I have a 14' Intex pool that holds about 2,800 gallons.

My nieghbor and I were discussing the whole salt in the pool thing and he has a water softener so he gave me a partial bag of salt he had - according to my bathroom scale it had 37 pounds in it. It was "solar salt" and the granules felt sharp so I disolved the salt a little at a time in a bucket with pool water and then poured it in. My family hasn't noticed the difference. There might be a slight taste if you get some pool water in your mouth, but that's about it. We really haven't noticed the softer feel, etc..

It's cheap and easy to do so if you're curious go for it. I don't regret doing it, but I doubt I'll do it next year.

/Steve