INTEX QS500 Krystal Clear Saltwater Chlorine System for Above Ground Pools: Keeps Water Clean and Clear – Reduces Chemical Use – Up to 7000 Gal. Pools

This is our third year (installed summer 2018) having an intex 15’x4’ above ground pool. We used chlorine and the pump that came with the pool the first year. Changing the filters and using chlorine was not blowing my skirt up. The filters had to be replaced every two weeks minimum, and the chemicals were somewhat challenging to keep balanced. We decided last year to upgrade to a salt water system. I didn’t look at a sand filter due to cost. We bought an upgrade summer 2019 salt water pump, which used the same disposable filters. The pump was adequate, but we still had to skim the water with a net to get out the layer of bugs and bio matter from the trees for about 10-15 minutes before swimming each and every day. To be fair, there are three trees that contribute to the mess. We got the pool ready this year (2020), but the pump would not operate. We knew we had to buy a new one. I do quite a bit of research on most products I purchase, especially a bigger purchase such as this pump. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of saltwater pumps on the market whether its Amazon, Academy, or our local pool suppliers (Nashville). I saw that this pump had adequate reviews but not stellar. I also know that items like this usually receive a few poor reviews because there are too many user variables for product performance consistency. I can say for us, this pump performance exceeds our expectations. My husband installed it April 27, 2020, and said it was somewhat difficult. I can attest to the amount of time it took-approx 1 1/2-2 hours. We had multiple sized connectors due to previously purchasing a second pump, so that was not an issue for us. The power of this pump is noticeably stronger than the previous two pumps we had. See photos. Kind of like a hot tub if you’re up close. This has not been an issue even for our 10m old in her float. The best aspects of this pump are that the water stays much cleaner, no need to skim before each and every swim, no disposable filters, backwashing the sand is a breeze. You can actually see the funk flush out of the sand! Stop backwash when water runs clear. Bam, you’re done. Always less than a minute. I attribute the improved performance because of the type and strength of filtration system. The water stays clear. We do have to shock and use clarifier, but the frequency is much less and will be necessary with any system. I never have to worry about cleaning the surface before putting my baby in the water. HUGE, time saver. That’s pretty impressive considering the trees around the pool. We do run the pump 12hrs/day most days, especially when we swim. I hope this helps anyone considering either switching to a saltwater system or upgrading to sand. This is the way to go. It’s more costly initially, and the sand is an additional cost, but we feel this will save us money in the long run. I believe the sand lasts 5-7 years.

***original review from April 2018*** I had the last generation salt system on my pool and got a season out of it before it stopped working. Intex sent me a new one but I bought this one because I couldn't wait two weeks for it to arrive. When this one dies I have a backup while i'm waiting for a replacement. I bought this well aware I will be getting 1-2 seasons max out of this. I have an 18' round steel above ground pool and this works great. I keep it on three hours a day and have no issues getting sufficient chlorine in my pool. It's been running for about 45 days so far and no issues. It has a three year warranty and their customer service is good overall. Replacements take a couple weeks to arrive so keep it in mind when your unit craps out. Even thought the life span is so short I still think it's worth not having to deal with chlorine in my pool. No smelly skin, no chemical balancing issues, no green pool. Saltwater is the BEST. If you are like me and installing this on a regular non intex pool they make this adapter https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012BUM5V8/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 This way you dont need to make something from PVC. One end screws onto the salt system and your pool hoses slide over the other end and get clamped down. No leaks at all. I'm going to update this review at the end of this season or if the unit dies before then. **October 2018 Update** I just closed my pool down yesterday. As I was closing it down I thought I would record a video with my opinions. Feel free to watch it or just read below. The generator functioned as intended the entire season. It kept my 18" above ground non Intex pool crystal clear all year. The only thing I added to my pool was to bring the hardness level up a bit and added a bit of salt when I had to drain the pool because of the rain. Besides that I put nothing else in my pool from April to October. It ran for four hours a day and kept everything beautiful. I'm hoping I get a lot more use from it next year when it's opened again but we shall see. For $129 will keep buying these even if they only last a year, because it saves from having to buy chlorine and the frustration of having to add it and keep everything balanced. Highly recommended for an above ground pool Intex or not. **update April 2019** Opened my pool April 2019. Plugged this in and it fired right up. I installed a new liner so I filled with fresh water, put in the salt to about 2,800 and balanced the water. So far the generator fired right back up and is sanitizing my water. I will update the review again if the unit dies or makes it this year***

We have a 5,000 gallon pool, and we had the smaller ECO 5110 before (for pools up to 7,000 gallons); it had to run four to six hours per day to keep up, and we had to replace the electrodes every couple of years. Now we have the ECO 6110 (for pools up to 15,000 gallons) and this more powerful model is MUCH better. The bigger chlorinator keeps it perfect by running only one or sometimes two hours per day. Even after a heavy rain it stays in control. At this rate, it should last for many years. IMPORTANT: A salt water chlorinator is fouled by calcium! That white scale that fouls your electrodes is calcium carbonate, and the calcium comes from the solid, white, powdered SHOCK, which is CALCIUM hypochlorite. If you have a vinyl pool (not a cee-ment pond), then you don't NEED no stinkin' calcium. DON'T use that stuff! Instead, use ordinary liquid household bleach, or the slightly more concentrated version sold as pool sanitizer, which is SODIUM hypochlorite. The liquid bleach won't foul your chlorinator and it destroys algae as well or better than the solid stuff. (Take that advice from an old chemist.)

Tough to connect if you work with other than Intex pool. So you have to be creative a bit. Otherwise, excellent small salt machine!

The instructions were easy to follow and setup went smoothly. It's been working like a charm. I am so happy with this filter.

First time owning a pool. We thought about it for years. A friend of mine who has had a pool for many years suggested the sand and salt water filter system, so I came on amazon and found this one. We are extremely happy with the filter system and the seller. The filter that came with the pool was a joke. It doesn't help that we live in the country and used well water that was high in iron. We are a week in and this filter is doing an amazing job. We noticed the filter wasn't as strong today (even than it was stronger than what came with the pool), so we used the backflow (just a turn of the dial) to clean it and watched the iron come out of the filter it was a deep orange and less than a minute later she was running clear again . After that the filtration was strong again.

Salt water pool clorinator which is very easy and clear to use. Does it's job perfectly when the clear instructions are followed.

Had to upgrade after our original salt water chlorinator died. I was really impressed how easy it was to switch over to this new one, not to mention how easy it is to use. It cleared up our salt issue within 24 hours and we haven’t had a problem with our pool since.