What are the must have pool upgrades?

[Patrick_B]

I totally disagree. The UV lamp will increase chlorine usage and require the SWG to produce more to maintain adequate FC levels. And you can leave a SWG pool for much longer than a week without a problem.
The UV systems are just an added cost which add virtually no value to an outdoor low-use residential pool.

I agree, Don't waste your money on UV system. Jason outlines it perfectly.

Brushpup, I agree with you 100%. I love me VS pump! The thing is downright fun!

Agreed! And it's saving me money on electric running at lower speed the whole time freeze protection kicks in. Just a little is is all I need for staying safe. I also love how quiet these pumps are, especially on lower speeds.

 

[chem geek]

Against the common opinion of most of the people here I would recommend to you the installation of a UV bactericidal lamp in series with the pool filter. This cannot be considered a viable sanitation system since it cannot sterilize anything that do not pass through the lamp, but is a great thing to have if you are not there to service the pool. If you have a SWG system, than this pool can be left unattended for about one week, but if you have longer holidays, than a UV lamp will keep the water free of algae and you will have to clean only the pool walls. Great backup.

Killing algae that slowly circulates to a UV or ozone system would only work if such growth were relatively slow and if the algae was not stuck on surfaces. There was a user on The PoolForum who swore in this long thread that their ozonator prevented algae growth and they intentionally kept a very low active chlorine level (below our recommendations) because his wife wanted no trace/sense of a chlorinated pool.

I had him do an experiment where we added some fertilizer to the pool to get the phoshpates up and sure enough his ozonator was no longer able to prevent algae growth. His only solution at his "too low" active chlorine levels (FC/CYA ratio) was to use a phosphate remover to get his phosphates back down. Of course none of these extra products or methods are necessary if one maintains a proper chlorine level. As you point out, we're only talking about insurance if one believes they cannot always maintain a chlorine level. Even if they don't, it's not very hard to get a pool back into decent shape if it hasn't been let go for too long.

If you want backup from algae growth in case you don't maintain your chlorine levels, then you need to us an algaecide or phosphate remover. If one finds that a UV or ozone system is able to prevent algae growth when too little or no chlorine is present, it just means that one is lucky to have a pool relatively poor in algae nutrients.

 

[MarianParoo]

Have to agree. I have an auto-cover too. Expensive, but keeping the pool clean during winds, easy season open/close, safety, critter-blocker, hmmmm, reducing FC loss, sure I am missing something, but it is a nice upgrade!

 

[neil.corrigan12]

I want to give our pool a whole new look. I'm considering on be adding LED fixture to the pool. Perhaps a new waterline tile too to improve the look of the pool if the budget would allow it.