New-ish pool owners thinking about switch to salt system

[Truthisoutthere]

Hi there!

We had our pool installed last summer (we are in Indiana) and we really had no clue so we took the recommendation for the Frog System for our chlorine pool. Last summer wasn't too bad but we did find we couldn't keep those pesky water bugs out of the pool.

This summer started out smoothly as well until those dumb bugs came back. So after trips to the pool store, loads of shock, algeacide and who knows what else (and hundreds of dollars later) the bugs are gone but our free chlorine was through the roof as was our CYA and copper.

Long story short, we drained down below the skimmer and refilled today and the CYA dropped from over 90 to 60. So we are draining again once more to get it closer to 30 and I pulled the chlorine pac out of the Frog system and grabbed some liquid chlorine. But I know the Frog thing needs to go completely because my daughter's hair is green and the copper reading is super high.

From what I'm reading, the short term solution is to just use liquid chlorine and maybe stabilizer IF needed, and follow the TFP methods here but I wondered about switching to a salt system. I did originally want that but the pool store talked me out of it.

So my questions are as follows (our pool is just over 19,000 gallons - 27' round above ground):

1. Can we just switch any time to salt or do we need to balance the pool first and then switch? And as an aside, we are halfway through the season, should we wait until we open it next spring to switch?
2. How can we tell if our existing pump will work with the salt generator (it's a 2-speed pump, I attached photos)?
3. We have a cartridge filter, do you need a new filter for a salt system?
4. My husband is handy, is this a DIY project he can handle (he builds concrete dosing pumps for a living)?
5. What salt system do you all recommend?

Thank you so much for any advice you can offer.

 

[Richard320]

So my questions are as follows (our pool is just over 19,000 gallons - 27' round above ground):

1. Can we just switch any time to salt or do we need to balance the pool first and then switch? And as an aside, we are halfway through the season, should we wait until we open it next spring to switch?
2. How can we tell if our existing pump will work with the salt generator (it's a 2-speed pump, I attached photos)?
3. We have a cartridge filter, do you need a new filter for a salt system?
4. My husband is handy, is this a DIY project he can handle (he builds concrete dosing pumps for a living)?
5. What salt system do you all recommend?

Thank you so much for any advice you can offer.

!) Yes. It is best to have everything balanced and adjusted before you add the salt. Give the salt a day to dissolve and mix and turn on the SWG for a seamless transition. The only thing that will change is that instead of you dumping bleach in once, the SWG injects it over a period of hours.
2) 1.5 HP is enough. Low speed will probably be enough flow to close the flow switch. Certainly high speed will.
3) No
4) Yes.
5) That is a matter of personal preference. Some people want a certain brand because it will tie into the automation better. The important thing is to size it 2 or 3 times the size of your pool. That way you can generate enough chlorine in a few hours of pump running rather than leaving it on 24/7.

 

[Truthisoutthere]

Richard, thank you so much for taking the time to respond, I appreciate it!