Swimming Pool options

[Jstpssng]

Bubblers are fine for smaller volumes, but they don't really keep it clean. I have a smaller pond next to the pool with a waterfall that creates bubbles and it's still green. I don't mind it there since the goldfish eat the algae. He might be able to do something that pushes more air, but at what cost?

The place that I referred to is a farm pond, so he must be doing something different than what you describe.

 

[beowulf]

We have an above ground swimming pool and use chlorine, so don't know much about your issue, but for what it is worth:

We also have about an 800 gallon (guestimate) koi pond which was always so green we could not see the fish. We bought a filter specifically made for ponds and our water is clear. The filter we have has sizes for 5000 gallon and 10,000 ponds. It is not perfect but it is the best it has ever been, at least for the fish. I was also going to add a UV light hook up but the filter alone cleaned it up sufficiently for our purposes. So, anyway, I would think that a really good filtering system, perhaps a UV light system (safe??), and perhaps a very small amount of chlorine that is determined to be safe.

Again, I don't know much about your issue, so my advice may not be that useful.

 

[MossRoad]

Just to be clear, a salt water pool is chlorine. The salt water chlorine generator turns the dissolved salt into sodium hypochlorite. Sodium hypochlorite is the main ingredient in chlorine bleach.

We've had an above ground pool for about 20 years.

We started with a normal chlorine pool. Our oldest child developed a reaction to chlorine. We switched to Baquacil for about 10 years. It worked fine, but was expensive and prone to algae problems a couple times a year, and the water had a metallic taste.

Kid got less sensitive to chlorine, and we switched to a salt water pool for about 8 years, using a cheap salt water chlorine generator. Works great (until it died last year). We are back to just adding a jug of 10% sodium hypochlorite when the numbers drop, and 2 oz of algaecide once a week.

To answer your questions about salt and corrosion, YES! Cheap stainless steel bolts will corrode lightly. Steel bolts under pool caps, hose clamps, metal hardware on steps/ladders, etc... can get corroded from the salt. Even if they never get wet, they can get corroded. The pump will get corroded as well if it's not made for salt water. The metal rail under an above ground pool sidewalls will corrode. Metal sidewalls will corrode if the paint gets scratched. The areas around the skimmer pass-through and return line, which are not normally painted on the fine cut edge will corrode. Basically, anything metal that is not painted will corrode.

Hope that helps with some of your questions.

 

[MossRoad]

And as others have mentioned, a really, really good place to start is here:

Home - Trouble Free Pool | Trouble Free Pool

Pool School - Trouble Free Pool | Trouble Free Pool

Great resource. The have a lot of topics, there's a forum ( but use the search before joining and asking, as members can get a bit cranky on repetitive questions).

 

[JamesHW]

Eddie, I would be tempted to investigate what it would take to create a natural pond or something as close to one as possible using a pump to aerate the pool. Of course annual maintenance costs need to be considered. I havee seen different calculations on how expensive aerating a set amount of water 24/7 would be for different setups. For me, if the annual electric costs were low enough it is something I would consider as an alternate to regular chemical treatment. I mean, if it took $20 a month cost to provide a clean pool for the doggos to frolic in I would probably go that way if the up front costs were not too high.

 

[riptides]

Eddie,

Whats the construction material you used for the pool? Natural or man made? Tiles, glass, porcelain do fine in saltwater pools.

Filtration systems are the key to any pools blissful operations. Make sure you have a quality saltwater pump and you will be fine.

 

[dodge man]

I hate to say it you need to change her way of thinking. Tap water probably has roughly the same amount of chlorine that you would have in the pool. If you control it they won’t be hurt. I can see in the pics it’s a standard pool setup, skimmer and filter. We had a pool for several years and the only time I had problems was when I didn’t pay attention to the chlorine level. I just used the cheap test strips but you can get test kits that are better. I know you are looking for an alternative but I’m not sure if a good one exists or not.

 

[riptides]

You have a pool, get a real test kit.

As previous posters have noted, and those pool sites referenced - *highly* recommend.

 

[MossRoad]

CDC says chlorine up to 4ppm is safe for drinking.

Chlorine in a swimming pool should stay between 1 and 3 ppm.

 

[MossRoad]

In all reality, I'd bet the dog drinking pool water would have less side effects than a dog drinking a bunch of salt water. Even though the salt level in a swimming pool is typically 10 times less salt than the ocean ( 3500ppm VS the ocean, which is 35,000ppm ), too much salt isn't good for a human or dog. Salt water pools are about the same salt level as human tears.

 

[riptides]

Yep. I would focus on a really good filter and plain old chlorine.

In all reality, I'd bet the dog drinking pool water would have less side effects than a dog drinking a bunch of salt water. Even though the salt level in a swimming pool is typically 10 times less salt than the ocean ( 3500ppm VS the ocean, which is 35,000ppm ), too much salt isn't good for a human or dog. Salt water pools are about the same salt level as human tears.

 

[Diggin It]

Possibly just a robust bubble/aerator which the dogs might enjoy anyways.

 

[MossRoad]

A bubbler isn't going to sanitize the water.

 

[EddieWalker]

I'll take another look into chlorine. I should add that I used to use chlorine in my hot tub and over time, it started to irritate my skin. I would get out of the hot tub and be very itchy all over. I switched to Bromine and the itching went away. I hate testing the water all the time and having to add chemicals to it once or twice a week, but that just might be what I end up doing with the pool.

Thank you for the links, I'm going to take a little time and see what I can learn on those sites.

 

[riptides]

I'll take another look into chlorine. I should add that I used to use chlorine in my hot tub and over time, it started to irritate my skin. I would get out of the hot tub and be very itchy all over. I switched to Bromine and the itching went away. I hate testing the water all the time and having to add chemicals to it once or twice a week, but that just might be what I end up doing with the pool.

Thank you for the links, I'm going to take a little time and see what I can learn on those sites.

I have been an in-ground pool owner for a long time. My chemical additions weekly (7 to 10 days) consist of dropping 4 3 inch tablets into my skimmer baskets.

Hurricanes have been known to upset my pool balance, and opening the pool after a winter of no monitoring can lead to a week of chemical imbalances.

Where I am going with this is the right filter system and a steady monitoring, you should not be spending a lot of time with chemicals and the pool. You should be enjoying it. Not maintaining it.

Good luck in your endeavors. Those pool sites are very helpful.

 

[ustmd]

Eddie,

I would recommend you check out the Trouble Free Pool website:

Home - Trouble Free Pool | Trouble Free Pool

Think TBN but for pools and hot tubs.

 

[dodge man]

Eddie, when we had a pool, it was above ground, it got to the point I didn’t have to test that often. I had a chlorine feeder on mine and I learned how many tablets to keep in it. You could adjust a setting also but once I found a setting, it was good as long as I kept the amount of tablets the same. The daily maintenance didn’t bug me, but keeping the leaves out and keeping the cover pumped off when it was closed got old for me. I’d think in Texas you could keep it opened near year round.

 

[RepairsNeeded]

I have had a pool and dogs for 20 plus years. The dogs drink out of it and get in it occasionally. Kids drink it occasionally and get in it frequently. Ducks swim in it from time to time. Frogs, snakes and other wildlife get in it occasionally as well. Squirrels are constantly drinking out of it. If you keep the chlorine at the proper level, it won稚 hurt people or animals as far as I can tell. The chlorine can稚 be tasted, does not smell and does not fade fabrics. My understanding is that the salt just creates chlorine using an electrolytic chlorine generator. My pool company does not recommend the salt system.

 

[dragoneggs]

Eddie, you might also look into adding an Ozonator if you have good circulation loop. I have found that ozone along with bromine to work best for us for hot tubs. My wife cannot tolerate chlorine. Others have mentioned UV. I don't have experience with that but if I was getting/building a new pool/spa system I would want both UV and Ozone treatment as these should reduce the amou nt of other chemicals needed for balance.

 

[MossRoad]

Pool companies do not recommend salt systems for 2 reasons.

1. an honest reason - corrosion is a concern.
2. a selfish reason - they won't be selling you pool chemicals very often.

When we ran our saltwater pool for 8 years, I generally did this:

open the pool
top off water
measure salt level
add 4-5 bags of salt $20.
Add 8 oz of algaecide $25 for 32oz bottle.
Add 3-4 gallons of bleach $12.
Add CYA chlorine stabilizer $15.
Enjoy pool for summer.
Add 2oz of algaecide each week.
End of summer, drain down 12" of water and add 3-4 gallons of bleach $12.
Cover pool.

Nothing added all summer long except weekly algaecide. Since salt can't evaporate, all you have to do is keep the pool water level at a relatively consistent level. If there's a drought, you have to add water. If there's a lot of rain and the pool overflows, you may have to add some salt and CYA. But that's rare here.

Now if a kid poops in your pool, or a squirrel dies in it, then yes, you have to shock it just like any other pool.

What I enjoy about the salt water pool is that it's soft water. Smooth and silky. Just a very slight tasted of salt, like your tears. You can open your eyes and not feel a thing, as it's the same salt level as your eyes. It's easy to monitor the levels. You don't get wild swings. The sun doesn't affect the chlorine levels very much. It doesn't wear out your swimwear. It's easy on your hair. It takes me about 10 minutes a week to maintain it.

Now while you save a bunch in chemicals, you spend a lot in electricity, because the salt water chlorine generator pulls some amps.

So I doubt that I save much money with salt water. What I save in chlorine and shock costs, I probably spend near in electricity, so it's probably a wash financially. It's just a lot nicer feeling water and less time messing with chemicals.