Quote Originally Posted by sw_stupid
Does anyone know if the SWC cells have a life span? Will they last and last if properly cleaned? Or do they kinda start wearing down after a while?
Yes they do have a life span. The higher the level they are set for, the shorter the lifespan. That's the benefit of shocking with bleach. It extends the SWC life.

Everyone said pools were a lot of work and they hated having them and I didn’t know how they felt until now. Hopefully, I can get everything back in order (with your help) and enjoy this thing again. Another question: (I’ll have them all asked eventually)
2 or 3 minutes a day is all it takes when you stay on top of it.

Is calcium hardness and calcium the same thing? I saw where Ben said not to worry about calcium in a liner pool. I understand why, but is that the same thing as calcium hardness? I am always adding that stuff – they say it’s our local water.
Calcium hardness is a measure of the amount of calcium in your pool.

Anyone here use a sand filter? I am just wondering how often the sand gets changed. The local pool store said I probably have algae growing in the filter. This doesn’t make sense to me because the algaecide/chlorine/whatever flows through the filter so it should kill it.
The sand will last a very long time unless you add weird things to the pool. You are right that the algae in the filter thing doesn't make sense. Two things work against it: One is the chlorine circulating through it. Second is the lack of sunlight inside the filter.

Thanks again – this place is great,
Brad
Yes it is.