New to Salt Water Pools

[charliejss]

i too am new to the salt water pools. i only have a small intex pool (1700 gal) for the kids but i am having trouble with cloudy water. we used it the first part of summer..no problem. it got accidentally drained last week and since adding new water and salt, i cannot get the clorine up and the cloudiness gone. my swg keeps saying low salt and i have added more than i did the first go round and also added a stablizer. i want to do the bleach, but dont know how much to put in the first time. and doo you just pour it in around the return like you would a larger pooL/ i need some help bad, these kids are getting impatient. thanks for any help. i have the borax and the bleach and soda if needed...just dont know where to start.
these are my readings:
salt-800
cya- 30-50
ta- 80
ph: 72
fc- "0"
th- 100
the pool is and intex 1700 gal easy set pool and using the krystal clear salt water system.

thanks,

charliejss

 

[msgtdan]

Add 10 oz of 8.25% bleach you can do the calculations here for daily usage. http://www.poolcalculator.com/ Enter your pool volume at the top and other info at the bottom. To SLAM use 38 oz initially to get to 15 and then keep it there until you pass the SLAM process

The swg won't make chlorine until it see the proper amount of salt so you'll have to supplement until it does. Why it doesn't now others can help you with.

 

[woodyp]

What does your SWG require as far as CYA levels go? They look a little low for that.

 

[charliejss]

my swg asks for 10-20ppm and 50 for max. thanks to both who posted a re: i read farther after i posted and found out how to calculate the bleach. i did find out i have to get a better testing kit...as i am using htp 6way test strips and htp salt test strips. we had nothing else in my town and couldnt get away today. so are you saying that i will need to keep adding the bleach until i get the salt level where it should be? my salt system wont even run that i can tell, until i get enough salt. i have put about 20 lbs in it and i would have thought that would have done it. i had clorine easy set pools for the kids all years past and i know i will like the salt once i get it figured out. it is just frustrating because you get impatient and want it to clear immediately. i love this site and i have gained so much knowledge in just what few houirs i have been on here today. you people are awesome. if post anything wrong, or dont post at all what i need to, someone let me know as us newbees need all the help we can get. will let you know what i find out tomorrow.

 

[linen]

Welcome to tfp, charliejss

We recommend 70-80 ppm cya levels for swgs. It will increase the life of your swg. See: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/water_balance_saltwater_generator

How did you get your test results? Test strips are almost always wrong on cya. How much stabilizer did you add?

To get to 3000 ppm salt (what the intex wants) you will need 44 lbs in your 1700 gallon pool.

 

[charliejss]

i did use test strips and then i found out they arent accurate. thats all we had available in our little town. i will try to find a kit today. first thing this morning...it may look a little more clear. if you can go anything by the strip tests, the cya is up to 100, the th is up to 200, the ph is up to 7.5, ta is up to 180 and the fc is still 0. going to treat and brush again this morning. i have added about 2 lbs of the clarifier. i am so anxious to keep doing what you are telling me to see the results..and besides that...i have 2 6year olds who swim everyday for hours and they are driving me crazy. sorry, i dont know how to get mysignature (info) at the bottom of these. still working on that. thanks to all. charliejss

 

[msgtdan]

Signature is under User control panel at the top left, then under profile, signature. For the test kit you probably won't find one of the recommended ones locally, here's a comparison http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/pool_test_kit_comparison. Another link for seasonal pools with an intermediate test kit that you might be able to get locally and which I started with is here http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/temporary_pool_guide

Yes you'll need to add bleach daily until the SWG starts working and may have to supplement with bleach if chlorine gets low. SWG are good a maintaining chlorine levels but not so good at raising levels or SLAMing.

 

[linen]

One approach you could take since it sounds like you are fighting algae, your pool volume is small, and you don't know your cya level is to do a full drain/refill and then follow (to some extent) this pool school article with modifications (like 70-80 ppm cya): http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/temporary_pool_guide

 

[charliejss]

thanks to all you woh helped me. my pool has a little way to go but is sparkling clean. the clorine is great and salt up to almost where it should be. again thanks to all of you. if i wouldnt have found this website, i nevr would have understood the salt water system. they tell you to put in the salt and you are good to go. my sis had a pool much bigger than this and she said that is all she had to do. her water always tested good and she didnt add. if you wouldnt have told me, i wouldnt have known the salt system creates the clorine need. see, i am new to all of this. i did come to a couple of conclusions...one, i needed more salt than what was in there, and second, i wasnt running my system long enough for it to produce the clorine needed. i went by there table, and then added a little time, but now i know what to watch for, what to do, and not to rely on test strips. thanks again,
charliej