Not adding CYA, but what about Salt?

[IkeRay]

I just was playing with the pool calculator and noticed that adding 2ppm FC raises salt levels by 3ppm via sodium hypochloride (bleach). so, you won't necessarily have to replace water yearly or bi-yearly for some people, but you would have to eventually lower your salt.

I figured ~1 gal/day in my pool yields 3ppm salt per day, I don't plan on closing the pool down in the winter and I'll probably cut back on the usage some over the winter but still I'll expect to use at least 300 gal of bleach this year. that comes out to ~900ppm salt added assuming I only use 300 gallons. I've already used a good 50 gallons if not more and thats 165ppm right there. I measured my salt via test strips and got a reading of 600ppm.


my question is, when does one know when there is too much salt in the water?

 

[JasonLion]

Salt gets added slowly enough, and the acceptable level is high enough, and enough water gets splashed out or backwashed, that hardly anyone ever gets to the point where there might be problems. Salt is basically fine up to around 5,000. As the salt level goes up the chances of corrosion increase slowly up to about 6000, then corrosion risks increase more quickly. If you hold the salt level to 5000 there shouldn't be any serious problems (give or take the same issues SWG systems sometimes have).

In a pool with a cartridge filter (no backwashing), and fairly low usage (little splash out), that never closes for the winter, it is possible to get to questionable salt levels, but it would take years and years. If you lower the water level for the winter or backwash the filter then there really can't be a problem.

 

[chem geek]

I also want to point out that when The Pool Calculator says that for every 10 ppm FC you add with bleach or chlorinating liquid you get 16 ppm salt, that this includes BOTH the 8 ppm salt you get when you add the bleach or chlorinating liquid PLUS the 8 ppm salt you get when the chlorine is used up. ALL sources of chlorine have this latter 8 ppm salt so using Trichlor, Dichlor or Cal-Hypo will not avoid getting a rise in salt level, though will generally rise more slowly (half the rate for Trichlor and Dichlor, but then they add CYA; Cal-Hypo has a little salt in it so in between Trichlor/Dichlor and bleach/chlorinating liquid, but adds to CH).

 

[IkeRay]

good to know, thank you guys, just something that crossed my mind that kinda worried me, even though i know high salt levels are nothing to worry about compared to high cya levels.

so pretty much any chlorine that you use will be adding something that can't be reduced other than drain and refill, but of all the big 3, cal-hypo (CH), dichlor/trichlor(CYA), and sodium hypochloride(Salt), the bleach is the least bothersome byproduct.