Saltwater wanted but confused about options...

[dbleblanc]

Thanks for explaining that to me. I do get the maintaining of your pool, have had issues with chlorine too high in the past but was a learning curve. I understand that and also how the pH can fix a lot of things if it is too low. I also understand how to raise and lower my pH/Alkalinity but as for the Chlorine I normally just waited for it to burn off and come down on it's own. I do understand that much. The three most important things to keep in line Chlorine, pH and Alkalinity.

I was told that I would have to use chlorine in my pool along with the Nature2, so I knew that much about it. I was just surprised when I was told to not go saltwater and highly recommended the Nature2. Then I read all this about how Nature2 is not good. It was making my head spin...

Saltwater seems to be such a "big deal" around where I live as I tend to hear about them a lot. No one I know personally, but it is more of a so and so, friend of a so and so. I hear all the benefits about having them such as it feels better, skin feels better and it is easier on swimsuits and so on. My 6 year old takes swimming lessons every year and his instructor has a saltwater IG pool and he notices a difference in that once he comes home he does not want to get in his pool because it is not saltwater. He tells me how it feels different and the saltwater does not burn his eyes. Hence the reason why I really wanted saltwater for him mostly.

The corrosion of the pool frame is a major concern and something I feel I need to clear up before buying anything. Whether we go saltwater now or later or never, it is still something I feel the need to know about. I don't want to invest and then in a few years "wish" I had bought something else.

Maybe I am reading way to much into this saltwater thing and should just go with what I know and do what I know how to do. Maybe I am expected to have something different than what I will actually have and wonder why I was so set on having it in the end.

[waterbear]

bottom line, a salt pool is a chlorine pool. The salt systems tend not to have as high a buildup of combined chlorine and the chlorine addition is automatic since it is made in the salt cell by electrolysis of the salt but in the end you have a chlorine pool, no more no less.
A PROPERLY MAINTAINED (and that is the catch) chlorine pool will not irritate the eyes, since there will be no chloramines formed.
Swimming in salt does have a slightly different feel to the water (it will be slightly more 'buoyant' and closer to the salinity of the body so it will be a bit less 'irritating' but in the end it is a chlorine pool.

I have a salt pool and would never go back to manual chlorination since, IMHO, it does make pool maintenance much easier (and I am basically lazy)

Stay away from the N2, It's really just a money maker for your dealer (I used ot sell them so I know a thing or two about this).

[Poolsean]

Not to sound like a sales pitch, but it is a product that answers her question on salt systems.

You may want to consider our newest offering from AutoPilot.
It's a low salt Chlorine Generator, that should set your mind at ease on the salt issue.
www.autopilot.com AG unit. Designed specifically for above ground pools, and to operate at 1000 ppm.

Having said that, Evan and Janet are correct, a properly maintained pool will not have the effects that you're looking to get as a result of adding a chlorine generator. With a salt system, you can still have those effects if you don't maintain your pool properly!

How frequently are you adding chlorine/chemicals? Weekly, as most people do? Perhaps adding smaller dosage, more frequently, will help with the high chlorine swings.

However, it all starts out with making sure your water chemistry is balanced and properly maintained....key word being maintained.