Too much salt

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Flbeachluvr

Flbeachluvr

Bronze Supporter
Mar 19, 2016
445
Port Orange, FL
I screwed up and added too much salt to my pool. Got some algae in the pool and tested the chlorine level and it was at 4. My AquaRite said my salt level was at 1900 so I added a bag of salt. My bad for not using my salt test kit to confirm the level but I was tired and getting ready for bed. Well now it's reading over 5000 and I realized the difference in readings is because my salt cell is dead. 5 years old so I'll be replacing it.
Will the high salt level damage the new cell when I install it tomorrow? Should I drain some of the water and refill to dilute? I already feel like a total idiot for not confirming the salt level before adding more salt so please be kind lol.
 

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What does your water cost? To lower it in small amounts with your pool pump will take many times more water than using a submersible pump and following the no drain exchange shown in the Wiki article linked above.

As you live in Florida, we assume a simple drain and refill is not viable due to shallow water tables. If you are absolutely confident there is no risk to your pool shell by draining, you can do that. But be sure.
 
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BTW- if you have algae you need to do the
SLAM Process to eradicate it before putting the new cell in use anyway as a swcg cannot overcome an algae problem.
this is easier to accomplish at lower cya levels (30/40ppm) which will also be accomplished by the water exchange.
 
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Mdragger88 said:
With a submersible pump & the no drain water exchange
Section 3.5👇

Draining - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
Click to expand...
The submersible pump isn't an option. As mentioned, my husband is already incredibly mad at me right now for my screw up and won't help with fixing it. I guess I'll just keep draining a little at a time. That's all I can do on my own. I've turned the AquaRite off and won't install the new cell until I can get the salt level down to a more reasonable level.
 
Flbeachluvr said:
The submersible pump isn't an option. As mentioned, my husband is already incredibly mad at me right now for my screw up and won't help with fixing it. I guess I'll just keep draining a little at a time. That's all I can do on my own. I've turned the AquaRite off and won't install the new cell until I can get the salt level down to a more reasonable level.
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Not trying to start a marital tiff but you can easily use a submersible pump yourself. Harbor freight has them fairly cheap & Home Depot rents the bigger ones.
Using your pool pump to drain risks it being run dry - pool pumps are generally much more expensive than a cheap submersible pump/rental.
If you must use your pump & you have a main drain use that only (turn off skimmers) to reduce the risk of running the pump dry.
 
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Mdragger88 said:
Not trying to start a marital tiff but you can easily use a submersible pump yourself. Harbor freight has them fairly cheap & Home Depot rents the bigger ones.
Using your pool pump to drain risks it being run dry - pool pumps are generally much more expensive than a cheap submersible pump/rental.
If you must use your pump & you have a main drain use that only (turn off skimmers) to reduce the risk of running the pump dry.
Click to expand...
No I get it but the submersible isn't an option due to my husband's attitude. We have sunk so much money into the pool in the last 3 months with replacing the pool pump and having to replace the actuator on our solar pool heater and now $600 for a new salt cell. I can turn off the skimmers while draining and just use the main drain. I'd forgotten about that option.
 
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Flbeachluvr said:
No I get it but the submersible isn't an option due to my husband's attitude. We have sunk so much money into the pool in the last 3 months with replacing the pool pump and having to replace the actuator on our solar pool heater and now $600 for a new salt cell. I can turn off the skimmers while draining and just use the main drain. I'd forgotten about that option.
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Just stay home and close when doing that. I have done it also but when the water gets lower it might struggle to keep a good suction.

Good luck and glad you caught it now!
 
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Flbeachluvr said:
No I get it but the submersible isn't an option due to my husband's attitude. We have sunk so much money into the pool in the last 3 months with replacing the pool pump and having to replace the actuator on our solar pool heater and now $600 for a new salt cell. I can turn off the skimmers while draining and just use the main drain. I'd forgotten about that option.
Click to expand...
After draining/ refilling Be sure to let the water circulate for a day/overnight before testing cya & salt.
Also, keep adequate fc in the water with liquid chlorine so your algae doesn’t get worse until you can do the SLAM Process
 

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