Too much salt ??? ***PLEASE HELP***

[Ecjaustin]

Hi all, and thank you in advance for any replies. I have a 30k gallon saltwater pool, with an Aqua Rite Plus Chlorinator. Yesterday, after 4 days of scorching temps and sun, my chlorine was reading almost 0. My salt had dropped from 3100ppm to 2900ppm.

I added 2 bags of salt and bumped the chlorinator from 40% to 60%.

Today, salt read 3200ppm and Chlorine was good. PH looked high. I backed the chlorinator back down to 40%.

I took a sample to Leslie's. PH was a tad high, but they told me the salt was actually 3900ppm. They further told me that my generator would not produce chlorine at that level and that I would need to drain water.

We agreed that I would bump the chlorinator up to 50% and bring in a sample tomorrow to see if the chlorine goes up. If it does, I should be fine, if not I will need to drain.

My questions:

1. Does this sound right?
2. After I bumped up the chlorinator to 50%, I am not seeing the tiny bubbles I usually do when it makes chlorine. The diagnostic menu is saying that the chlorinator is off and the "% has been met". I have no idea what this means.
3. Is there a quicker way for me to tell if the generator is producing chlorine?
4. For my size pool, how much water should I drain to get the salt back to a "normal" level?

THANK YOU!!!

 

[jblizzle]

1. What does not sound right is that you are going to pool stores and trusting their testing ... you need to take control and invest in a recommended test kit (see link in my signature).
It does not mater what their salt test said, the only thing that matters is what the SWG thinks the salt level is.

2. 50% means the SWG is only generating FC for 50% of the time during a time cycle (which is usually 2-3 hours long).

3. Turn the output to 100% and you should see it generating

4. You do not need to drain anything.

To emphasize ... get a test kit ... stop going to Leslies.

 

[Ecjaustin]

I just got the pool and recently started testing the water myself. I definitely need a better kit. I kicked the generator up to 100% and did not see the bubbles it usually makes...and I still see the same message about the % being met...

 

[jblizzle]

Try turning the SWG off and then back on.
There is a way to switch the polarity on the SWG cell, but I do not recall how ... check the manual, which is online if you do not have it.

- - - Updated - - -

BTW, you should be getting the FC back up ASAP using bleach.

 

[Ecjaustin]

Flipping off the power did the trick! It's generating chlorine now. Thanks so much for your help!

 

[jblizzle]

What is your CYA? You need to get the FC up now with bleach and let the SWG maintain it.

And if the water is cloudy or green, you need to follow the SLAM Process process.

 

[Ecjaustin]

My chlorine level was always fine. I was concerned about the PH - that's why i took a sample to Leslie's. They got me all spun up about the salt level, making me think it wouldn't produce any chlorine with the amount of salt I had in the pool and that I was going to have to drain half my pool. What you said made total sense - my cell doesn't care what their test showed, it read it at 3200. I hate going in there.

Thanks again for the prompt responses...I love this site, it has been very helpful!

 

[Rollercoastr]

Ordering a real test kit is on your to-do list for TODAY, right?!

 

[Akathisia]

...and bumped the chlorinator from 40% to 60%.

Today, salt read 3200ppm and Chlorine was good. PH looked high. I backed the chlorinator back down to 40%.

...

Just to be clear, adjusting your SWG should only be related to your target chlorine levels and should not be dictated by pH. pH might tend to rise with a SWG depending on TA, but Ph is adjusted downward with muriatic acid, not by turning down the SWG.

 

[pooldv]

Ordering a real test kit is on your to-do list for TODAY, right?!

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Just to be clear, adjusting your SWG should only be related to your target chlorine levels and should not be dictated by pH. pH might tend to rise with a SWG depending on TA, but Ph is adjusted downward with muriatic acid, not by turning down the SWG.

​