. As it is when the 940 goes, if I can’t get one on eBay, I’ll just replace it with a T-15.

 

[sande005]

When shopping - bigger can be better, but if going really extreme, can be harder to regulate. Look for one that allows you to control the amount generated in smaller steps. My Circupool RJ45+ does it in 5% increments. Some of their other models, and other brands, do it in 10% or 20% increments, which could mean you fiddle with it every few days or a week going from too little to too much. It can only be used when the pump is running, so that factors in to the "how much" balancing act. Running the pump for half a day with it at 100% is the same as setting the SWCG to be at 50% strength for a whole day. So if you do end up with one with bigger steps, the amount of time running the pump can help fine tune the end result.
Mine is about 2x the recommended capacity, and I do run it at about 40-50% 24/7. Works out fine, and in theory it should last 2 times longer than a smaller one. I do kind of wish I had gone 3x bigger, but at the time their "deal" was different...and except for even longer life, there is really no other reason to desire it. There is a point where it would be lasting longer than I do!
What's bad about having one? Not much. I can taste the salt, no one else has noticed when asked. Day after day I look at the crystal clear pool, with nothing to do. And spend very little on pool chemical stuff.

 

[Tattooed Nurse]

Well it’s more capacity, then rated for my pool. I have the T-cel 940 which is longer lasting and the more durable version of their largest cell the t-15. I can’t really go bigger than this. You can’t buy a 940 cell online or directly however. They are only available to certified installers. Every now and then one will pop up on eBay. Usually I tend to do things myself, however when we got the house five years ago I was recovering from a completely blown disk in my lower back from a car wreck. I went with the 940 because I had to have someone else install it anyway. If I was doing a DIY I and installing a complete system myself, I would probably go with Circupool. As it is when the 940 goes, if I can’t get one on eBay, I’ll just replace it with a T-15.

Good to know! Thank you!

 

[Tattooed Nurse]

When shopping - bigger can be better, but if going really extreme, can be harder to regulate. Look for one that allows you to control the amount generated in smaller steps. My Circupool RJ45+ does it in 5% increments. Some of their other models, and other brands, do it in 10% or 20% increments, which could mean you fiddle with it every few days or a week going from too little to too much. It can only be used when the pump is running, so that factors in to the "how much" balancing act. Running the pump for half a day with it at 100% is the same as setting the SWCG to be at 50% strength for a whole day. So if you do end up with one with bigger steps, the amount of time running the pump can help fine tune the end result.
Mine is about 2x the recommended capacity, and I do run it at about 40-50% 24/7. Works out fine, and in theory it should last 2 times longer than a smaller one. I do kind of wish I had gone 3x bigger, but at the time their "deal" was different...and except for even longer life, there is really no other reason to desire it. There is a point where it would be lasting longer than I do!
What's bad about having one? Not much. I can taste the salt, no one else has noticed when asked. Day after day I look at the crystal clear pool, with nothing to do. And spend very little on pool chemical stuff.

Thank you for responding. Have never had a pool much less a saltwater pool. From all of my research, sounds like salt is the best option. Guess I will learn as I go. Testing won't really be a new learning curve per say because I have a hot tub and a saltwater aquarium so I am use to testing.

 

[Orion7319]

Thank you for responding. Have never had a pool much less a saltwater pool. From all of my research, sounds like salt is the best option. Guess I will learn as I go. Testing won't really be a new learning curve per se because I have a hot tub and a saltwater aquarium so I am use to testing.

If you can manage a saltwater aquarium, you can manage a pool. About 1000x easier. My last aquarium was a Discus setup. Discus, Rams and a few angle fish. I have had brackish tanks, and reef tanks as well.
Just get one of the recommended test kits here and download the pool math app. Also listen to people here, not the pool stores. What convinced me the people here know what they are doing is that there recommendations for chemical targets (other then those dealing with chlorine obviously)were inline with what I already knew. The pool store will have you adding tons of their special expensive baking soda trying to hit a TA of 120- 150 and then selling their expensive PH down to try and hit a PH of 7.5 (as 1 example of their recommendations).

 

[Tattooed Nurse]

If you can manage a saltwater aquarium, you can manage a pool. About 1000x easier. My last aquarium was a Discus setup. Discus, Rams and a few angle fish. I have had brackish tanks, and reef tanks as well.
Just get one of the recommended test kits here and download the pool math app. Also listen to people here, not the pool stores. What convinced me the people here know what they are doing is that there recommendations for chemical targets (other then those dealing with chlorine obviously)were inline with what I already knew. The pool store will have you adding tons of their special expensive baking soda trying to hit a TA of 120- 150 and then selling their expensive PH down to try and hit a PH of 7.5 (as 1 example of their recommendations).

Good to know it will be easier to manage than a reef tank! Tank has been up for 4 years and I haven't done a water change in 3 years by using the Reef Moonshiner Method. Occasionally if the salinity gets low, I just place a glass of reef salt in the refugium and check it daily until it reaches target then take the glass of salt out. Anyway, this isn't about aquariums. Thanks for your advice and I will start reading on the forums here to learn more about the saltwater pools. We won't be able to set it up until the end of August because we are waiting for the concrete slab to cure.

 

[Orion7319]

Good to know it will be easier to manage than a reef tank! Tank has been up for 4 years and I haven't done a water change in 3 years by using the Reef Moonshiner Method. Occasionally if the salinity gets low, I just place a glass of reef salt in the refugium and check it daily until it reaches target then take the glass of salt out. Anyway, this isn't about aquariums. Thanks for your advice and I will start reading on the forums here to learn more about the saltwater pools. We won't be able to set it up until the end of August because we are waiting for the concrete slab to cure.

I had to lookup the reef moonshiner method. Last time I had a reef tank was probably 1996 or so. Lots has obviously changed. Looking at their site though I see that basically it’s pretty analogous to what TFP is all about for pools (other then TFP sells nothing)Maintaining a pool is going to be so easy for you!