Rebuilding a Pool in Corfu Greece - what technology to choose

[samygero]

Hello,

I am rebuilding a pool in Corfu, Greece in a small complex for tourists. The pool in question had been built 15 years ago and has not operated for many years. As we are renovating the complex we are also renovating the pool.

And now we are in a critical stage where we need to decide which technology to use for the pool. The water in the region is pretty hard (if more information is needed about water quality please let me know). The pool walls were out of paint. (subject to change if necessary)

Ideally we would like the pool to be ecological, have low operational costs, require low maintenance and be proven technology so that is is durable. Durability is key because as I am on an island, repairing a pool during tourist season is really tricky. I know that compromises have to be made but I would like to better navigate the information.

Could you describe the main differences between the different water treatment methods are (I know of Chlorine, salt, brome, UV, Oxygen, ozone technologies) and summarise the following points (always relative to other technologies)?

- Technology capex cost
- Proven technology / lifespan
- Operational cost (quantity and price of products, power and water consumption)
- Durability
- Need for maintenance, specialized maintenance equipment and frequency of quality checks
- Harm to the environment
- Irritation to swimmers

As a last point, do you know of any monitoring technologies that are successful in monitoring the water quality and that help adjust product dosage etc?

Thank you very much for the information,
Samy

[Pooltechjeff]

Hello,

I am rebuilding a pool in Corfu, Greece in a small complex for tourists. The pool in question had been built 15 years ago and has not operated for many years. As we are renovating the complex we are also renovating the pool.

And now we are in a critical stage where we need to decide which technology to use for the pool. The water in the region is pretty hard (if more information is needed about water quality please let me know). The pool walls were out of paint. (subject to change if necessary)

Ideally we would like the pool to be ecological, have low operational costs, require low maintenance and be proven technology so that is is durable. Durability is key because as I am on an island, repairing a pool during tourist season is really tricky. I know that compromises have to be made but I would like to better navigate the information.

Could you describe the main differences between the different water treatment methods are (I know of Chlorine, salt, brome, UV, Oxygen, ozone technologies) and summarise the following points (always relative to other technologies)?

- Technology capex cost
- Proven technology / lifespan
- Operational cost (quantity and price of products, power and water consumption)
- Durability
- Need for maintenance, specialized maintenance equipment and frequency of quality checks
- Harm to the environment
- Irritation to swimmers

As a last point, do you know of any monitoring technologies that are successful in monitoring the water quality and that help adjust product dosage etc?

Thank you very much for the information,
Samy

To be perfectly honest, keep it as simple as possible. Some people have this huge budget to be able to install all this technology but have no budget to keep up with it then after 3 years it's all just sitting there inoperable.

A Ozone/ UV system is simple, the only maintenance needed is changing the light bulb every few years and the technology has been proven. The Paramount ozone/UV unit is very popular. Usually runs between $400-500 the bulb replacement is about $80. Salt cells need constant maintenance and they have a short life span. Keeping the Salinity within range can be a pain. Keep in mind, Salinity naturally rises with evaporation, when it gets too high you'll have to drain or dilute the pool. Oxygen works well but I've had complaints of skin irritation in smaller bodies of water such as spas. Do yourself a huge favor and stay away from automatic chem feeders such as the pentair intellichem, These are ideal for commercial pools that will have someone checking up on it on a daily basis. The most reliable way to monitor your chemistry is by hand by a pool guy. Dont rely on automation for the safety of your pool and swimmers. He should be using a Taylor test kit or the new DPD test strips. I recommend checking and balancing twice/ week if able to. As far as products go. I recommend liquid chlorine ( high PH but less chance of etching pool) for shocking pool and Calcium Hypochlorite Tabs to maintain a good free chlorine level but please please read the warnings and directions for these and follow them completely. These particular tablets have zero cyanaric acid which is a huge plus. As far as automation goes Jandy has a pretty straight forward set up with there iaqualink system. I know hayward is putting a pretty elaborate new automation system, everything is touchscreen but just remember, more money more problems. As far as keeping scale away as best as possible with high calcium hardness I recommend educating yourself on the saturation index and using the orenda app to help calculate the saturation index, also, beautec is a good product to use. Orenda has a product called SC-1000 that works very good but you'll have to double up on your shock every week because it reduces your chlorine level if you use liquid chlorine.

[Teapot]

Hi samygero,
To short cut the long response. Do some studying on the Dryden Aqua DAISY setup. This is a modern and correct approach to pool water chemistry and maintenance. I have installed this setup on similar pools and it is fabulous. I bought the smaller unit for my own pool.
https://www.drydenaqua.com/swimming-pools/dryden-daisy