New Salt water Pool - Questions

[PhoenixPoolOwner]

Just put in my first pool and have it up and running. It is a saltwater pool and I have a few questions that you might be able to help with.

10k gallons
Pentair equipment - intellicenter, VSP, heat pump, salt cell

- when they set up the salt system they put my salt level at 4000 PPM. Should I drain 6” and refill to get the level down to 3500?

- do I need to shock the pool weekly? If so should I use a non-chlorine shock?

- does the ph naturally increase? Does this require weekly acid treatment?

Anything else I should know about a salt water pool?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Jimrahbe]

P,

I assume the 4000 ppm is what your cell reports.. If so, it can be way off from what the actual salt level is. The cell will work fine at 4000, so I would just leave it and let it come down on its own.

I have three saltwater pools that are all about 10 years old.. In all that time, I have never added any pool store "shock".

If you follow the TFP pool care process, there is just no need to shock. To follow our process, you need the ability to accurately test your own pool water. The kit your pool builder gave you will not hack it..

pH in a new pool will continue to increase. Most likely, you will need to add Muriatic acid weekly.. It is a very mild acid and easy to do.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[jimbethesda]

- 4,000 is high, but not outrageously so. What filter do you have? If you have one that requires backwashing, then you'll end up draining some water over time. If not, I still would leave it alone for now, but others can chime in.
- no shocking as long as you always keep your chlorine levels in range. See Free Chlorine and Cyanuric Acid Relationship Explained
- Yes, your PH will increase. Muriatic acid is recommended

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP!

when they set up the salt system they put my salt level at 4000 PPM. Should I drain 6” and refill to get the level down to 3500?

I wouldn't take any action at the moment. Are you testing your own salt level with a Taylor K-1766 kit? If not, be sure to. Don't trust any test strips or free testing. Keep in mind SWG readings can be a bit off as well. The K-1766 eliminates guesswork.

do I need to shock the pool weekly? If so should I use a non-chlorine shock?

No & no. Adjust your SWG output and pump run time to keep the FC balanced to the CYA as noted on the FC/CYA Levels. That's key. Note that salt pools respond better with a CYA of at least 70 in the warmer months. Keep a gallon or two of liquid chlorine around for emergencies if the FC should fall too low and you need a quick boost.

does the ph naturally increase? Does this require weekly acid treatment?

Yes. Use muriatic acid. Our PoolMath APP can help with dosage amounts.

Anything else I should know about a salt water pool?

Everything is in our Pool Care Basics page. If you have any questions at all let us know. Enjoy the new pool.

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum.
With your fill water chemistry and new plaster, I suggest you test your pH and TA and add acid more often than once a week. I suspect you will have issues if you do not. Scaling, especially of the SWCG, will occur sooner rather than later.

 

[BDY]

Welcome!

See
Pool Care Basics
FC/CYA Levels

You have a great salt setup — highly recommend the pool math app to help
Maintain records and to model out your SWG settings using “effect of adding”
PoolMath

salt at 4000 is ok - you’ll taste it a bit but salt will come down over time due to overflow and splash out. You will need to add salt eventually - keep an eye on the IC cell salinity vs your Taylor 1766 kit salinity. As long as the cel is happy and producing you are good.

I assume you have a good test kit with the salt test added? No strips!
Test Kits Compared

You should not need to shock ever. If you do get algae due to low chlorine levels (see Fc/cya above) you would follow the SLAM process.
SLAM Process

pH will increase for a variety of reasons including new plaster. it is important having a salt cell to watch your CSI index and keep pH under 8. See all the articles in Pool School to get an idea of the chemical relationships.

For a salt pool - you are going to want to use liquid chlorine to get your Fc up and the salt cell to keep it there (see also FC/CYa for the salt pool). Cells are great at adding chlorine over time but not big slugs all at once. Many members run their VS pumps 24/7 at low rpm - the wattage is not linear on Vs pumps so low rpm is a fraction of the cost of high rpm. You get a continuous filtering, continuous salt cell, and much quieter pump. I run 24/7 at 1000 rpm ~14$ a month for example. With a VS pump and salt cell you are in a golden zone of operating cost going forward.

I’m sure I missed a lot but these guys will be happy to chime in and add!!

 

[BDY]

PS….

Salt Water Chlorine Generators

Salt Water Generators are designed to produce small amounts of chlorine continuously. This is perfect for day to day use and reduces work for the homeowner.

www.troublefreepool.com

SWG How It Works - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Water Balance for SWGs

Saltwater pools are becoming more and more popular. We discuss How salt generators work and water balance tips for SWGs to run them.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[PhoenixPoolOwner]

This forum is going to be a massive help. Thank you all for your quick response!

I am testing salt with a digital salinity meter. I will look at getting the Taylor liquid kit. My digital meter was reading 3950 and my salt cell was reading 4200.

FC levels and PH are in range right now. I use Taylor’s 6 in 1 kit for this.

Since it is a new salt cell I need to determine what level to run at. Currently set to 50% with the pump running 10 hours a day. I will test daily over the next week and adjust based on FC levels.

Good to know on the shock. I will avoid.

I’ll read up on the links provided.

Thank you all again. Already loving this forum!

 

[BDY]

download poolmath

go to Effects of Adding
Select “SWG”
Enter pool size, your cells rated daily production (for ex my IC40 is 1.4 lbs per day) and the SWG % and pump time and the app will calculate FC added each day. Play around with the time and % and you can see the difference in FC

 

[BDY]

If it’s a pentair cell I think the allowed variance in salinity is something like 400-500ppm. The cell doesn’t actually test - it infers the salinity by current. So it’s more of an estimate. The Taylor kit (one of the easiest chemical tests of all) is the gold standard. As long as your digital meter is kept calibrated against the taylor kit the meter should be good.

In truth - as long as the cell is happy you are good. I had an issue once where the salt in pool was 3400 but the cell thought it was 2800 so it stopped on me. So you really need to keep an eye on both. Thankfully the Intellicenter app will tell you (assuming pentair cell)

 

[BDY]

Ps - to find the minimum rpm to run your pump at for cell, reduce the rpm’s until the flow light on cell comes on and then add a few hundred rpm for insurance. That’s your “floor” on the pump. The cell doesn’t care what speed you run at as long as it has sufficient flow

Hence the recommendation to run 24/7 at the low speed - lets you run the cell at lower % and all the time. YMMV

 

[PhoenixPoolOwner]

Just ordered the TF Pro Salt testing kit.

As for the pump. I have a in floor cleaning system. Is it bad to run the pump 24/7 with the in floor? Here are my thoughts on settings.
- lowest rpm for SWG 14 hours
- 1800 rpm 6 hours (help clean)
- 2800 rpm 4 hours (help clean)

Set SWG at lowest setting to maintain FC 3ppm.

Reading about FC and CYA levels.

Thank you all again!!!!

 

[mknauss]

Do you have normal pool wall returns also?

I would set the SWCG to maintain a FC in the target range for your CYA. Your CYA should be at least 70 ppm. So I would keep the FC above 5 ppm.

 

[BDY]

Note FC above 5 during the day… so you may have to make sure it’s 5 at end of daylight and it’s runs higher overnight. You never want to play footsie with minimum using a cell as any SLAM is harder with higher CYa. Target range should be your minimum

FC is safe up to SLAM levels as long as you have CYA to buffer it. Buffered FC is much less harsh than 3ppm FC with no CYA example.

I think @JamesW has a chlorine chart explaining that.. don’t be afraid to run a higher FC with your cell

 

[Bperry]

Just ordered the TF Pro Salt testing kit.

As for the pump. I have a in floor cleaning system. Is it bad to run the pump 24/7 with the in floor? Here are my thoughts on settings.
- lowest rpm for SWG 14 hours
- 1800 rpm 6 hours (help clean)
- 2800 rpm 4 hours (help clean)

Set SWG at lowest setting to maintain FC 3ppm.

Reading about FC and CYA levels.

Thank you all again!!!!

The SWG don’t maintain chlorine at any level. It just adds a specified amount each day. So check it every day or two until you figure out what the pool needs, and ignore the 6in1 kits advice to keep the chlorine below 4ppm. Keep the chlorine level at the proportion described in the chart mentioned above, but which will not be measurable by the 6in1 kit.

 

[Newdude]

Try to maintain slightly above target range so that when it swings some, it lands back in target range and not below it.

 

[kellyfair]

Welcome to the forum.
With your fill water chemistry and new plaster, I suggest you test your pH and TA and add acid more often than once a week. I suspect you will have issues if you do not. Scaling, especially of the SWCG, will occur sooner rather than later.

Definitely pay attention to this - scale is no fun and you don’t want to have to clean your salt cell too often.

 

[PhoenixPoolOwner]

My TF-Pro Salt kit arrived today. Thanks for the suggestion.

Here are my levels. I am slightly concerned with the salt and calcium levels. Should I do anything?

Salt - 4200
Alkalinity - 130
Calcium - 625
CYA - 70
CC - 1
FC - 4
PH - 7.8

 

[midlifecrisis]

@PhoenixPoolOwner It will help the members tremendously if you complete your signature with your pool details. Guidance can be found here:

Create Your Signature - Further Reading

It will save you from a lot of repeat questions. Also, link Poolmath to your TFP account.

 

[PhoenixPoolOwner]

Updated signature. Here are my first readings.

Salt - 4200
Alkalinity - 130
Calcium - 625
CYA - 70
CC - 1
FC - 4
PH - 7.8