Brand new home owner, with saltwater pool troubles

Jump to latest Follow Reply
S

scottyb

0
May 2, 2015
6
Redding, CA
Hello all, new to the forum, also a new pool owner. I have never had a pool and bought a house that has a salt water pool. We have only owned it for 4 days and decided to check on thepool. It seems there was some mismanagement by the prior owner. I will give you rundown of the equipment and the chemistry. I am having all sorts of issues.

Pool is:

30000 gallon
Gunite
Saltwater chemistry
Water is pretty clear

Chemistry as tested at Leslie's:

FAC 0
TAC 0
Salt 600 ppm
CH 90 ppm
CYA 0
TA 80
pH 8

Iron and Copper are both 0
Phosphates is 300 ppb

Now for the equipment issues:

Aquapure 1400 throws the following service codes

144 - low salinity (seems obvious given the low salt level)
172 - Flow Sensor Service
186 - Flow Salinity Sensor/temperature probe error

I guess my main question is, could the lack of salt be the reason for all of the codes. My thinking is the sensors require higher salinity to function properly. It has no chlorine, so I am going to throw some acid to bring pH down and shock to get some chlorine in there.

Thanks in advance for helping the new guy out.
 
Welcome to TFP!

It is not normal to get errors 172 and 186 just because the salt level is low. Those errors typically mean you need to replace the sensor module, though they can sometimes mean that there is some problem with the sensor cable or connections.

You need some CYA to be able to take care of the pool, with or without a SWG. I recommend raising CYA into the 30 to 40 range for now, and then go higher when you have the SWG working again.

There is no need to shock as long as the water is clear and there is no visible algae. Tonight and each evening until 24 hours after adding CYA, add 2 ppm of chlorine.
 
Man, I am seriously feeling overwhelmed. It looks like I will need some 60 pounds of hardness additive, around 600-700 lbs of salt, 4 pounds of acid, plus the CYA. I am ready to call a service to at least fix this abomination, since it looks like the sensor is needing to be replaced too.
 
What you really need is a good test kit...(see the link pooldv posted) and TFP!

;-)

There are a lot of people here that can and will help step by step! (Since your pool equipment is out of my realm of knowlege...I can help with encouragement and cheerleading!)

It's always overwhelming at first. It's a lot to learn all at once. After a little while it settles down and it really is very simple. You just have to get over that initial shock. :shock:

We all had to start somewhere! I started with a nasty green mucky pool with foam on it. :-(
 
scottyb said:
Man, I am seriously feeling overwhelmed. It looks like I will need some 60 pounds of hardness additive, around 600-700 lbs of salt, 4 pounds of acid, plus the CYA. I am ready to call a service to at least fix this abomination, since it looks like the sensor is needing to be replaced too.
Click to expand...

Yes, it is a lot to take in at first. But, it really isn't all that difficult. There are just a few things to monitor and work on.

#1 is chlorine, you must have chlorine in your pool at all times or algae will grow. When I am not using saltwater chlorination I use Kroger brand concentrated bleach, 8.25%, no easypour, splashless or scents. Plain old bleach.
#2 is PH, needs to be between 7.2 and 7.8. Add muriatic acid to lower it and Borax from the grocery store to raise it.

The rest of the chemistry we can work on in coming days/weeks.

Add bleach, like Jason described above, order a test kit and start reading. Pretty soon your pool will be in great shape.
 
You can do it with us here at TFP without the extra cost of a service that might do more harm than good. Use that money to buy your own test kit. We can and will teach you everything you need to know to keep your pool clear.

-buy pool
-find TFP
-buy test kit-
-Find good source for chlorine or bleach (for some it is Walmart, others close pool store, other ACE Hardward) Just make sure it is plain, unscented bleach)
-use test kit and post results here

Kim
 
There is a PoolMath ap/calculator here ( http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html ) that helps you determine how much of each chemical you need to add. Based on a 30,000 gal pool, starting at zero chlorine you need to add 90 ounces of 8.25% bleach (most common strength of household bleach) each day to give you 2 ppm of chlorine. When you get your test kit (I like the TF-100 (link in my siggy line) best. Until you get the SWG up and running, add the regular bleach each day to ward of algae.
The pool WILL get easier and easier to take care of when you learn whats going on with it via your own testing and care.

Yippee
 
So, I have a new flow sensor ordered, everything I see in the unit points to that. So, we will see how that goes once it comes in.

On a second note, does anybody make any liquid CYA? Seriously, the dry takes forever to dissolve. Not being able to let it sit on the bottom means 20 minutes of be constantly brushing it off the bottom.
 
scottyb said:
So, I have a new flow sensor ordered, everything I see in the unit points to that. So, we will see how that goes once it comes in.

On a second note, does anybody make any liquid CYA? Seriously, the dry takes forever to dissolve. Not being able to let it sit on the bottom means 20 minutes of be constantly brushing it off the bottom.
Click to expand...
We actually recommend the solid. Just put in in an old sock and either put the sock in a skimmer or hang it in front of a return. The liquid is very expensive.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
scottyb said:
Flow sensor took care of the SWG problem. So know with that working and some CYA in there, I am in business. Just tweaking it in now. Thanks for the help guys.
Click to expand...

Good deal. Time to get some cya in there and get a good test kit. Now that you know that your SWG is working you will want to bring cya up to 70 or so if you plan on sticking with saltwater. A little bleach or liquid chlorine will not hurt until the SWG can catch up.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply