Does salt change your water?

[Chrissykr]

If this is not the right place for this please move.

Does converting to salt change the water clarity? I am not new to a sparkly pool, I have followed TFP protocol since I have had my pool almost six years ago. I have never really had problems and even my mom who doesn’t know anything about pool comments how much nicer my water is vs my sister’s pool is (she uses a pool service) since adding salt my water looks even better. I normally run some Fiber Clear in my filter and right now we are in a cold snap and I am running my pump all night so no Fiber Clear. My water looks amazing even my hubby asked me what is different. Something is different.

 

[markayash]

I wonder the same thing..My water looked clear and softer before I turned on my SWG.
I have a water fall and it use to splash now it just blends in if that makes sense

 

[JoyfulNoise]

The refractive index, surface tension, and viscosity of saltwater is slightly different than pure water but we’re not talking about huge salinity changes with or without an SWG. That said, a keen eyeball will notice slight changes in the way light transmits through the water and reflects from the surface. So you’re probably just noticing that difference.

 

[mguzzy]

Physical Chem was a long time ago.. in another lifetime.. But I remember this snippet that some colloidal suspensions will destabilize when adding salt... in other words.. add salt and some of the suspended crud may drop out. Perhaps you are seeing that and I know I am simplifying a lot here. Changes in the physical properties with higher salinity were certainly evident in my pool when I added enough salt to make my SWG do its thang.

 

[dswwpb]

I noticed the same thing after converting to salt. Thought it was just me but then my wife commented on it also. My water is now so clear it almost looks fake.

 

[woodyp]

I just WISH my eyeballs were still that good!

 

[markayash]

I noticed the same thing after converting to salt. Thought it was just me but then my wife commented on it also. My water is now so clear it almost looks fake.

I have a blue pebble and it never seemed to stand out..Now the water is blue and clear

 

[newdude]

I noticed the same thing after converting to salt. Thought it was just me but then my wife commented on it also. My water is now so clear it almost looks fake.

I have a blue pebble and it never seemed to stand out..Now the water is blue and clear

It could be that the constant (24/7 people) or daily (everybody else) dosage of the SWG keeps everyone ‘in ideal range’ far more often than the average pool with corrections every few days, or once a week with a pool service.