Salt startup and levels

Jump to latest Follow Reply
R

Redsurprise

Well-known member
Jun 12, 2023
194
Surprise, AZ
Pool Size
6000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
So pool company added salt to my pool today. 3 big bags and set the SWCG to run from 7:30-3:30. But there is a water flow flowsensor that has to be replaced tomorrow that pool company cut when they added plugged in the salt cell last week.

Not sure if the salt cell is working or not.

Any way, my free chlorine was 4.5 today . If the salt hadn’t been added , I would have added a little liquid chlorine to keep my levels closer to 6.

Can/Should I add chlorine tonight or wait to see what SWCG does with salt tomorrow? Am I good with adding Muriatic Acid tonight? Salt was added 4 hours ago.

The omnogic says 2800 ppm for the chlorinator. But it has said that for past week when the salt wasn’t added to the pool yet.

Any guidance on what to do would be appreciated!! I leave early tomorrow to go out of the country and my roommmate is going to try to manage my pool for the next 6 days. Not sure what to tell him to do given the new variable with the SWCG.

IMG_8436.png
 
You can add liquid chlorine and acid tonight. Just space them by a few minutes with the pump running.
 
After the salt is fully dissolved, the pump should be set to run continuously for 24 hours before the SWG is turned on. This helps distribute the salt uniformly throughout the pool water.
 
proavia said:
After the salt is fully dissolved, the pump should be set to run continuously for 24 hours before the SWG is turned on. This helps distribute the salt uniformly throughout the pool water.
Click to expand...
i am not sure if the SWCG is really working since this water flow sensor isn’t on/connected. Should I turn off the schedule and SWCG?

All the pool company told me today via text was this :

IMG_8438.jpeg
This is what the omnogic says currently:

IMG_8437.png
 
If there is no flow switch, the SWCG is not operating.

Not a big deal on the chlorine. Add it or not. Just make sure tomorrow it is in target range.
 
So I was doing fairly well with my chemicals pre salt cell setup. But since the pool company fixed/replaced the water flow sensor they cut on Friday,, my levels are out of control. They jerked me around for a couple of weeks setting this up and did it after the deadline I had given them to do this before I went out of the country for 6 days. My friend was checking the pH and FC daily or every other day while away, then daily since Friday, and added chlorine once (pre salt cell working when FC dropped to 4 and muriatic acid a couple of times (I think). After inquiring more tonight I think he messed up yesterday and accidentally added chlorine thinking it was muriatic acid. Though not sure exactly what he did.

Anyway, Can someone guide me on what I should do?
First, for pool math , I am not sure what to change then sanitizer to in the settings. Before salt cell I had bleach as my sanitizer. I feel I should change it to the SWG now. Pool math asks for a salt cell and gives a certain number of pounds per day. I don’t see my salt cell listed . I have the Hayward T-cell S340. Which one do I select? Can someone also let me know what salt level target I should have?

Pool company also set my salt cell to work from 0730-1500 at 50% set point . Is that appropriate ? Given my chlorine level right now, I almost want to turn off the salt cell for a couple of days. Thoughts?

History wise, FC was 4.5 on the 22nd, the day PB fixed the flow sensor and theoretically my salt cell was finally working. I had my friend add 6oz of muriatic acid. But not sure if he added that or liquid chlorine by acccident. Then the next day the FC went up to 8.5. I had my friend add another 8oz of acid as pH went up to 8.2. Again not if my friend added wrong chemical or not.

Then today I when I got home from my trip I checked everything and FC was 15, pH off the charts at 8.4 and cya low. A The crazy high 15 is from my stupid roommate adding the wrong chemical yesterday for sure. At a loss of how to fix this. Worried my pool is getting super damaged right now.


Anyway, here are my levels:

Ph. 8.4
CH- 250
ALK- 80
FC- 15
CYA- 30
Water temp- 65.3
CSI- 0.44

Any help would be appreciated.

Do I add muriatic acid per pool math recommendation? Not sure if my salt ppm is good. Do I need to add stabilizer?

 
Last edited:
Your pH reading is not valid if your FC is above 10 ppm. Wait for the FC to come down.

Your SWCG is a T15.

Shut off the SWCG for a couple days to let the FC fall.

Then set it to create ~2ppm FC per day. Check your FC daily and adjust to keep in target range.
 
Be grateful your roommate added too much of something that easily comes out. By doing nothing. (y)

Mustard algae SLAM FC is 18 for your 30 CYA and safe to hold for 24 hours before letting it drift down. Maybe it's been slightly over 24 hours but you're already under the 18, so you should be fine.

Shut the cell off as said above and wait it out.
 
  • Your pH test is invalid with your FC over 10. Ignore the test until your FC drops.
  • Your CH is fine
  • Your TA is fine
  • Your FC is high. We will discuss turning down your SWG below.
  • Your CYA is low for a SWG in AZ. You need to add 2lbs of dry stabilizer using the sock method to raise your CYA to 60-70.
  • Your SWG cell is a T-15.
  • Your cell generating for 7.5 hours at 50% will generate 3.5ppm of FC/day. That is about right for the summer months but high for March.
  • Lower your SWG to 10% which will give you 0.7ppm/day and your FC should drift down. At the same time add the stabilizer.
  • With a CYA of 60 your FC target will be 4-9 so when your FC drops around 7-8 you can raise your SWG to 40% and see which way your FC level goes.
  • Your pool is not getting damaged and FC of 15 is not crazy high. SLAM FC level for CYA 30 is 12 and you are just over it. SLAM FC for CYA 60 would be 24.
www.troublefreepool.com

The Free Chlorine and Cyanuric Acid Relationship

Managing your cyanuric acid and Free Chlorine levels is key to stabilizing your pool. Learn how these two items affect each other.
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

www.troublefreepool.com

What Are My Ideal Pool Levels?

Use our tool to find ideal chemical levels for any swimming pool. Check TFP recommended levels on pH, free chlorine, cyanuric acid, and more.
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
ajw22 said:
  • Your pH test is invalid with your FC over 10. Ignore the test until your FC drops.
  • Your CH is fine
  • Your TA is fine
  • Your FC is high. We will discuss turning down your SWG below.
  • Your CYA is low for a SWG in AZ. You need to add 2lbs of dry stabilizer using the sock method to raise your CYA to 60-70.
  • Your SWG cell is a T-15.
  • Your cell generating for 7.5 hours at 50% will generate 3.5ppm of FC/day. That is about right for the summer months but high for March.
  • Lower your SWG to 10% which will give you 0.7ppm/day and your FC should drift down. At the same time add the stabilizer.
  • With a CYA of 60 your FC target will be 4-9 so when your FC drops around 7-8 you can raise your SWG to 40% and see which way your FC level goes.
  • Your pool is not getting damaged and FC of 15 is not crazy high. SLAM FC level for CYA 30 is 12 and you are just over it. SLAM FC for CYA 60 would be 24.
www.troublefreepool.com

The Free Chlorine and Cyanuric Acid Relationship

Managing your cyanuric acid and Free Chlorine levels is key to stabilizing your pool. Learn how these two items affect each other.
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

www.troublefreepool.com

What Are My Ideal Pool Levels?

Use our tool to find ideal chemical levels for any swimming pool. Check TFP recommended levels on pH, free chlorine, cyanuric acid, and more.
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
Click to expand...
Thanks so much for the fast feedback. Should I add the stabilizer tonight? If so, I need to go boy some, I think I only have 1/4 or less of a 4lb bag?
mknauss said:
Your pH reading is not valid if your FC is above 10 ppm. Wait for the FC to come down.

Your SWCG is a T15.

Shut off the SWCG for a couple days to let the FC fall.

Then set it to create ~2ppm FC per day. Check your FC daily and adjust to keep in target range.
Click to expand...
which choice is it?

IMG_8646.png
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
The CYA add can wait until you get some. Not critical until late April.

Pick either T15. Does not matter.
 
I turned off my SWG and will recheck tomorrow or Tuesday. At what level do I turn it back on? When I do I will put at 10% as suggested.

If Home Depot or Walmart sell stabilizer, I can pick some up tomorrow, otherwise, I need to wait until I am off work Wednesday.

Is the salt level of 2400 ppm in my pool a good level/amount of salt? I checked it for first time today since they fixed the flow sensor. For a day or so, I was getting low salt warning on the Omni PL system. But that error went away.
 
Redsurprise said:
I turned off my SWG and will recheck tomorrow or Tuesday. At what level do I turn it back on? When I do I will put at 10% as suggested.
Click to expand...

off or 10% is the same thing.

Start raising your SWG % up when FC is around 7.
Redsurprise said:
If Home Depot or Walmart sell stabilizer, I can pick some up tomorrow, otherwise, I need to wait until I am off work Wednesday.
Click to expand...

No rush on that. Get what you have dissolving in a sock and then add more when you get it.
Redsurprise said:
Is the salt level of 2400 ppm in my pool a good level/amount of salt? I checked it for first time today since they fixed the flow sensor. For a day or so, I was getting low salt warning on the Omni PL system. But that error went away.
Click to expand...
Do you have a salt test kit?

Salt level should be around 3000 ppm.
 
ajw22 said:
off or 10% is the same thing.

Start raising your SWG % up when FC is around 7.


No rush on that. Get what you have dissolving in a sock and then add more when you get it.

Do you have a salt test kit?

Salt level should be around 3000 ppm.
Click to expand...
Yes. I have the TF-pro set and tested the salt per the directions. Got 12 drops before it turned the milky salmon color, so 2400 ppm.

What do you mean by dissolve in a sock?
 
Redsurprise said:
Yes. I have the TF-pro set and tested the salt per the directions. Got 12 drops before it turned the milky salmon color, so 2400 ppm
Click to expand...

What does the OmniPL say the salt level is?

Redsurprise said:
What do you mean by dissolve in a sock?
Click to expand...

www.troublefreepool.com

Recommended Pool Chemicals

Which should I buy? TFP's recommended pool chemicals are cheap, easy, and won't unbalance your pool water.
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

Solid/granular CYA should be placed in a sock and the sock put in the skimmer basket or suspended in front of a pool return. If suspending near a return jet, ensure the sock cannot rest against the pool surface since the granules are acidic and could potentially discolor the surface. After adding CYA you should leave the pump running for 24 hours and not backwash/clean the filter for a week. After soaking for about 30 minutes, squeezing the sock periodically will help it to dissolve faster. Test and dose chemicals in your pool assuming the amount of CYA added is in the pool according to Poolmath. CYA can be tested the day after it is fully dissolved from the sock.
 
mknauss said:

CYA - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

If your salt level is that low, it is likely the SWCG is not generating chlorine.
Click to expand...
Ok. I only asked about salt level because of the above comment. I guess I will see what my chlorine levels are like in a few days (hopefully they come down) and will see if the SWG keeps chlorine level where I want it to be. Am I aiming for a FC level between 4-6 or 6-8?
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
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