Chronic Low Salt

[towacodaddy]

Hi - I've had my salt water pool for nearly 10 years and have never had this problem. Typically I can easily keep the pool at around 3000 PPM, and if it dips to 2600-2700 I dump 2-3 bags in and it goes back to 3000+. About 10 days ago, the salt level dipped to 1600, which I've never seen before, and I don't understand the reason for it. Since then we've probably dumped about 8 or 10 bags of salt in the pool but have not been able to get the level above 1800, and it immediately dips to a level it doesn't even measure (it just says "Very Low Salt"). We shocked the pool last weekend, because I'm afraid we're going to start to see algae or worse. I suppose it's possible the built-in salt meter is broken, rather than the salt level being this low, so I'm also concerned I'm going to put in too much salt (although the water is still very clear). Any thoughts on next steps for us? Thanks in advance for any guidance!

Andy Becker

 

[wireform]

Andy
Your signature doesn't include your SWCG so we don't know what you have so please fill it in. You can't rely on just the cell salinity value so how else are you checking your salinity. We here on TFP rely on the Taylor K-1766 which is an absolute as guess strips are just not accurate enough.

 

[duraleigh]

Yeah, something amiss with your testing, I think. DO NOT add any more salt until you get a confirming test.

 

[mknauss]

It is very likely the thermistor has failed in your flow switch. Typical issue for Pentair SWCG’s. Stop adding salt. Very likely you will have to drain water to lower the salinity. Test the salinity with an accurate test kit.

 

[towacodaddy]

Thanks to all for your quick responses.

I have a Hayward Turbo Cell T-Cell-15, got it with the original pool.

I have a tester, and this is what it shows - I assume it can't be right, the salt level can't be this high...

So the water is now cloudy. How low can I drain it before I refill? Or do I need to drain it a few inches, refill and repeat?