Wouldn’t salt water provide added buoyancy and more accurately simulate a natural ocean experience?
Buoyancy in the ocean is not determined solely by salt content. A more important factor in measuring buoyancy is the percentage of total dissolved solids (tds). Because the overall percentage of dissolved solids in a pool is so radically lower than ocean water, whether you use salt, chlorine, or a similar chemical will have a negligible impact on buoyancy. Ocean water typically contains between 30,000 and 35,000 parts per million (ppm) of total dissolved solids (tds), or 3-3.5%. Chlorine and salt water pools contain between 1-2 ppm of free salt or chlorine and less than 2000 ppm of tds, or approximately .2%, with the balance of the dissolved solids predominately coming from calcium and magnesium. Raising the overall level of salt or dissolved solids in a pool is possible, but comes at an extreme maintenance cost.
