Pool Chlorination (how much, home, neighborhood)

[A Father]

I am in the process of buying a pool and would like to get water features etc: In order to do what I want and stay in my price range I will have to leave off the saltwater system and or the ozone system and use the chlorine tablets. I have heard good things about both and I was told I could add them later I'm sure if I don't get one now I may never get a system at all. My question is are the tablets good enough am I making a mystake by not getting one of them and leaving off water features, pavers etc: or do most people in the valley just use the chlorine tablets alone and are happy with that. I will take as much feedback as I can get

Thank You

[Ponderosa]

Most people, including me, manually chlorinate. The sanitizing chemical that results is the same either way, so anything you read about not bleaching your clothes, hair, not smelling etc, is pure bull. The sodium in the water (from salt) makes the water feel "softer" in salt pools, though, and that is nice.

The big downside to manual is that you have to stay on top of it. You put tablets in the skimmer (they say not to but I have done it for a couple decades now without adverse consequences). But if you forget, you can get algae blooms overnight. Also, when going on vacation, you need to think about how you are going to maintain things. In my neighborhood we take care of each other's pools.

You can add a chlorinator for about 700 bucks and a couple hours of work later on. Have your pool builder leave enough pipe exposed in the return line that you can cut it and put a chlorinator inline (about a foot). You need an a/c source (either 110 or 220) and timer but that should be there for the pump. You just cut the line, put in the chlorinator, hookup the ac, drain the pool (don't have to but you need to do that periodically to keep the calcium down), add some salt, and turn everything on.

Curious, how much does a pool builder want to do a chlorinator?

I would recommend that you get the automatic water leveler even though you get gouged for it (it's basically a toilet float in hollowed out area under the deck). But it is not something that you can easily DIY later. That's the other issue with leaving the pool. Pools loose over a 1/4 of water a day here in summer. The downside to the auto water level is you get a bathtub ring on the tile because the water is always at the same level and evaporates from there leaving the salts behind.

[Boatdrinks]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Pools loose over a 1/4 of water a day here in summer.

I'm curious about this, b/c before we got a pool people told me that water evaporates quickly from pools here. However, we've not had to add water to our pool since we had it built a little over a year ago. It's in our south facing backyard, dark colored pebble tec, and salt water system. Just wondering if any of those factors might effect water evaporation.

[Boatdrinks]

We have a salt water pool which I love and it's very low maintenance. We use tablets in our fountain in the front yard. Certainly there's a big difference between a fountain and a pool, so not sure if my opinion really matters, but we do have a harder time maintaining the fountain water.

For us, lower maintenance on our pool was a higher priority then rock water falls, pavers, etc. We didn't want the stress of monitoring and adding chemicals frequently and we didn't really care too much about water features so we invested in the salt water system and in ground cleaning system. We've been very happy with our choice. However, if you're home more, have the time and don't mind it, I'm sure the tablets would work fine. I would approach it by doing everything that can't be added later if you change your mind.

Also, many people use pool services here - maybe an option for you if you travel and need chlorine added, etc. Not sure how much they cost.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by Boatdrinks

I'm curious about this, b/c before we got a pool people told me that water evaporates quickly from pools here. However, we've not had to add water to our pool since we had it built a little over a year ago. It's in our south facing backyard, dark colored pebble tec, and salt water system. Just wondering if any of those factors might effect water evaporation.

I meant 1/4 inch. Anyway, if you have not added water then you have an automatic water leveler. The pool would be bone dry otherwise!

[BurtsBees]

Always add chlorine at night when the sun is down, otherwise its like pouring it down the drain. The sun eats it right up.

[Boatdrinks]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

I meant 1/4 inch. Anyway, if you have not added water then you have an automatic water leveler. The pool would be bone dry otherwise!

Oh! Well that explains it!! I guess I just publicized my pool engineering ignorance, huh

[Dazgaz]

Just had a pool leveler go wrong on me and ended up with a very large swimming pool in my back yard, along with a very large water bill :-( Make sure you find out where your leveler is and keep it maintained. I will in future.

[A Father]

It seems like you have to spend time on the pool with a system or without. I have an in ground cleaning system. I read that the longer you ran the pump along with the chlorine tablets your pool should stay clean and clear. I'm just wondering if I have the in ground system is their any other advantage to having a salt system other than the water feeling better.I would like to hear from anyone with the ozone system also. As you can tell I am leaning toward not getting anything in order to get my water features I just want to make sure it is not a stupid move. Thanks for the feedback

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by A Father

It seems like you have to spend time on the pool with a system or without. I have an in ground cleaning system. I read that the longer you ran the pump along with the chlorine tablets your pool should stay clean and clear. I'm just wondering if I have the in ground system is their any other advantage to having a salt system other than the water feeling better.I would like to hear from anyone with the ozone system also. As you can tell I am leaning toward not getting anything in order to get my water features I just want to make sure it is not a stupid move. Thanks for the feedback

To have a "salt system", you just add several bags of salt to the water when you filll. Salt water is required for the chlorine generator. You could add salt even without a chlorinator if you like the "feel".