I will grant that the upfront costs of installing a swg are high but the ease of maintenance once installed is priceless. My pool practically takes care of itself. The trick is a GOOD test kit and PROPER water balance. For a SWG I have found that keeping the salt at recommended level or slightly above, CYA at MAXIMUM recommended level (usually 80 or 100 ppm), FC at 3-5 ppm, pH at 7.6 (and not lower!), uncorrected TA at 60-80 ppm, CH 300-350 (for plaster and fiberglass, not an issue for vinyl as long as it's at least 100- 150), and finally, adding borates to 30-50 ppm makes for a very stable and easily maintained pool. I have used these numbers in my own pool and in the pools of my customers (when I was working in the industry) with great success. There are posts in the China Shop (and on some other forums that I can no longer support) that document and support these findings.

Hope this helps.