I started with a chlorine pool, but mine is an outdoor pool. A few years ago I was looking to upgrade, and really started looking at converting to salt or ozone.

I ruled out ozone pretty quickly. Ozone to me of more of a supplemental sanitizer versus it being the sole sanitizer for a pool. It only sanitizes while the pool equipment is on, there is no residual sanitizing. Ozone dissipates pretty quickly. The installation folks I spoke with also mentioned that for an ozone pool, the pool really needs to be designed from the get-go for ozone. Deep-water pool returns, etc. They also recommended using chlorine to supplement.

Salt? I came close to installing a salt system. But again, for me? There are pros and cons, but for many of the same reason, I just stuck with liquid chlorine.

Liquid chlorine sanitizes whether the pump is running or off. If electricity goes out, I can dose the pool manually. If I end up with 20 kids over for a pool party, I can easily add extra chlorine after they leave. Might not be best for everyone, but it works best for me. And that's all I'm offering, another opinion.

What I did do for automation is I ordered a Stenner peristaltic pump to dispense the 12% chlorine. The pump output is rated in "X" ounces per minute, so figuring out how long the Stenner needs to run for is quite simple. It's on a digital timer and kicks on a couple times a day to meter chlorine into the pool. Once dialed in, for day-to-day operations it holds the levels really well. If a negative trend develops over several weks, I can adjust the run time with a few key strokes. The Stenner pump, the timer to control it, and the 15-gal chlorine storage tank cost $250.