Best sanitizer for large pool

[Jeremy]

Hello all,

I am new to the forum and have a general question.

I have a large in-ground pool (24x48) with a hopper bottom and a vinyl liner. My current sanitizer is the typical chlorine shock and in-line chlorinator with tablets. The problem I run into is with this large pool it takes so much chlorine to shock that a lot of the powder does not dissolve and settles on the bottom which in turn bleaches my liner. I just had a new liner installed and do not want it bleached if I can help it. If I dilute the shock in a bucket of water and then pour into the pool the water gets very cloudy and requires a lot of backwashing the filter which uses up a lot of my precious water.

So my question is, what would be the most effective and economical solution to sanitizing my water to avoid my above problems? Salt Water?

[lbridges]

Salt Water by itself is not a sanitizer - it requires an electronic chlorine generator - which BTW, is not suitable as a shock mechanism, more like a steady source of sanitizing chlorine (which is a good thing IMO).

You can get unscented bleach (6%) or liquid chlorine (10-15%) and use that to shock.

[Parrot40]

That's what I was referring to when I said salt water - the salt water system. I have never tried the liquid chlorine. I use the 100lb bucket of calcium hypochlorite granules.

I have been reading up on the saline systems. This seems like a good way to go if you can afford the initial cost. Am I right/wrong, opinions?

[duraleigh]

So my question is, what would be the most effective and economical solution to sanitizing my water to avoid my above problems? Salt Water?

lbridges pretty much answered the question by suggesting liquid chlorine. As a general rule, LQ is the most economical way to sanitize AND shock your pool. Certainly, it is the BEST way in that it introduces virtually no harmful side effects into your pool.

Drawbacks? Many find it inconvenient to use as it requires somewhat more effort to get it into the pool.....that's about the only drawback.

The salt system is amazingly convenient but perhaps the most costly. Nevertheless, many are willing to pay that price to gain the convenience an SWG provides.