Water Testing

[klanel]

Don't know how long it will be before I have pool water to test but how often is is recommended to test or add anything to a salt water pool? I know a couple of people who have salt pools and neither of them ever do anything to theirs and it's been years since they started using salt. When I ask them, they respond by saying it looks good so it doesn't need anything. Is that true? I thought I read somewhere that you still needed to do a chlorine shock every now and then. What's the scoop?

 

[Texas Splash]

Just because you convert to salt versus manually adding chlorine, you still need to test the FC. Sure, us SWG owners get spoiled and rely solely on the cell as if it was 100% automatic - "Set it and forget it". But we should still test the FC daily or at least every couple days. PH is the next important one. Weekly "shocks" are a thing of the past - pool store terms. The link below is a good guideline.

Basic Pool Care Schedule

This basic pool care schedule can guide you in creating your own pool care routine. Regular pool maintenance will keep your water sparkling!

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[jeffchap]

Initially I would test FC/CC and pH at least once or twice per week. After a while you'll get your SWG dialed in where the FC stays steady, and then maybe biweekly would be fine.

After 4 years, I seldom check at all any more after initially opening up. I know how long to run my SWG and I know I need to add a gallon of muriatic acid once per month. Plus I can pretty much tell by looking if my FC level is low -- the water loses its TFP *sparkle*.

 

[stricttime]

And buy one of the test kits recommended here for your testing! Do not trust the "free" pool store testing or test strips