High Dissolved Solids

[UrbanCoyote]

Recent water test at the pool store indicated high dissolved solids (3200) and they recommended draining some water to reduce. Pool store manager indicated it was due to high sodium (salt) since I primarily use liquid bleach as my source for chlorine.
Recent test results: FC 3, pH 7.8, CYA 20, Ca Hardness 320, Alk 50.
What are the recommendations re dissolved solids levels?
Are there concerns re high sodium/salt in the pool with natural stone?
Appreciate your feedback!

 

[ajw22]

Dissolved solids is a meaningless measurement. Read TDS - Further Reading

Even if all that 3200 was all salt it would not be high. Worrying about natural stone and salt seems to be a Texas thing. A lot of cheap stone seems to be used down there and they need some excuse for the poor quality.

 

[UrbanCoyote]

Regarding the stone: flagstone in Texas is sourced from Oklahoma. Know several people who have salt water pools with flagstone and have issues with it pitting/corrosion on the coping. Issue seems to be valid.

 

[JamesW]

When using a conductivity meter, there are usually two settings, salt (NaCl) and TDS.

The correct setting is salt, not TDS. A TDS reading is not accurate for a pool.

If you want to track your salt level, you should get a K-1766 salt test kit.

If you use a meter, make sure that it's set to salinity (NaCl).

Since you already have higher salinity, you might want to consider switching to a SWG.

Stone problems tend to be poor quality/soft stone.

There are many types of stone, many sources of stone and many different qualities of stone.

If the stone can be easily scratched, it's probably going to have problems.

If the stone has a strong reaction to vinegar, it's probably going to have problems.

If the stone is not very dense, it's probably going to have problems.

A good stone will be hard, dense and chemically resistant.

You can get a stone sealer. But, get a good sealer that won't make the stone slippery. The sealer should penetrate and not just create a slick top layer.

 

[JJ_Tex]

Also, all chlorine (liquid, pucks, etc) leaves behind salt so don't let the pool store blame the salt on the liquid chlorine either. As others have said, that salt level is not high and should not impact your stone.

 

[JamesW]

I suspect that the actual salinity is probably about 2,100 ppm.

Get a K-1766 salt test kit to see for sure.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Regarding the stone: flagstone in Texas is sourced from Oklahoma. Know several people who have salt water pools with flagstone and have issues with it pitting/corrosion on the coping. Issue seems to be valid.

Sorry that is total bull... I'm sure the stone has issues, but it is not being caused by the saltwater..

I have a rent house pool that has flagstone coping.. Some of the stone is made of very thin layers, some is not. All the stones that have the thin layers started shedding almost immediately.. Not a lot, just a little at a time.. I switched to saltwater about two years after I installed the coping.. It has been 8 years now, and the good stone is still good and shows no degradation.. The "bad" stones are still bad, and they still are shedding very thing layers.. It is not any worse or better because of the saltwater..

The idea that saltwater is responsible for stone damage is just a myth..

Thanks,

Jim R.