Draining Pool TDS

[JamesW]

Question is what is normal salt range for a non salt water pool? Is 3600ppm high?

Liquid chlorine adds a lot of salt. In addition, you're adding a lot of salt due to overuse of acid and baking soda.

There's really no upper limit to how much salt you can have. It does affect the CSI, which you can compensate for. I wouldn't let it get over 5,000 in any case.

 

[ajw22]

Adding 3 ppm of FC adds 5 ppm of salt. All liquid chlorine contains salt.

 

[HermanTX]

Adding 3 ppm of FC adds 5 ppm of salt. All liquid chlorine contains salt.

Does salt dissipate at all on its own or does it just keep cumulating (like CYA if you use pucks)? How do you manage salt level once it exceeds say 4000ppm?

 

[ajw22]

Does salt dissipate at all on its own or does it just keep cumulating (like CYA if you use pucks)? How do you manage salt level once it exceeds say 4000ppm?

Salt accumulates in a pool and the only way to remove it is though draining the water. You lose salt through splash out and overflow.

 

[Fishy1234]

So much to think about now. This started out wanting to know if I need to drain due to high TDS of 4100, and if I should wait until spring.
I only swam in the pool 2 times all year and have to say, the water did taste salty and my hair was feeling funky afterwards. Since this is the original water and I have added so much algicides, pool store Perfect Weekly, and various other things they recommended besides the Chlorine, Acid, and Baking Soda. And now the salt is so high that I am leaning towards draining and refilling. Somehow I think starting out with a clean slate and sticking to the non pool store program would give me peace of mind.
Will draining the salty water onto my grass be a problem for the grass?

 

[mguzzy]

You will get quite a bit of dilution with the winter rains. I bet if you manage your chem additions better, the winter rains will dilute things back into submission.

 

[Fishy1234]

This is the spill over. sorry older picture before backyard was finished landscaping.

 

[JamesW]

Before you consider draining, make sure that the ground water is under control or you could float the pool.

Welp my fiberglass pool popped out... sigh (story/advice)

I have had a long storied relationship with my fiberglass pool, which over the past few years I have posted and asked questions about. And now.. well things pretty much went from bad to about as bad as possible. (skip to TLDR if you aren't in the mood for a story) A bit of backstory for fun (in...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Fishy1234]

Before you consider draining, make sure that the ground water is under control or you could float the pool.

Welp my fiberglass pool popped out... sigh (story/advice)

I have had a long storied relationship with my fiberglass pool, which over the past few years I have posted and asked questions about. And now.. well things pretty much went from bad to about as bad as possible. (skip to TLDR if you aren't in the mood for a story) A bit of backstory for fun (in...

www.troublefreepool.com

Im not able to drain to the street in our area, so my plan would be to run the hose to front yard which is about 150 feet away from pool and spread it out on the grass. Although 21600 gallons of water is a bit much for that area, and septic tank is out front as well.

 

[Fishy1234]

So I received the Apera PH60 meter today, and compared it to the Taylor test for PH. By this time it is evening and dark outside, so I did the reading indoors. The Apera initially read 8.1, so I checked again and it read 7.9. I checked it with the PH7.0 solution and it read 7.05 which is supposed to mean calibration not required.
The taylor drop test looked like 7.6 to me under fluorescent lighting., so I did the unthinkable and asked my wife to look at it. She held a incandescent lamp in front of the Taylor and said, 7.7. I told her what the digital meter was indicating, and she said, well could be 7.8, or 7.9?
Well this leaves me confused, I was hoping the digital meter would solve my problem of reading the PH but now I am not sure what to do.

 

[HermanTX]

You really need to pick one or the other and stick with it. As your "test" concluded - 2 different people looking at shades of pink have different interpretations. If you verify your pH meter is calibrated before you put it in the pool sample and ensure you have rinsed it with distilled water before reading in the pool sample. Stick with the pH meter. You have the K-2006 kit which provides 6 levels of pH readings. For those of us that use the TF-100 it comes with a Taylor 1000 pH comparator which only has 5 levels of pH readings. So reading a comparator will never give you a precise pH reading. I suggest you stay with the pH meter for a while and monitor it.

 

[JamesW]

Well this leaves me confused, I was hoping the digital meter would solve my problem of reading the PH but now I am not sure what to do.

You need to relax and accept a little bit of ambiguity instead of overstressing about the exact perfect number.

You are doing much better than before because you are now learning how to use multiple tests and figuring out an average number.

Just do the best you can and don't worry too much about it.

Post a picture any time you want an extra opinion.

 

[Fishy1234]

You need to relax and accept a little bit of ambiguity instead of overstressing about the exact perfect number.

You are doing much better than before because you are now learning how to use multiple tests and figuring out an average number.

Just do the best you can and don't worry too much about it.

Post a picture any time you want an extra opinion.

Thanks. I just feel like I should be adding acid most of the time but trying not to overreact. So if I believe it is 7.9 than acid is required right?

 

[JamesW]

Thanks. I just feel like I should be adding acid most of the time but trying not to overreact. So if I believe it is 7.9 than acid is required right?

No. As long as the CSI is not over 0.1, leave it alone.

 

[Fishy1234]

No. As long as the CSI is not over 0.1, leave it alone.

So I am not supposed to add acid based on PH? Oh tsbased on CSI getting into the + side?

 

[JamesW]

I would allow the pH to get to 8.0 without doing anything as long as the CSI was 0.1 or lower.

If the pH gets to 8.1, lower the pH to 7.9, but not lower unless the CSI would be above 0.1.

 

[Fishy1234]

Merged threads - TFP Mod
So it cold windy and started raining as I am pumping my pool. So far the small pump is dropping water level about 1 inch per hour. My pool is 5 feet deep. Temps are going to below zero tonight should I be concerned about pebble finish or anything?

 

[bmoreswim]

Below zero. Ouch. Pool finish should be fine - no specific concerns. Equipment and pipes of course should be drained, blown out and antifreeze added.

 

[JamesW]

You need to check the ground water.

If the ground water is high, you could float the pool.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Fishy,

Something sounds "fishy" to me.. Below zero F in Apple Valley CA.?? Or did you mean dropping below freezing??

Thanks,

Jim R.