Salt Vs Ozone

[Moby Z]

Hello, I'm new here and I'm in the process of purchasing a new viking fiberglass pool.

I haven't settled on a filter system but I'm hearing a whole lot about Ozone filtration. What are the pros and cons of each one?

[Pool Man in Oz]

Hi Moby,

No choice on this one - definitely salt.

Ozone is a fantastic oxidiser of contaminants. Unfortunately ozone doesn't last in the water. Once the ozonator switches off, it's gone. They need to be run constantly.

Also, Ozone is no good for high bather loads or hot days. It still requires a dose of chlorine / lithium frequently to keep the water going in these conditions.

It gets a lot worse for Ozone. Read This...
http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/environmen ... ators.aspx

A salt chlorinator, on the other hand, is cheap to buy, easy to install and near maintenance free.

The only difference between a salt pool and a freshwater pool is that chlorine is manufactured automatically from the salt. In a fresh water pool you add it yourself.

A standard model will not test your water. They have one job...to churn out chlorine. Make sure you get one that matches your size pool. For bigger pools, even go one size up. Make sure it's a self cleaning model.

You need to run a salt pool for 6 - 8 hours a day in summer to produce enough chlorine. Only 1-2 in winter.

If you are a safety freak (ie: parents with young kids), there are salt chlorinators that test your water for pH and Cl and keep your pool mostly balanced. These get expensive though.

If you have sensitive skin and are concerned about chlorine, check out pool ionisers.

But yeah, I can't say no enough for ozone.

Hope that helps!

[Denniswiseman]

Bear in mind that you need a SWG that does double what you require (if you have a 20k pool get a 40k SWG)
You will run your pump less at a lower percentage
You also need to balance your water for SWG's