Salt Generators Vs Mineral (Frog System)

[Rdurina]

I am buying a fiberglass pool and trying to decide on the best sanitizer that is pet friendly.

I have a black lab who inherently swallows a fair amount of water while in the pool.

I realize that the salt generators produce chlorine, but at lower levels than a traditional clorinator. But are the salt and chlorine levels safer for a dog than traditional chlorine and mineral (copper/silver) ?

The mineral cartridge based systems, such as Frog, are supposed to purify the water, but still require some levels of chlorine for sanitation. At first, I was going to pursue this approach, but I have not been able to find enough information to convince me.

Any advice or guidance on the best sanitation and safest for dogs ?

[chem geek]

If you use 4 ppm Free Chlorine (FC) which is what is needed to prevent algae growth if you have 80 ppm Cyanuric Acid (CYA), then this is at the high-end EPA limit for the amount of chlorine in drinking water. So that isn't going to the a problem. The salt level is more of an issue if the dog drinks a lot from the pool, though it's not at a toxic level -- just higher than usual recommended salt intake in a d-i-e-t (this forum replaces that word with ****). In the U.S., the upper limit for daily salt intake is 5750 ppm (except for those with certain conditions requiring a low-salt d-i-e-t) so would be nearly 2 liters of pool water in a 3000 ppm salt pool. Remember that there is already salt in the d-i-e-t already so the pool water is incremental to that.

You could also manually chlorinate the pool which will generally have around 1/3rd to 1/2 the amount of salt depending on the amount of rain and other water dilution.

The Frog is going to have the potential for metal staining. I think your best bet is to train your dog to drink from a water bowl you put out near the pool. Dogs are pretty easy to train if you use praise and the treats they like best to condition them.

[Rdurina]

Thanks for the info, so is the SALT Generator less work to maintain than traditional clorinators and mineral cartridges ? Some of the posts reference needing add substantial levels of acid for the pH ?

And there seems to be increased "hype" on the web from new companies with "eco-friendly" products that indicate that certain counties in California wont permit SALT systems. Not sure there is any validity in that, but I could see that back-washing a SALT pool could eventually lead to increased levels of salt in the ground soil.

And it seems that mineral cartridges (Silver not Copper) could reduce the amount of chlorine used in the pool, but how do you ensure that you have enough chlorine ?

[waterbear]

I am buying a fiberglass pool and trying to decide on the best sanitizer that is pet friendly.

I have a black lab who inherently swallows a fair amount of water while in the pool.

I realize that the salt generators produce chlorine, but at lower levels than a traditional clorinator.

not true, they just produce chlorine. The Free chlorine level you maintain is dependant on the stabilizer (cyanuric acid) level and with salt chlorine generators this is normally 80-100 ppm so you will keep the FC at 4-5 ppm.

But are the salt and chlorine levels safer for a dog than traditional chlorine and mineral (copper/silver) ?

The mineral cartridge based systems, such as Frog, are supposed to purify the water, but still require some levels of chlorine for sanitation.

and they do not keep enough fast acting residual sanitizer in the water, particularly if yo have dogs swimming! I would stay away.

At first, I was going to pursue this approach, but I have not been able to find enough information to convince me.

Any advice or guidance on the best sanitation and safest for dogs ?

Thanks for the info, so is the SALT Generator less work to maintain than traditional clorinators and mineral cartridges ? Some of the posts reference needing add substantial levels of acid for the pH ?

And there seems to be increased "hype" on the web from new companies with "eco-friendly" products that indicate that certain counties in California wont permit SALT systems. Not sure there is any validity in that, but I could see that back-washing a SALT pool could eventually lead to increased levels of salt in the ground soil.

Salt systems are really better off with cartridge filters anyway so the backwashng issue becomes moot but yes, the eco nuts are not only trying to ban salt systems, they are banning water softeners and selling people expensive 'salt free' water sofenters that do not work and are based on pseudoscience! Then again, they have also banned the use of commercial borate products for pools and spas, and other such ecological craziness based on misinformation and not scientific fact! (and don't get me wrong, I am a supporter of the environment and have been participating in Earth Day since the very first one int he 70's when I was in high school!)

And it seems that mineral cartridges (Silver not Copper) could reduce the amount of chlorine used in the pool, but how do you ensure that you have enough chlorine ?

False info. Mineral systems do NOT reduce the amount of chlorine or bromine needed in a pool since metal ions are not fast acting sanitizers. In fact, they have been banned in Australia unless used with NORMAL chlorine levels . Silver used with MPS and hot water as found in hot tubs IS an EPA approved santizer but without the hot water it is not, so it is useless in pools!