If you look around the internet, you will find many people debating the merits and price of getting a MagnaPool^® pool system. There are a lot of different sides, but they all agree on one thing: The water feels great and people even describe the water as having a silky-smooth feel to it. How the water feels like silk is beyond me, but having tried it myself, it just does, it boggles the mind but the water does feel better, but is the cost really justified?

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We had different pool experts write down what they experienced when trying out different types of pool water and they all agreed, the water that used MagnaPool Minerals did feel better and it had less of the “pool water” smell that we all love to hate. On top of that, the after-swimming feel is wonderful as well, it doesn’t feel as sticky or gummy as with traditional chlorinated or salt water pool water. Probably the best thing we noticed about swimming in pools that use MagnaPool Minerals is the effect on our hair. If you’ve ever been swimming in a pool then you’ll know exactly what we’re talking about, clumped, sticky and matted hair, with pools using MagnaPool Minerals, that’s not the case.

For the super experts, a.k.a. the kids, the advantages were even more apparent. The kids reported that there was less eye irritation in the pool that uses MagnaPool Minerals as compared to traditional chlorine and salt water pools. There was also less itching and skin irritation so that’s a big check on the plus side for us.

After taking a few dips into a pool using the Magnapool Minerals, we were all but convinced to invest in our own Magnapool pool system but it felt like it was a huge investment into something that while it did feel better, it was thousands of dollars that felt a little bit too expensive as an incremental upgrade. So we made our own research (took apart some of the older stock in the shop) and found that the “Hydroxinator” that was used in MagnaPool Mineral systems are basically saltwater chlorinators.

Since we already had a Water TechniX Saltwater chlorination system in place, then this is already thousands of dollars saved from getting a branded system. If you already have a saltwater chlorination system in place then is this one expense that is scratched off the list.

Going deeper into the MagnaPool Mineral system, we found out that they just use a regular sand filter using glass media. Since we were almost due for a filter media change anyway, we decided to use their MangaPool’s recommended filter media ratio. 1/3 fine glass media and about 2/3 of coarse glass until 100mm to 150mm from the top. The reason for using specialized media is because magnesium acts as a natural flocculent, binding with microscopic dirt and debris so that they’ll be caught by the sand media, leading to much clearer water than your traditional chlorinated or salt water pools.

It all boiled down to the minerals being used in the pool system. The chlorinator (or hydroxinator as they call it) is basically just a saltwater chlorinator. The filter, just a regular sand filter using glass sand media, and the real secret behind the system was the magnesium – potassium mineral blend being used. You really can’t patent natural minerals so the only thing that was unique to the system was their blend ratio, so we decided to try using their mineral blend according to their instructions and you know what? There was absolutely no difference to the experience when using our traditional salt cells versus the branded hydroxinators! It’s all in the minerals!

Step One:

For existing pool owners, it’s best to start off with a slate. Drain the pool, scrub all of the surfaces and check for anything that needs fixing. This is the perfect time to do those small repairs that you’ve been putting off.

Step Two:

Fill the pool with water and balance as you would your regular pool water.

Step Three:

Add the required magnesium pool minerals depending on your pool size. Remember what we wrote previously? You’ll need 6 bags of minerals per 10,000 liters of water. Dump all the bags into the pool, save one bag, we’ll get to it later, and dissolve with a pool brush like you would salt.

Step Four:

Add the last bag of magnesium minerals to your pool skimmers then turn on your pool pump and salt water chlorinator. Set the chlorinator to boost mode so that it will jump start the process. Leave the system this way for 24 hours to get everything moving and well mixed before setting them back to their normal operation modes.

• The water will look cloudy for the first few days and there might be foam floating on the surface. Don’t worry! This is completely normal. This isn’t harmful in any way, but it is recommended not to take a swim until the water clears up completely.
• For the first two weeks, suction and robotic cleaners may not adhere to pool surfaces properly, again don’t worry as this is normal.
• If your chlorine levels don’t seem right for the first two weeks, then don’t worry. Again, this is normal and there is actually chlorine in your pool, the readings are just being skewed and masked by the magnesium. It’s perfectly safe to swim in the pool at this time.
• After the initial two weeks, backwash your filter to remove the initial debris that has been flocc’d by the magnesium in the pool.

And that’s it! You have your own MagnaPool Mineral pool without the thousands of dollars involved in investing in a branded system!

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Happy swimming :)