Backwash Alternative

Jump to latest Follow Reply
L

LeoInGA

0
May 31, 2015
33
Kennesaw, GA
I am new owner of older home with older chlorine pool, new to TFP, and new to the care and feeding of pools. I have been evaluating converting to SWG or ionizer, and am somewhat leaning toward the SWG option. But I have not been able to get past my concern about the possible damage the salt water backwash may have on our landscaping. My property was developed into quite a garden by the prior owners, and am not willing to charge ahead and see what plants can and cannot tolerate the salty backwash.

However, I am wondering if anyone has any experience with or has considered providing non-salted backwash water from a tank or other source - e.g., a source other than the pool.

Would appreciate your thoughts.

Leo
 
Have you considered using a cartridge filter which does not require backwashing, this leaves the only time you have to generally worry about water discharge is when you need to lower the water level after excessive rain or if you have to do a water replacement one day.
 
Ionizers are not recommended for use at TFP. They do not sanitize the pool effectively and add metals to the water which leads to potential staining problems down the road. The level of salt in a saltwater pool is low and not likely to cause any issues in the landscape. I have never seen any reports of trouble and have seen many posts from people saying they have not seen any issues with it.
 
Isacc-1 - Thanks for the feedback. No, I had not considered that - was not aware of such a thing. One more item to get familiar with - I suppose. I have a sand filter and expected to use that.

Have any experience and/or recommendation re a "cartridge filter"???
 
You can get a cartridge filter from hayward or pentair... The bigger you go the less you will need to clean the filters..

Hayward has a bigger filter than pentair but the cost is more also..

Amazon.com : Hayward C5030 525 Square Foot SwimClear Cartridge Filter : Swimming Pool Cartridge Filters : Patio, Lawn Garden

Amazon.com : Hayward C7030 725 Square Feet SwimClear Reusable Cartridge Filter : Swimming Pool Cartridge Filters : Patio, Lawn Garden

Pentair

Amazon.com : Pentair 160332 Clean Garden
 
Your other option would be to go with a Stenner injection pump instead of an SWCG. Look up "The Liquidator" on this site. The upside of a bleach pump is that you don't need any salt in your water unless you specifically want to add it for softness.

You definitely want to be careful about discharging salt water onto your property even at low concentrations. Salt will build up in soils unless the area receives lots of rain throughout the year and has soil conditions that allow for good water drainage. Where I live, the soil is all heavy clay and caliche which will hold and retain salt. Once the salt is in the soil, remediating sodic soils can be a huge hassle.

DO you have a Municipal waste drain nearby or are you on septic? Can you run your backwash into that, is it allowed by your county/municipal ordinance?
 
I forgot to say, my grass and plants love the salty water.. I drain my hot tub (650Gallons) twice a year... They are now selling 10 pound bags of epsom salt for your lawn and shrubs at walmart, my lawn loved that :)
 
cowboycasey said:
I forgot to say, my grass and plants love the salty water.. I drain my hot tub (650Gallons) twice a year... They are now selling 10 pound bags of epsom salt for your lawn and shrubs at walmart, my lawn loved that :)
Click to expand...

Yes, Epsom salt (hydrated magnesium sulfate) is a good soil conditioner as most plants and grasses will happily tolerate it. The magnesium is an essential mineral for all plants as it is directly used in the production of chlorophyll. Sulfates are also useful in soils for balancing and buffering the pH of the soil.

Pool salt, however, is sodium chloride which is harmful to many flowering plants, trees and shrubs. Sodic soils can do lots of damage to your landscaping; see this management document from Colorado State University's ag extension. There are many different kinds of grasses that are tolerant to sodic soils, see USDA publication here.

Discharging backwash water may or may not be a problem depending on rainfall, drainage and soil types. If the soil is "loose" and drainage is good with lots of rain, then salty pool water likely poses little risk. If the soil is "harder" or composed of lots of clay and/or the property does not drain well, then you risk the build up of salt in your soil. The build-up process would likely be slow, but the symptoms of sodic soils on plants are often subtle, variable and confusing making it hard to distinguish a plant disease process from sodic water competition.
 
And this is why I love this site, never knew or thought there would be a difference.. Now I am glad I went with a cartridge filter....

JoyfulNoise said:
Yes, Epsom salt (hydrated magnesium sulfate) is a good soil conditioner as most plants and grasses will happily tolerate it. The magnesium is an essential mineral for all plants as it is directly used in the production of chlorophyll. Sulfates are also useful in soils for balancing and buffering the pH of the soil.

Pool salt, however, is sodium chloride which is harmful to many flowering plants, trees and shrubs. Sodic soils can do lots of damage to your landscaping; see this management document from Colorado State University's ag extension. There are many different kinds of grasses that are tolerant to sodic soils, see USDA publication here.

Discharging backwash water may or may not be a problem depending on rainfall, drainage and soil types. If the soil is "loose" and drainage is good with lots of rain, then salty pool water likely poses little risk. If the soil is "harder" or composed of lots of clay and/or the property does not drain well, then you risk the build up of salt in your soil. The build-up process would likely be slow, but the symptoms of sodic soils on plants are often subtle, variable and confusing making it hard to distinguish a plant disease process from sodic water competition.
Click to expand...
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
WOW! Thanks for all the meaningful responses and questions. My situation is:
1. Yes, I am on a septic tank.
2. I have no means of piping the backwash (salty or otherwise) off my property, and even so, that wouldn't be prudent.
3. My soil is good old Georgia clay.
4. I have many dogwoods, magnolias, along with some giant hickory, red oaks, tulip poplars, and a few varieties I have yet to identify. I even have at least one "honey locust" (aka, the tree from ****). I have a broad variety of shrubs - many are "highland" and "forest" shrubs - i.e., numerous rhodedendrum, hydrangeas, and "native" varieties of mountain laurel and azaleas.
5. My grass is Zenith Zoysia I've started from seed (had good luck with it before and loved it).

I will definitely check out the cartridge filter alternative. A bit pricey, but clearly worth considering. But I'm definitely leaning in the direction of installing a water tank with an additional valve to the pump to allow me to use non-salted water for my backwash. I think I can get 200-500 gallon tanks locally for half the cost of the cartridge system and I have room for it in the vicinity of my pump and filter.
 
Yeah, those hydrangeas and azaleas will definitely not like the salt water. As well, pool water pH (~7.4-7.8), relatively speaking, is very alkaline compared to soil pH (6-7.5) and hydrangeas need even more acidic soil (pH ~4.5) to develop their beautiful blue color. Blueberries are similar.

And yes, those honey locust trees were designed by the devil to frustrate pool owners and landscapes alike. We have mesquite trees here in the southwest which are always dropping something.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Unless you have an excessive amount of rain, you will probably only have to dump water via backwash a couple times a season. I only have grass where my backwash line goes, and it has no problem with the salt.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Richard, I have a Slime Bag and they do work. I never thought about attaching it to the backwash hose and letting the water filter back into the pool instead of losing the water. I usually attach it to the return after I backwash so it catches anything that may shoot out. Usually a teaspoon of sand...lol
 
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