Water chemistry sufficient to turn-on new CircuPool RJ45+ ?

[Hosertx]

Purchased and almost completed the install of my CircuPool RJ45+. After 7 years of following the TFP bleach approach I decided to bite the bullet and go SWG, as I'll be travelling more and bleach/chlorine is not as cheap. The last step was for me to test my water to determine how much salt I would need to add. Since I don't have a salinity test yet (it's on it's way) I went to the Pool store for them to test that. Here are the results:

My Test / Pool Store
FC: 2.5 / 1.7 - already bumped it up to 4.0
PH: 7.6 / 7.7
TA: 50 / 43 - My TA has always settled back to 50. I can't keep it higher, and stopped trying since my water PH is pretty stable.
CH: 650 / 488 - I'm convinced my bad plaster job is the culprit. I've always suspected it was leaching calcium and my only partial pool drain in those 7 years was to correct the high CH.
CYA: 25 / 34
Phos: -- / 3584 - should I be concerned? No algae ever.
Salt: -- / 3078

Two questions:
1) My salt is almost at the recommended 3500 ppm, without me adding any salt!? Is the salt a byproduct of daily liquid bleach/chlorine regiment over the years?
2) Will any of the numbers above impact the technical performance or longevity of the salt cell? I've really had no issues with algae, nor ever had to SLAM the pool. Clear and beautiful water always. So i'm generally comfortable with my numbers as they stand, but if I have to change something to protect my SWG investment, then I will.

Thanks.

 

[HermanTX]

1) My salt is almost at the recommended 3500 ppm, without me adding any salt!? Is the salt a byproduct of daily liquid bleach/chlorine regiment over the years?

First - always trust your pool test results. Your current salt level is due to liquid chlorine over time. Good that you test first before adding any salt. You do not want to overshoot. Now that you have a SWCG, suggest you get the K-1766 salt test kit to monitor your salt levels.

2) Will any of the numbers above impact the technical performance or longevity of the salt cell? I've really had no issues with algae, nor ever had to SLAM the pool. Clear and beautiful water always. So i'm generally comfortable with my numbers as they stand, but if I have to change something to protect my SWG investment, then I will.

Use LC to bump your FC into range and let your SWCG maintain it in range.
Raise your CYA to minimum 60 - do it in stages - anything 60-80 is good with SWCG

Do you use PoolMath app? It is a great tool, turn on tracking of CSI. Then balance your levels to maintain a CSI in the -.3 to 0 range

 

[reggiehammond]

As @Newdude says, going to the pool store is like cheating off the dumbest kid in class.

Your CH is high, are you seeing scale? This might be the right time to replace some water to lower it, as keeping control of your CSI is critical to proper SWCG operation.

I wouldn't add any salt until you have a K-1766 and can test yourself. Don't trust the pool store as salt can't come out of the water once it's in.

I also wouldn't add any CYA as your FC has been quite low, and you want to get an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test complete to ensure you don't need the SLAM Process. It's much more expensive to SLAM at higher CYA.

 

[Hosertx]

Thanks for the responses. Yes, I figured that pool store test was undependable, so waiting for my K-1766 test kit to come in. I don't have any scaling. I've always kept my CYA low in case I had to switch to pucks during travel, but I'll bump that. I do use pool Math and my CSI ranges between +0.17 to +0.29. I'm thinking that I wait to bring my CH down in fall when it's cooler and hopefully have some rain. With this heat and drought, I feel guilty partially draining my pool onto the street. (Unless I could drain the pool water onto my lawn without hurting it? Maybe another thread).

I just wanted to make sure I didn't hurt the SWG running it at my current CSI.

 

[Mdragger88]

I doubt the plaster job is why your ch is high.
What is the ch of your fill water?
Do you have a water softener that you could use for pool top offs?
Here’s some info on managing high ch

Calcium Hardness - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

A little Pool water shouldn’t hurt the grass but a large amount might. I backwash regularly and hope to kill the grass where my hose goes but so far no luck
But its a good idea to plan out where you will drain to so you avoid breaking any rules or flooding anything. You also want to do it safely so you don’t risk damaging your pool.

Draining - Further Reading

www.google.com

In areas with alot of evaporation & where people don’t drain down pools for winter closing it’s not uncommon to have salinity levels high enough to operate a swcg after a few years.

 

[sande005]

Just personal experience with pool water and the lawn, which could be not applicable to your situation...but..

For a couple of decades as a tablet/liquid user, I had my waste line running to a back corner of my yard using hard pipe. I drilled a bazillion holes in it, so it partially functioned as a sprinkler system to water that area of the lawn whenever I had to backwash or vac to waste, although the majority still ended up at the discharge at the end. I never tested salt before this last spring, but even though I do yearly pump downs (to the street) for winterizing, it was then naturally at 2400. And therefore higher by the end of my pool season. Cl was whatever it was at the time - whether maintenance or SLAM. The grass, and the garden area at the discharge, has never shown any ill effects over the 20 years, and grew faster (I assume due to the extra watering). Due to a poor equipment setup, I had to backwash/waste a LOT every summer. Occasional dumping of 40 gal of 200 ppm sanitizing water from my RV on another area never had an ill effect on the grass, either.

The big BUT: We likely get a lot more yearly precipitation than you (rain/snow), which would help dilute/spread out soil salt accumulations. We are currently in our own draught, and luckily with the new SWCG and filter, I've had no reason to discharge anything at all. If I had to, I would think hard about dumping salt water on very moisture starved grass. Because our streets are routinely salted all winter, the edges next to the street where monster salty snow piles accumulate are always impossible to grow lush grass - weeds yes, but grass - not so much. I'm sure the type of grass also is a strong factor in how salt resistant it may be.

So it may be prudent to wait for the rainy season before pumping out a lot of water on to the lawn. And, of course, there are all those possible local regulations about what can/cannot go into a storm sewer.

 

[HermanTX]

I just wanted to make sure I didn't hurt the SWG running it at my current CSI.

It is best to have CSI at negative when using a SWCG to prevent scaling on the plates.
With a high CH level it is more difficult to maintain a slightly negative CSI but many people have been successful if you look at each component and make slight adjustments. You can do this on the PM app by clicking on the CSI value of your most recent test and then adjust values of pH, CH, etc, so you can see what moves the CSI to negative value.