You've installed a new Salt Chlorine Generator to your pool and you've reached the point where you have to add salt. This guide tells you which salt to use, how much to add and how to add it.
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InyoPools Product Specialist Dennis R. Posted: 7/3/2014
tkaudi - Assuming you are starting with no salt in your pool and your pool has about 11,000 gallons, according to the Salt Table access in Step 4, you will need a little over 300 lbs of salt or just under 8 bags of 40# salt. I would put in the 6 bags, run the pump 24 hours with the SCG off, check the salt level and add another bag if required. Run another 12 hours and if your salt level is in range operate at that level. Add 8th bag only if you are on the lower end of the acceptable range.Reply
tkaudi Posted: 7/1/2014
Hi we just put up a 22x52 above ground pool and we haven't put the salt in yet! We bought 6-40lb bags of Morton pool salt and were going to put it in and let only the pump run for 24 hours till its all dissolved and then test it to see if we need another bag! Is this the right procedure?Reply
InyoPools Product Specialist Dennis R. Posted: 6/16/2014
Limeyness - That's about the right level of salt if you had no salt residue in your pool initially. It adds up with time. I would have a pool store check a sample of your pool water to see what the salt level actually is. Also call your SCG manufacturer and see if 2100 ppm is an error indicator. You may have a bad printed circuit board.Reply
Limeyness Posted: 6/15/2014
Hi,I have a big in ground pool 42/45,000 gallons. I just converted to salt yesterday, added 24 bags of salt @ 50lbs a bag, and I am showing 2100ppm. everything I have read has me at the right amount of salt but my SWCG is not even generating. does this seem like a lot of salt to you guys?
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InyoPools Product Specialist Dennis R. Posted: 6/13/2014
Jaq - Your calculations are correct. For a 5,000 gallon pool you will need approximately 150# of salt, so 2 1/2 bags of 40# salt is a good place to start. Then add 1 more bag is needed. Note that your salt chlorine generator should be turned off while the salt is dissolving.Reply
Jaq Posted: 6/13/2014
We are putting up a 15 foot round above ground intex pool for our kids. We would like to avoid chlorine and use water softener salt. Am I right in my calculations that this pool would be 5,000 gallons and would need 2 1/2 40# bags of salt to get started?Reply
InyoPools Product Specialist Dennis R. Posted: 9/4/2013
Wallace - 4300 ppm is pushing the acceptable range of salt. The only way to reduce the salt level is to drain a portion and refill the pool with fresh water. This will happen somewhat naturally with rain and splashing, but, if the level of salt continues to stay at 4000+ for another couple of weeks, I would drain some of the water in the pool. See our guide on "How To Reduce the Salt Level In Your Pool". When the salt level is too high, the SCG draws more current and runs hotter which decreases the life of the unit.Reply
Wallace1314 Posted: 9/3/2013
I have a new 12,500 gallon in-ground pool.Got water sample analysis report and it says the ph level is good at 7.4, total alkalinity ok @ 90ppm.
The FAC and TAC levels are a little high @ 5 but the big issue is the salt content.
Content is 4,300 ppm vs 2,500-3,500 recommended range.
Bought salt test strips and this backs up the report indicating > 4,000ppm.
Strangely enough the indicator light on the Intellichlor cell is solid green and good.
Pool builder says "The only way to lower is to drain and re-fill with fresh water. I would not advise doing so if the generator is working and with the indicator lights all green. I would say its working. It will come down on its own as you produce chlorine. They harm it could do is to your stone if it was not sealed. I would be more concerned if it was not sealed. My recommendation would to be, leave it as is…. And when it drops to about 3500, try to maintain that level.
Question- Will the salt content really come down without draining as more chlorine is produced??
Thanks
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InyoPools Product Specialist Dennis R. Posted: 7/27/2013
Patty - Adding salt to your pool water will not reduce the hardness of the water. Softening water with a water softener involves a chemical process with the resin in the softener.Reply
Patty Posted: 7/24/2013
I just bought some equipment from your company and I spoke to a pool guy in the neighborhood. I have a problem with my pool water being overly hard and chlorinated and this pool guy said to add salt to our pool to help make the water softer. Have you ever heard of this? This is a normal chlorine pool, not a soft water pool. Please let me know what you think. thanksReply
InyoPools Product Specialist Dennis R. Posted: 7/23/2013
Sharon - If your pool store has been in business for awhile, I would assume they know what they are doing and your pool will clear up with their additives. Your situation is not that uncommon. Here's a link to our guide on "How To Get Rid Of Algae In Your Swimming Pool" for general information.Reply
Sharon Posted: 7/22/2013
We took a sample to a local pool supply store. They told us what we needed to put in and how much. The problem I have is that now the water is very green. Tomorrow we are supposed to add two more ingredients but they told us to add the salt today when we added the other ingredients. I thought I woUld take another sample to them Tuesday just to make sure everything is ok. Does this sound like it is working ok? Will the green eventually go away?Reply
InyoPools Product Specialist Dennis R. Posted: 7/22/2013
Sharon - Before you add salt to your pool you want to be sure the chemicals in the pool are at their correct levels. These include pH, Alkalinity, Stabilizer, and Calcium, plus you will want to know hat your current salt level is to know how much salt to add. All pools have some salt in them. See our guides on "Pool Maintenance" for more information.Reply
Sharon Posted: 7/22/2013
We just put up an Intex 16 x 32 above ground ultra frame pool. It came with a sand filter pump and we have added a salt filter pump. As of now, we have filled it up with well water and added a product we got at the local pool supply called Stain X for removing minerals. Our well has a lot of iron (don't know what else. They told us to bring in a sample of water to test, and then they would let us know what we would need to add to get the water right. When do we add the salt and should we add anything else to it? I saw where something about shocking was mentioned----could this be what they are talking about? Help please. SharonReply
InyoPools Product Specialist Dennis R. Posted: 7/21/2013
salt and shock - There is no sequence to adding salt and shock. You could do them together. Dissolving salt in your pool water will not affect shocking your pool. Make sure your pH is balanced and remember to turn off your SCG unit while dissolving the salt.Reply
Anonymous Posted: 7/18/2013
If your chorline level is so low that you need to shock your pool as well as add a number of bags of salt, is there an order to do things in? Salt then shock or shock then salt? Is there a certain amount of time you should wait after you do the first step (ie add salt) before doing the next step?Reply
InyoPools Product Specialist Dennis R. Posted: 7/12/2013
adding salt - I need to know the average depth of your pool to calculate total gallons of pool water. Assuming an average depth of 6 ft (4' shallow & 8'deep), your pool has 17,648 gallons of water. To increase this pool from 2800 ppm to 3500 ppm, you will need to add about 120 # of salt or three (3) 40# bags. If the average depth of your pool is 4 ft, it contains 11,760 gallons and you would have to add about 80 # or 2 bags of salt to get the pool's salt level to 3500.Reply
Anonymous Posted: 7/9/2013
I have a salt water pool and the salt is down to 2800 my pool is 14w x 28 length. The ppm should be between 3000-4000 how many bags of salt do I add?Reply
InyoPools Product Specialist Dennis R. Posted: 6/28/2013
vinegar - Vinegar is a weaker acid and should work, but it will probably take much longer to clean the cell.Reply
InyoPools Product Specialist Dennis R. Posted: 6/28/2013
16x48 pool - You have added the right amount of salt to your pool to see some results in chlorine generation. I suspect that your salt chlorine generator is not working. Check the wiring and if you are getting power to the unit. If this doesn't work, give the SCG manufacturer a call. Their technical staff should be able to pinpoint your problem.Reply
Anonymous Posted: 6/27/2013
Can you clean cell with vinegar for build upReply
Anonymous Posted: 6/27/2013
I have a 16x48 round pool & can't get it clear. Added 3 bags of salt as it filled & I run the pool pump nonstop. I ran boost & didn't help. Had water tested. It was brown & had to add shock, mur. acid, phos., & stabilizer. Had it retested & had to add more shock & phos. Now its green & reading low salt. What do I do???Reply
InyoPools Product Specialist Dennis R. Posted: 6/23/2013
Tina - It sounds like your Salt Chlorine Generator is not working properly. Check the installation to make sure it's installed correctly then call the manufacturer.Reply
Tina Posted: 6/21/2013
Hi,I have an 18' x 48" intex above ground pool. The guide indicated to add 16lb ( 4 bags) of Morton Pool Salt. Did that and ran the filter pump for 24 hours. Tested the pool water and no chlorine produced. Took water to be tested. Professional had me buy liquid shock and ppm down. Did that as directed. When I get a bit of copper then chlorine goes away and ppm goes up. Should I just try putting more salt in the pool instead of using more chemicals. That is the reason I got the system to get away from having to put all these chemicals in the pool. Please reply.
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InyoPools Product Specialist Dennis R. Posted: 6/21/2013
La - 3500 is just the upper limit of salt concentration. Operating at 2600-2800 is fine. You just have to watch your salt level a little closer so that you don't fall below 2600.Reply
La Posted: 6/19/2013
New to a salt water pool, my pool guy says I am good at 2600-3500. I have been running 2600-2800, water looks great, took sample to pool store, they said I needed nothing. Why would I need to get to 3500?Reply
InyoPools Product Specialist Dennis R. Posted: 5/19/2013
Michelle - Three 40# bags is about the right amount of salt for you size pool. It sounds like your salt chlorine generator is not operating correctly. I would suggest calling your SCG manufacturer. He should be able to get your particular SCG working. Give us a call if you need their number.Reply
Michelle Posted: 5/18/2013
I have a 5000 gal pool and just switched from chlorine to salt water added 3 bags of salt like it said to, and now my water is green, what do I need to do? PLZ helpReply
Steve Posted: 5/16/2013
Thank you. Since posting, I have verified that the popular brand of test strips I've been using have been..and continue to be... significantly in error. More than a month ago I compared the test strips to a pool store analysis and they seemed to have been reasonably accurate. But, at this moment they are still showing 2,500 ppm when in fact the reading is 6,400. I am in talks with the manufacturer regarding this inaccuracy. But, you're right. I will have to replace a significant portion of the water to correct the situation. Thank you for providing a formula to follow.Reply
InyoPools Product Specialist Dennis R. Posted: 5/15/2013
Steve - If you have added 46 bags of salt to you 20,000 gal pool, your salt level is 3 times what it should be. You have one of two problems: either your salt readings are wrong or you have a huge operational issue. If you can, have another pool company measure your salt level to confirm your current readings. The operational issue is dilution and significant dilution. The only way to reduce your pool's salt level is by dilution. You would have to have a large leak in your pool that would require you to add at least half a pool's volume of water to reduce your salt readings to the levels you are reading. This seems unlikely so I would go with re-verifying your salt readings.Reply
Steve Posted: 5/14/2013
My problem has confounded every pool expert I've consulted so far. I switched to a salt system when relining the pool last February. Calculations said to add 15 bags to the 20,000 gallons pool, which we did. Water was cold so did little else until end of March. Since then have added AT LEAST 25 bags, maybe more. Have NEVER reached 3,000 ppm. (Generator requires 4,000 to 4,500). Yesterday, added 6 more bags. Reading before was 2,490 ppm; reading after is 1,960. DOWN! Generator mfgr said they've never experienced such a problem. New test strips reasonably accurate compared to pool store readings. Am desperate to solve. Please help!Reply
InyoPools Product Specialist Dennis R. Posted: 12/14/2012
Dallas - If your cell readings are tracking with the store reading and both are showing large drops in salt levels, you have an operational problem. The only way you can drop salt levels is through dilution - adding water to your pool. This could happen if you have heavy rains over most of the week or if you have a leak in your pool and are constantly adding water.Reply
Dallas Posted: 12/8/2012
Recently my salt reading was 2600 to 2700 so I added salt and it went back to normal range of 3000 to 3500. A week or so later it is back down, so I add more salt. I have verified these readings with the pool store so I know my cell sensor is ok. Any idea why the salt levels decrease like that? Cell is less than a year old. It is getting cold so pool temp is in the 60 degree range. Thanks for any input.Reply
InyoPools Product Specialist Dennis R. Posted: 11/14/2012
Dave - On some Salt Chlorine Generation Systems, a fixed salt reading of 2400 or 2500 usually means it has to be reset or there's a problem with the LCD. Have a pool store check your salt level. If it's around 3500, you'll have to give your manufacturer a call for instructions.Reply
Dave Posted: 11/13/2012
I added half a bag of salt yesterday when the system read 2400ppm. I checked it today and it still reads 2400ppm. I need to get it around 3500ppm. What should I do?Reply
InyoPools Product Specialist Dennis R. Posted: 10/21/2012
JEG - The salt needs water flow to dissolve. If your Spa drains at the top though overflow and does not have a bottom drain, you will have to stir the water in the bottom of the Spa to dissolve the salt.Reply
JEG Posted: 10/19/2012
I am having trouble with the salt dissolving in the pool. For some reason the salt is hanging out in the spa and not dissolving. Any suggestions?Reply
InyoPools Product Specialist Dennis R. Posted: 9/26/2012
Bob - All the salt cell reps I talk to say the salt cell should be turned off until the newly added salt is completely dissolved. Running the cell with un-dissolved salt puts a high load on the generator and can burn it out. The only reason for adding salt to the shallow end instead of the deep end is to make it easier to push it around to help dissolve it.Reply
InyoPools Product Specialist Dennis R. Posted: 9/26/2012
James - We are told that the concentrated salt content puts a higher load (amperage) on your pool's motor. It is also very abrasive to the internal parts of the motor.Reply
Bob Posted: 9/24/2012
I am reading some suggestions and find your points very interesting. I have always added my salt to the deep end where it dissolves within about 30 minutes? Is this wrong? Also, I never was told to turn off my salt generator when adding salt so I never have. Now my salt generator has failed but it lasted for 8 seasons which seems to be normal. Is there anything I should change in the way I take care of my pool?Reply