Converting BACK to Salt Water

[atropine]

Hi all- I bought a foreclosed house with a pool about 10 years ago. When I bought it, I hired a pool guy who came and looked at things and told me the salt water generator was burned out and would need to be replaced at a cost of $1400 (it was a Pentair IC40). He recommended just converting it to a chlorine tab pool and since I had never owned a pool I agreed. I live in the middle of nowhere and reliable pool guys have been hard to come by, so I learned from here and have been doing most of my own maintenance since. I have taken water samples in to Leslie's on occasion and followed their advice for what i needed to add. With the increasing price of chlorine tabs, I decided to go ahead and convert back to salt water. Finally found a Pentair IC60 in stock for a reasonable price and it should arrive today. Hopefully the salt water power generator still works. My question is what other things do I need to consider from a chemistry standpoint going back to SW? Do I take a sample in to Leslie's and just ask? Do I take this opportunity to just drain the pool and start over? Its a 40,000 gallon in-ground pool in southern Nevada...

 

[mknauss]

You need to test your pool water chemistry with your own test kit. Do you have one? You will need a salt test kit also.

You need to check your CYA and CH to see what levels those are to see if draining is needed. Likely, in S Nevada, your CH may be quite high.

 

[magiteck]

Hi atropine! If you’ve learned from here, then you should know that we don’t trust pool store test results, and if you want to take control of your pool you really need to test your own water.

I suggest you read ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry to help understand the chemistry piece of it.

Then, make sure you get yourself a good test kit. Test Kits Compared.

Other than needing to establish your salt level, the biggest differences you’ll see switching from pucks is that you’ll likely need to periodically add muriatic acid to lower pH — whereas with the acidic pucks you may have previously needed to raise your pH.

You’re also going to want to make sure your CYA level is in a good place. Typically a bit higher level is recommended with a SWG.

Here’s a couple more links. Fire away with any questions!
Recommended Levels

FC/CYA Levels

 

[markayash]

On test kits I recommend the TF-100. I have used the Taylor one for the last few years since it’s easy to click it on Amazon but after using both the TF one is better and a better value.
Plus I have found refills on Amazon or hit or miss on when they expire.

 

[atropine]

Thanks everyone! Apparently I haven't really learned enough here yet... I do have a test kit, but the label is missing so I don't know which one it is. It's just one I bought at Leslie's - and it doesn't test for CYA levels. So I honestly have no idea what my current CYA level is. I just pulled it out and did a test (to be honest I have just been adding chlorine tabs and occasionally some muriatic acid and checking with test strips). With the current cold weather and us not using the pool for the last while, I let the chlorine levels get too high and the pH too high. Here are my current readings:

Total Alkalinity: 130ppm
pH: about 8.0-8.2. Based on the acid demand test, I need to add about 6 quarts of muriatic acid to get my 40k gallon pool down to pH = 7.5.
Total Chlorine: about 10ppm. This is much higher than I usually let it get...

I obviously need to invest in a better test kit that will measure CYA levels and salt levels. I will do some more reading as suggested above and get going on this. Thanks everyone.

 

[markayash]

Thanks everyone! Apparently I haven't really learned enough here yet... I do have a test kit, but the label is missing so I don't know which one it is. It's just one I bought at Leslie's - and it doesn't test for CYA levels. So I honestly have no idea what my current CYA level is. I just pulled it out and did a test (to be honest I have just been adding chlorine tabs and occasionally some muriatic acid and checking with test strips). With the current cold weather and us not using the pool for the last while, I let the chlorine levels get too high and the pH too high. Here are my current readings:

Total Alkalinity: 130ppm
pH: about 8.0-8.2. Based on the acid demand test, I need to add about 6 quarts of muriatic acid to get my 40k gallon pool down to pH = 7.5.
Total Chlorine: about 10ppm. This is much higher than I usually let it get...

I obviously need to invest in a better test kit that will measure CYA levels and salt levels. I will do some more reading as suggested above and get going on this. Thanks everyone.

Pool math is a good app to help you get it in balance. Good news is once you get it set life is so much easier
Lots of great folks here who are willing to help, so ask question if not sure about anything

 

[YippeeSkippy]

You want to make sure your chosen test kit contains the very important FAS-DPD test (powder test) for higher levels of FC than 5 or 10ppm.
My preferred kit is the TF-pro Salt test kit. Its all there and in good quantity. And I know the kit's reagents will last at least 2 years, assuming no problems which required more than normal testing.

Also please share your general location on your information as that helps us answer questions that might be variable based on your climate. Thanks.

Maddie

 

[atropine]

Ok- I just ordered a “TF-Pro *Salt with SmartStir”. Looks like it should have everything I could possibly need?

My location is Logandale, Nevada. About 60 miles east of Las Vegas. Pool is about 40k gallons, gunnite, with Pentair equipment. We are at about 1400’ elevation. My house is in a very rural location- bordered on 2 sides by BLM land so it is dusty. I have tried to limit the amount of vegetation that can shed material into the pool, but there are some 40’ tall mature palm trees that do drop stuff in the wind. My pool has a spa that overflows into a shallow “kiddie pool” that is about 18” deep that then overflows into the main pool which ranges from 5’ deep to about 10-11’ deep at the far end. At the deep end there is a slide and a waterfall coming off a faux-rock structure. I have never had a pool cover but I just bought 2 “solar blankets” that I will cut to the shapes of the 3 sections of the pool and hopefully this will keep some dirt/debris out and keep the water a little warmer. Up to this point I have just been cleaning on my own with a pool vac and suctioning with the hose through one of the skimmers- the pool was not built with a dedicated suction port in the wall. The pop-up rotating cleaners built into the floor have never really worked, despite having a pool guy replace them all at one point. I just bought a Dolphin Triton PS pool robot (borrowed a friend’s and it seemed to work well so I bought the same one)- hopefully this helps maintain the pool a little easier for me.
Thanks everyone!

 

[markayash]

Ok- I just ordered a “TF-Pro *Salt with SmartStir”. Looks like it should have everything I could possibly need?

My location is Logandale, Nevada. About 60 miles east of Las Vegas. Pool is about 40k gallons, gunnite, with Pentair equipment. We are at about 1400’ elevation. My house is in a very rural location- bordered on 2 sides by BLM land so it is dusty. I have tried to limit the amount of vegetation that can shed material into the pool, but there are some 40’ tall mature palm trees that do drop stuff in the wind. My pool has a spa that overflows into a shallow “kiddie pool” that is about 18” deep that then overflows into the main pool which ranges from 5’ deep to about 10-11’ deep at the far end. At the deep end there is a slide and a waterfall coming off a faux-rock structure. I have never had a pool cover but I just bought 2 “solar blankets” that I will cut to the shapes of the 3 sections of the pool and hopefully this will keep some dirt/debris out and keep the water a little warmer. Up to this point I have just been cleaning on my own with a pool vac and suctioning with the hose through one of the skimmers- the pool was not built with a dedicated suction port in the wall. The pop-up rotating cleaners built into the floor have never really worked, despite having a pool guy replace them all at one point. I just bought a Dolphin Triton PS pool robot (borrowed a friend’s and it seemed to work well so I bought the same one)- hopefully this helps maintain the pool a little easier for me.
Thanks everyone!

A robot and a SWG makes pool life fun

 

[MA5177]

Hi all- I bought a foreclosed house with a pool about 10 years ago. When I bought it, I hired a pool guy who came and looked at things and told me the salt water generator was burned out and would need to be replaced at a cost of $1400 (it was a Pentair IC40). He recommended just converting it to a chlorine tab pool and since I had never owned a pool I agreed. I live in the middle of nowhere and reliable pool guys have been hard to come by, so I learned from here and have been doing most of my own maintenance since. I have taken water samples in to Leslie's on occasion and followed their advice for what i needed to add. With the increasing price of chlorine tabs, I decided to go ahead and convert back to salt water. Finally found a Pentair IC60 in stock for a reasonable price and it should arrive today. Hopefully the salt water power generator still works. My question is what other things do I need to consider from a chemistry standpoint going back to SW? Do I take a sample in to Leslie's and just ask? Do I take this opportunity to just drain the pool and start over? Its a 40,000 gallon in-ground pool in southern Nevada...

How do you know it’s 40,000 gallons?

 

[atropine]

How do you know it’s 40,000 gallons?

Pool guy estimated it at that when I bought the house.... But I have done my best estimation also by measuring average width/length/depth of all 3 sections and I come up with 40-42k also.