Salt for sure! It pays for itself in the first year. My saltwater pool is an 18x36 shallow on both ends and deep in the middle with a permanent volley ball net. I chose a vinyl liner pool for The same reason. Red clay and the land shifts. It's a trade off though as it has to be replaced every 8 to 10 years.

Switched from chlorine to salt water with pool Reno this year...so much nicer.

I better clarify what I mean by it pays for itself in the first year. First, the price of salt is much lower than chlorine. I don't have to use as many chemicals as friends with chlorine pools, and the salt water doesn't turn my hair green. I'm in Mississippi so can enjoy the pool eight out of twelve months a year so no green hair was a good selling point for me.

Please do a LOT more research if you are considering fiberglass vs. concrete pools. As a swimming pool expert it makes me very sad to hear people like yourselves falling victim to the fiberglass pool movement - you are buying into a marketing strategy - not a high end swimming pool installation. As a second generation pool and spa expert familiar with every kind of pool installation there is, please find and speak to people willing to be upfront with you about swimming pool quality, longevity, repair recourses in the event of failure etc.

Swimming pools are hard to build properly...at least good ones. There is a LOT going on underground and the quality of the pool will be affected in a thousand different ways by the actual hands building it. Consider this example and I think you will see why fiberglass pools are so popular:

Lets say you are a general contractor and you are building a house. You have a budget of $75,000 for the pool portion of the design. As a general contractor you know a lot about construction (hopefully) but recognize that swimming pools are actually very complicated and hard to build PROPERLY. You get a quote from me for $70,000 for a concrete pool installation that includes everything. But then a fiberglass pool manufacturer contacts you and says - listen, we will sell you a finished pool for $12,000. You did a hole, and we will show you how to put the pool in the hole. Since you have access to heavy equipment you go this route - dig a hole, buy a pump and a filter for $2000 and all in you are at about $15,000 for the "pool installation". The guys who make the pool drop it in a hole you dug with a crane and you get your house plumber to hook up the suction and return lines, and install the pump and filter. BAM - you just put $55,000 RIGHT IN YOUR POCKET. Now ask yourself a real question - would you rather a pool built by myself, a second generation swimming pool and spa expert, or a general contractor who has never built a pool before looking to put some extra cash in his pocket? The guys who manufacture fiberglass pools are not installation experts - they are salesmen, because if they were a swimming pool expert they would not be endorsing fiberglass pools.

You go ahead and take this advice for what you will - I am just a random internet stranger that happens to be named "Swimming Pool Steve". If you own a fiberglass pool, I am sure it is very nice. If you own a fiberglass pool installation company I am sure you are a nice and well meaning guy - this is just a simple matter of a technical comparison and I want to be sure all customers hear an objective point of view from a pool and spa expert who is not trying to sell a fiberglass pool (or any pool) so I have no vested interest other than to promote spreading of factual information. I hope this info helps you.

I had my old vinyl liner pool completely renovated last year and there is a world of difference between the vinyl and gunnite. Little things like not having to worry about things tearing the liner make a huge difference to me. Also my pool gets a lot of direct sun all day (it's a pool) and I was having to replace the liner about every 4 years. And I got fading even sooner. The renovation was about the same cost as a new pool but my family loves the pool and we use it constantly from April to early October. If it's at all possible I would spend the extra money.

why would you consider digging your own hole and installing a fiberglass pool yourself? The benefits of a fiberglass pool far outweigh a gunite pool in Texas. We have a saltwater fiberglass pool that was professionally installed. We haven't had a single problem. The cost was the same as the gunite quotes we received. We opted for the fiberglass because of the warranty and reduced maintenance. Go with the fiberglass, if you are going to do it the right way!

From what I am reading saltwater pools are compatible with fiberglass liners. One thing to look out for are any metal parts or connectors that are part of a fiberglass system that can corrode in saltwater. Good luck!