Maintaining my own pool now

[PoolSouthpaw]

First of all, I want to express my gratitude for this site and the folks on it. It has been an invaluable resource as I'm taking over doing pool maintenance myself.

A little backstory: I ditched three different pool cleaning services in less than a year (all with at least a 4.9 out of 5 star rating on Google). I won't go into specifics here, but let's just say in each case, I didn't get what I paid for.

So with pool maintenance in my own hands, I bought a TF-Pro Salt kit and a C-600 pH/salt meter. Some of the numbers made my jaw drop.

FC: 19
CC: undetectable (< 0.5)
Salt: 5300
pH: 8.4
CYA: undetectable (< 30)
TA: 50
CH: 200

The weekly reports I received said FC was 4 or 5, pH was between 7.4 and 7.6, and salt was 3000. (The other numbers were not reported.) I suspect the FC and pH were measured using the OTO kit (unreliable at such a high FC) or cheap test strips (always unreliable). I also suspect the salt number was read straight off the Hayward controller (no secondary test to confirm), and that salt was added every time the reported reading dipped below 3000.

My first course of action was to raise the TA to 80 using baking soda, lower the pH by adding muriatic acid, and turn off the SWG for several weeks while the FC dropped to a more reasonable level. I also replaced my SWG with a new T-9 cell.

Here are my most recent numbers:

FC: 9
CC: undetectable (< 0.5)
Salt: 5300
pH: 7.7
CYA: 70
TA: 80
CH: 425

All of the numbers seem good now, except for the eye-watering salt number. To get the salt number down, I don't see how I have any choice besides draining and refilling about 40 percent of my pool water. I'm sure my new T-9 cell will appreciate that. As others on this site have said, I don't plan to add salt based on the Hayward controller reading alone; I will use the TF salt test to confirm the numbers first.

That's all I have for now. Thanks again for this great resource, and thanks for helping me to open my eyes to the high costs, low value, and significant harm I was getting from my (now former) pool cleaners.

 

[Newdude]

Hey Sputhpaw and Welcome !!!!

My first course of action was to raise the TA to 80

The 50 was fine. If it settles at 50 or 60 again, let it be. A lower TA helps keep the Ph down a little and is common for salt pools.

Check in before adjusting anything because there is a bunch of little asterisks like this one.

Salt: 5300

With the Taylor test ? Each drop is 200 so the 3 is suspect. Also confirm you used a 10 ml sample. Sometimes people use 25ml and it comes back 2.5X higher than it is. 2100 would be closer to the original supposed 3000 than 5300 is.

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

A TA of 50 would have been okay.

What salinity does your Aquarite panel show?

If you drain water to lower your salt level the Aquarite reading will drop. You need at least 2600 to make the panel happy. Show us the following:

• Report all diagnostic readings when you..
  • Move the switch from auto to off and check all of the readings.
  • Move the switch back to auto and recheck the readings.
  • Move the switch to off for a minute and then back to auto and recheck the readings.
• What are the first seven characters of the cell and box serial numbers?
• What is the actual salinity and how are you measuring it?

Hayward Aquarite SWG - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[PoolSouthpaw]

Hey Sputhpaw and Welcome !!!!

The 50 was fine. If it settles at 50 or 60 again, let it be. A lower TA helps keep the Ph down a little and is common for salt pools.

Check in before adjusting anything because there is a bunch of little asterisks like this one.



With the Taylor test ? Each drop is 200 so the 3 is suspect. Also confirm you used a 10 ml sample. Sometimes people use 25ml and it comes back 2.5X higher than it is. 2100 would be closer to the original supposed 3000 than 5300 is.

Fair point… To clarify, the 5300 number is from the Hayward controller. The TF test (10 mL) and the C-600 meter both gave me 5400; I figured it was close enough to be within 100 ppm.

Good to know about lower TA… Thanks for the clarification.

 

[PoolSouthpaw]

Welcome to TFP.

A TA of 50 would have been okay.

What salinity does your Aquarite panel show?

If you drain water to lower your salt level the Aquarite reading will drop. You need at least 2600 to make the panel happy. Show us the following:

• Report all diagnostic readings when you..
  • Move the switch from auto to off and check all of the readings.
  • Move the switch back to auto and recheck the readings.
  • Move the switch to off for a minute and then back to auto and recheck the readings.
• What are the first seven characters of the cell and box serial numbers?
• What is the actual salinity and how are you measuring it?

Hayward Aquarite SWG - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

To clarify, I'm not aware of any problems with the new salt cell. It appears to be working very well, in fact. I don't know how to find the serial numbers you're asking about, but the cell average reading is 5300. For comparison, the TF salt test and the C-600 meter both gave me 5400.

 

[Newdude]

The TF test (10 mL) and the C-600 meter both gave me 5400; I figured it was close enough to be within 100 ppm

Yeah. 100 off is way close enough for government work. You need to drain/exchange an even % to lower salt or CYA. Half lowers them half, etc. Calcium is not even because there will be calcium in the fill water being added back so you have to overshoot the drain accordingly.

Draining - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Good to know about lower TA… Thanks for the clarification.

We got you now. Please ask anytime. We're pretty darn good at it if I do say so myself.

How Clear is TFP Clear?

 

[ajw22]

To clarify, I'm not aware of any problems with the new salt cell.

That you are aware of.

That high of a salt level should give you high amps which is not good for the electronics.

I don't know how to find the serial numbers you're asking about,

Show us the labels on the cell and the inside door panel.

but the cell average reading is 5300. For comparison, the TF salt test and the C-600 meter both gave me 5400.

You need to get the salt level as reported by the system down around 3000.

 

[PoolSouthpaw]

Show us the labels on the cell and the inside door panel.

The inside door panel does not have a label. To clarify, the controller was a very old AquaLogic system. I did what was called an "OmniPL retrofit" in February 2025. If there is a label with the serial number, I'm not seeing it.
The first seven characters on the salt cell are "1E24305." It was purchased and installed in February 2025; I currently have it turned off.

You need to get the salt level as reported by the system down around 3000.

Yes, that is my plan.

 

[PoolSouthpaw]

I recently took over the maintenance of my pool, and I quickly discovered the salt content was way too high. At this point, there is no question that I have to drain and refill pool water; the real question is how much.

Two days ago, my SWG was reporting 5300 ppm. I did a Taylor test, which gave me a result of 5400 ppm. I used my C-600 (brand new and purchased one week ago) to measure the salt; it reported 5400 ppm. Everything seemed legit... Except yesterday, I did two more salt tests to confirm what I had found. (Draining a pool is serious business, after all.) The first test gave me 6800 ppm. The second test gave me 6200 ppm.

Wait, what? How did I go from 5400 to 6800 to 6200 in under 24 hours, with no added chemicals in the pool during that time? (Not even chlorine, since the SWG was turned off.) The Taylor test should be accurate within +/- 200 ppm, so what was I doing wrong? Here is what I did for each test:

1. I filled the cylinder from the shallow end of the pool, then I dumped enough to leave 10 mL in the cylinder.
2. I turned on the smart stir device, ensuring that the stir stick was clean and dry before I put it in the cylinder.
3. I added one drop of R-0630, after which the sample turned a light yellow. The bottle was held completely vertical while the drop was added.
4. I added drops of R-0718, slowly, with the bottle completely vertical. I stopped adding drops as soon as the sample turned red and stayed that way.
5. I multiplied the number of R-0718 drops by 200 to get my salinity.

So to my knowledge, I was following the right procedure. However, I read on TFP that a dirty cylinder might skew the results. That made sense, so I washed and dried the cylinder before doing another test today. This time, I got 5000 ppm. The C-600 meter reported 5400 ppm, as it did previously.

So my question is, how seriously should I take the 6000+ Taylor readings? The SWG (which is brand new) and the C-600 meter (also brand new) agreed with each other very closely. Can washing the cylinder make that much of a difference, even if it didn't appear to be dirty before I washed it? I'm trying to be careful here, since I want to be accurate in how much water I drain from the pool, and I want my SWG to have the longest possible life.

 

[PoolSouthpaw]

The saga continues... I drained and refilled approximately half of the water from my pool to bring down the salt from 5300 to as close to 3000 as possible, as reported by the salt cell. Not surprisingly, many of the other levels are quite different, so I'll summarize what the levels are and what I plan to do. I want to be sure I have a good plan.

(All numbers taken from the TF-Pro salt test kit unless indicated otherwise)

FC: 1
CC: undetectable (< 0.5)
Salt: 3200 on controller, 3400 from Taylor test
pH: 8.0
CYA: 30
TA: 110
CH: 325

• The FC number is not surprising, since I had the whole system turned off for a day and a half while I was draining and refilling. I have already started to fix that by running the pump and chlorinator.
• I'm thinking it might be a good idea to drain just a bit more water and get the salt level a bit lower (perhaps a bit below 3000), since the chemicals I expect to add are likely to increase the salt level.
• The pH needs to be around 7.6, but to deal with the high TA, I'm thinking I'll have to go lower for short periods of time.
• I want to get the CYA around 60-70. I'm thinking 30 is too low, especially since I have a SWG.
• The TA is obviously very high. (The TA before draining was 80, so the water I added must have been very alkaline.) I want to get TA down to 50-60; to do that, I'll have to add muriatic acid and then raise the pH in stages. I expect it to take me days, if not weeks, to hit the optimal level.
• I normally keep my CH around 400-450. That is also what PoolMath recommends, since I have a pebble finish on my pool. Is it ever advisable to keep CH on the low side?

 

[generessler]

Just a note. The common wisdom around here is that cell reports of salt level should not be trusted. The gold standard is the Taylor salt test. If the cell is tracking the Taylor test, that's great, but don't assume it will be so forever. A little crust on the sensor can change things.

 

[PoolSouthpaw]

Just a note. The common wisdom around here is that cell reports of salt level should not be trusted. The gold standard is the Taylor salt test. If the cell is tracking the Taylor test, that's great, but don't assume it will be so forever. A little crust on the sensor can change things.

Yes, absolutely. I would never want to add salt without doing a Taylor test. My interest in the salt cell reading is because it’s the salt cell reading that determines when/if chlorine is produced, so I want to keep it happy as well.

 

[Newdude]

I'm thinking it might be a good idea to drain just a bit more water and get the salt level a bit lower (perhaps a bit below 3000), since the chemicals I expect to add are likely to increase the salt level.

Don't worry about it. You needed a big drop and there was no choice but to drain. From this moment forward, you will be forever adding salt, ch and cya because of the copies amount of rainfall you get.

The pH needs to be around 7.6, but to deal with the high TA, I'm thinking I'll have to go lower for short periods of time.

Any 7 is fine. Including 7.99999999 where mine sits and stays and never needs adjusting.

But it's up to you if you want to force the TA down sooner than it comes down on its own. I see no point because if you actively work to lower it, you still have to maintain the Ph between now and when the TA would have come down on its own.

It's one thing for people with sky high TA fill water, but pointless for you IMO.

However, if you want at it anyway, maintain a low 7 ph and then once the TA is 60 it 70, switch to a high 7 Ph.

I want to get the CYA around 60-70. I'm thinking 30 is too low, especially since I have a SWG.

Overnight Chlorine Loss Test before any significant raise of CYA. Even if you passed one 3 weeks ago.

Then have at it, creeping to target. You have plenty of time to take your time before the UV is insane and you need the CYA.

I normally keep my CH around 400-450. That is also what PoolMath recommends, since I have a pebble finish on my pool. Is it ever advisable to keep CH on the low side?

Again, if anything you will likely learn you want it on the high side so that when the rain diluted you, it's still ok. Seriously, you can have 60 inches of rain when most pools are 60 inch average depth. Divide your total.chemicals by 12 and thats your monthly add.

But test of course because the montly rainfall fluctuates. And yeah. Once you have a real good grip on this all, I'd want 10 to 20% high CH / salt / CYA to buy more time.

 

[PoolSouthpaw]

Overnight Chlorine Loss Test before any significant raise of CYA. Even if you passed one 3 weeks ago.

Then have at it, creeping to target. You have plenty of time to take your time before the UV is insane and you need the CYA.

Interesting... Is that because higher CYA levels make it harder to fight crud in the pool, like algae?

From this moment forward, you will be forever adding salt, ch and cya because of the copies amount of rainfall you get.

That makes sense. And you're absolutely right about the rain. Thanks for your help!

 

[PoolStored]

Interesting... Is that because higher CYA levels make it harder to fight crud in the pool, like algae?

Welllll, not harder, per se...

Higher CYA levels require higher FC when you SLAM to remove algae. Higher FC levels require more chlorine. At levels of 70+ it becomes very difficult, above 90, I wouldn't attempt a slam...you'd need to replace some water to reduce CYA before the SLAM.

So not "harder," but will take longer (more labor), and cost more.

I'd run your CYA at 60 while you figure out your SWG. After you demonstrate you can manage your FC, then you can raise your CYA above 60 if you like. I don't think there is any reason to run CYA above 80. Most of us find the most benefit at 60/70.

 

[Newdude]

Is that because higher CYA levels make it harder to fight crud in the pool, like algae?

A higher CYA means a higher slam target (40%).



You'll go through more bleach, needing to add it more often fighting the higher CYA slam, so always OCLT before raising it. Even when the water looks great.

 

[PoolSouthpaw]

A higher CYA means a higher slam target (40%).

View attachment 632720

You'll go through more bleach, needing to add it more often fighting the higher CYA slam, so always OCLT before raising it. Even when the water looks great.

That makes sense. Thanks!