Dual Zone swim spa- can I go with salt water?

[brownnugen]

I am getting a pre-owned Tidalfit DTL-8; it is dual zone and the swim and spa areas are physically separated.

From my limited knowledge, my initial thought is to use salt water because of some skin sensitivities, smell of chlorine and I am always sneezing for a few hours after getting out of a chlorine pool.  What determines whether I can use salt water versus chlorine or bromine?  Is there special equipment needed to do this that had to have been ordered from the factory or is this something that can be added on afterwards?  And since this is dual zone, does that mean I have to double any equipment needed? 

[Red MC]

I don't know anyone who has added an aftermarket salt system, so I can't comment on that.

But one thing to keep in mind is that most gym or public swimming pools seem to use a lot of sanitizer due to their constant use.  You won't go through as much in your swim spa, so the residual odor and sinus irritation should be much less.

Does the spa you're buying include ozone?  If not, that could be a useful add-on to reduce the amount of chlorine or bromine you use.  Ozone and Diamond AOP (ozone + UV) are TidalFit options, so if you don't have it, it should be a straightforward thing for a dealer to add.  It's also not hard to insert an aftermarket CD ozonator into the circulation pump/heater loop if you don't have dealer support.

I've also used Nature2 mineral cartridges before and they reduce chlorine demand too.

[Sam]

Also, a saltwater hot tub is still a chlorine or bromine hot tub.  Salt is sodium chloride or sodium bromide which are converted into chlorine or bromine with an electrode.  I'm not a fan of salt systems due to the corrosive nature of salt.  I've seen too many problems and premature failures due to corrosion.

[BullFrogSpasMN]

I rarely sell swim spas WITHOUT a salt system, nobody wants to maintain 1500+ gallons by having to pour in chlorine every other day or worse yet one of those stupid traditional bromine floaters. I add the 24hr circulation pump and the salt system to basically 99% of my swim spa sales, we sell a bromine based system and it works great and customers love it...less maintenance, less chems, less water changes, softer water, I mean why wouldn't you want one?

[Red MC]

Got any experience with adding an aftermarket salt system?