Saltwater startup...add chlorine or just use salt?

[AFJz]

Hello,

I have read two different ways to startup a saltwater pool and am curious on thoughts on doing it one way or the other? Currently, our pool startup person is saying they are just going to add 14 bags of salt, with no chlorine added. First, 14 bags seems very high with a 10k gallon pool, I believe everything I've read to include the PoolMath calculator looks like it should be roughly 7.5 bags. So this salt would be getting added tomorrow, which means that I wouldn't turn on the SWG until 24 hours after that, which then means that it would be another 24-48 hours for the pool's chlorine to be at a "swimmable" level. So we may be able to swim in it on Sunday (if my calculations are close). If we added liquid chlorine tomorrow, along with the salt, we could swim tomorrow, and allow the SWG to start doing it's magic the next day. Are there pros/cons to not adding the chlorine right away? I'm mostly asking because this pool has taken WAY longer to complete than it was supposed to and our 6 kids are very excited to start swimming, so if they could swim Friday, rather than wait until Sunday, with no downsides, I don't see why we shouldn't add the liquid chlorine? But I certainly might be missing reasons that this would not be the case. Thanks!

 

[Griswald]

If you swim, the salt will get thoroughly mixed quickly, turn on the swg quicker than 24 hours.

 

[mknauss]

Always use liquid chlorine to raise FC to target level for your CYA and use SWCG to maintain that level.

 

[AFJz]

If you swim, the salt will get thoroughly mixed quickly, turn on the swg quicker than 24 hours.

So we can swim in it before FC gets to 1ppm? I’m assuming we will have zero FC until a little bit after the SWG starts running? So swimming in it without chlorine is alright?

 

[TinFoilHat]

Do not swim until you have a proper FC level. One is not enough as your pool will burn up 3-4 ppm per day just from the sun. As Marty told you, you will need to use liquid chlorine to achieve your desired FC level and then the SWG can be set up to maintain that FC level. Don't just start with the SWG and think it can get you to where you want the FC to be. It just won't happen. Before you decide what your FC level should be, you have to add stabilizer to the water. We recommend granulated CYA via the sock method. That's a sock filled with CYA suspended in front of a water return but not touching the side of the pool. Squeeze the sock every couple of hours to help dispense it. Once you have CYA in the pool (measured 24 hours after adding it) then you add chlorine to match your CYA.
FC/CYA Levels

 

[AFJz]

Do not swim until you have a proper FC level. One is not enough as your pool will burn up 3-4 ppm per day just from the sun. As Marty told you, you will need to use liquid chlorine to achieve your desired FC level and then the SWG can be set up to maintain that FC level. Don't just start with the SWG and think it can get you to where you want the FC to be. It just won't happen. Before you decide what your FC level should be, you have to add stabilizer to the water. We recommend granulated CYA via the sock method. That's a sock filled with CYA suspended in front of a water return but not touching the side of the pool. Squeeze the sock every couple of hours to help dispense it. Once you have CYA in the pool (measured 24 hours after adding it) then you add chlorine to match your CYA.
FC/CYA Levels

This pool person that is coming by today to "complete" our pool, is supposed to be vacuuming it out and then getting it balanced, and adding salt. He kept saying that he is not adding in any form of chlorine other than dumping the salt and then running the SWG immediately and that we can get in the moment the salt is dumped and the SWG gets turned on. I kept asking about the FC starting at ZERO and probably not going up very quickly and also that everything I've read, to include my SWG manual, says to not turn the SWG on until the salt has dissolved for 24 hours...and it also specifies twice that it needs to be "super-chlorinated from an outside source" with startup, to get the initial levels correct and that the SWG would probably not be able to reach the break point on it's own. Again, he's also said now that he is going to add 14-15 bags of salt to our 10k gallon pool, which is obviously EXTREMELY high. I'm not going to allow all of this, because in the end, I'm the one that will have to replace the $1k+ SWG, and this terrible pool company and knowledge-less pool cleaner/maintenance folks will not be around to resolve that for us. I plan to test the water tomorrow after it is supposedly balanced, and then ensure the CYA is either good, or add the amount that is needed, and then I'll chlorinate the water there next day to match the CYA, with liquid chlorine and also turn on the SWG at that time as well (any reasons that wouldn't be advisable at that time)?

 

[TinFoilHat]

Your SWG manual is correct. Tell him he can leave the 14 bags of salt with you and you will put them in yourself. You should also get your own test kit that is one that we recommend. Anything else, including a pool store, will not test to the accuracy that you need.
Test Kits Compared

 

[ajw22]

Every 40lb bag of salt will give you 500ppm.

You need about 7 bags of salt for the 3600 ppm ideal level for the IntelliChlor.

Your IC40 is big for your pool. Running at 100% it will give you 0.7 ppm/hour and 17 ppm in 24 hours. Depending on your CYA level you can have a good FC level in a few hours with no additional chlorine added.

Let the salt dissolve for 24 hours, turn on the IC40, let it generate at 100% for a few hours, and go swim.

Test often and watch your FC level as the IC40 can easily over chlorinate your pool.

Pool Care Basics Archives

Your one-stop shop for all things TFP to include: ABCs of Water Chemistry, Recommended Chemicals/Levels, Test Kits, Troubleshooting, and much more!

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[PoolStored]

280 lbs of salt or 7 bags should raise your salt to 3350. That is plenty to start.
Leave the generator off for 24 hours to allow salt to circulate.
Get 3lbs of dry chlorine stabilizer in the pool. Put it in a sock and hang in front of a return. After 30 minutes start squeezing to get some CYA in the pool. That should add about 36ppm of CYA.
Add 48 ounces of 10% liquid chlorine to the pool today once the CYA sock is in the water. Test and adjust FC at the end of the day. Always follow this...Link-->FC/CYA Levels

 

[AFJz]

Your SWG manual is correct. Tell him he can leave the 14 bags of salt with you and you will put them in yourself. You should also get your own test kit that is one that we recommend. Anything else, including a pool store, will not test to the accuracy that you need.
Test Kits Compared

Thanks, I was thinking the same thing about the salt...if he comes with a bunch, I'm going to just have him leave it, or what is left after the ~8 bags. I just ordered the Taylor K-2006C and the K-1766 for the salt. I had an amazon credit, so went with Taylor this time. Seems like they both work well.

 

[AFJz]

Your IC40 is big for your pool. Running at 100% it will give you 0.7 ppm/hour and 17 ppm in 24 hours.

Thanks for the information! This, specifically, is interesting to me because this is exactly the type of information that I was having a difficult time finding. Where did you get the 0.7 ppm/hour? I'm genuinely curious because I'd love to have these types of numbers to ensure my own calculations are correct for everything in the future as well.

 

[PoolStored]

I'd love to have these types of numbers to ensure my own calculations are correct for everything in the future as well.

Download pool math...it's all in there. Link-->PoolMath

 

[ajw22]

Thanks for the information! This, specifically, is interesting to me because this is exactly the type of information that I was having a difficult time finding. Where did you get the 0.7 ppm/hour? I'm genuinely curious because I'd love to have these types of numbers to ensure my own calculations are correct for everything in the future as well.

PoolMath

Effects Of Adding

 

[AFJz]

Put it in a sock and hang in front of a return. After 30 minutes start squeezing to get some CYA in the pool.

Thank you for your input as well, it's much appreciated. I do have two questions that I don't think I saw an answer to about the CYA sock method. Q1 - How do I (or most people) hang the sock in front of a return without allowing it to touch the sides? Q2 - Do you just squeeze the sock with your bare hands, or do I need the type of gloves used when handling MA? Thanks!

 

[TinFoilHat]

Tie it to the end of a stick or something similar, suspend it in front of a return and put a weight on the end of the stick. You can squeeze with bare hands and then rinse in the pool. Wash your hands if you wish.

 

[AFJz]

PoolMath

Effects Of Adding

View attachment 613591

Thanks! I had started to use the PoolMath app and that "Effect of Adding", but when I entered my SWG, I thought that 1.4 output number was editable and wasn't necessarily the specs from the SWG. That's awesome! I'm pretty sure my ppm will take longer here in TX since it's still hitting the 90s on a daily, which I'm sure lowers that number a bit, but I love having these figures to throw in that app to start working things out!

 

[ajw22]

Thanks! I had started to use the PoolMath app and that "Effect of Adding", but when I entered my SWG, I thought that 1.4 output number was editable and wasn't necessarily the specs from the SWG. That's awesome! I'm pretty sure my ppm will take longer here in TX since it's still hitting the 90s on a daily, which I'm sure lowers that number a bit, but I love having these figures to throw in that app to start working things out!

Temperature does not change SWG output.

 

[ajw22]

. Q1 - How do I (or most people) hang the sock in front of a return without allowing it to touch the sides?

The sock can touch the sides of a fiberglass pool without causing problems. Don’t worry about it.

Q2 - Do you just squeeze the sock with your bare hands, or do I need the type of gloves used when handling MA? Thanks!

CYA is a mild acid. Squeezing it with your bare hands may give you a feeling of dry hands depending how sensitive you are. Or put a poly glove on you have leftover from the Covid days.

 

[AFJz]

Tie it to the end of a stick or something similar, suspend it in front of a return and put a weight on the end of the stick. You can squeeze with bare hands and then rinse in the pool. Wash your hands if you wish.

Great, thank you!

Temperature does not change SWG output.

I guess I was thinking that intense sun would be burning chlorine off at some specific rate, which would drop the overall calculation of how much chlorine is being created in ppm. So while the SWG is producing 0.7ppm/hr, if the sun was burning off say 0.1ppm/hr (just a random number), the actual chlorine being produced would be 0.6ppm/hr. I have no clue how quickly chlorine burns off if your CYA levels are ideal, so this was all just hypothetical.

 

[ajw22]

Great, thank you!

I guess I was thinking that intense sun would be burning chlorine off at some specific rate, which would drop the overall calculation of how much chlorine is being created in ppm. So while the SWG is producing 0.7ppm/hr, if the sun was burning off say 0.1ppm/hr (just a random number), the actual chlorine being produced would be 0.6ppm/hr. I have no clue how quickly chlorine burns off if your CYA levels are ideal, so this was all just hypothetical.

Typical chlorine consumption due to the suns UV is 2-4 ppm/day. Depends on your CYA level.