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HomeExclusiveHow Do I Check The Salt Level In My Pool

How Do I Check The Salt Level In My Pool

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Calculating How Much Salt To Add

How to Check Your Pool’s Salt Level (Salinity Level)

Use the calculator below to figure out how much salt to add or water to replace in your pool. All you need to do is plug in your pool volume and your current salt levels and hit calculate. I already plugged in the ideal salt level of 3,200 ppm, but if you feel strongly that you want it to be lower or higher, you can adjust it as needed.

And its as simple as that!

Tips On Balancing Your Pools Salt Levels

Saltwater pools has been gaining some popularity lately in the previous years. People have seen the wonderful benefits saltwater pools can offer which chlorinated pools cannot.

Saltwater pools have lower chlorine levels. Just because the word: salt is in the name, doesnt mean that chlorine should be absent in the mixture. With saltwater pools, you do not have to physically apply chlorine saltwater pool systems convert the salt into chlorine by using chlorine generators. This type of swimming pool is gentle to the skin. Too much exposure to chlorine damages the skin with saltwater pools, it produces less skin damage and is less harmful to those who have sensitive skins and who suffer from skin allergies. You are able to open your eyes under saltwater pools. The salt level in these types of pools are well balanced it is not too strong to feel like the ocean, nor is it too weak to be unable to chlorinate your pool. Finally, saltwater pools are easier to maintain. The latest saltwater pools can monitor the pools cleanliness automatically.

Saltwater pools however, need to be monitored for a different reason, and that reason would be — the pool’s salt levels.

Risks Of High Salinity

While there arent many harmful effects of having too much salt in your pool water, its possible that the salt will become corrosive with readings above 6,000 PPM, which can be damaging to any metallic equipment in the pool. This equipment usually includes any handrails and ladders in the pool. Its also important to note that certain salt water generators wont turn on if the salinity of your pool water isnt between 3,000-4,000 PPM, which will make it difficult for you to maintain the right salinity.

Its important to maintain the salt levels of your pool because of the many benefits that saltwater pools can provide at the right salinity levels. For instance, water in a saltwater pool typically feels softer than water in a standard chlorine pool. Saltwater also produces its own chlorine, which means that theres no reason for you to store this chemical. When you use an electrical conductivity sensor for your saltwater pool, you may need to take action if the salt levels are below 3,000 PPM or higher than 6,000 PPM.

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Why Your Salt Chlorinator Cell Is Not Working And What To Do About It

A malfunctioning salt water chlorinator is every spa and pool owners nightmare. A salt chlorinator cell not working causes the water to become murky and dirty with time and most sane people wouldnt touch it with a ten foot pole. More often than not, the problem is with the salt cell and not the entire chlorinator system itself. This is one handy little unit that is responsible for all the benefits of the system that allow us to enjoy clean chlorinated water without the pungent smell and irritating effects of chlorine itself. So what is it that causes the salt chlorinator cell to stop working? Below is all the information you need to identify a malfunctioning cell, the cause of the problem and the most appropriate way forward.

Monthly Salt Water Pool Maintenance

How To Lower Salt Levels Within Swimming Pools

As a general rule you should ensure that the following levels are checked at least once a month. It’s common for them to fluctuate during times of high usage or extreme weather so you should keep that in mind throughout the year. You may find that these levels don’t fluctuate throughout an entire year while other pool owners will notice significant changes.

You might be interested in our pool maintenance cost page that provides some estimates for how much you can expect to spend monthly and yearly depending on whether you maintain your pool yourself or hire a professional pool service.

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Use A Liquid Reagent Kit

Testing your pool using a liquid reagent kit from your local pool supplier is another easy and reliable way to test your pools salt level. Although they cost a little bit more than salt test strips, liquid reagent kits typically run between $15 and $20 testing your pool with a liquid reagent kit is a simple process that will help keep your collection clean.

To test your pool water with a liquid reagent kit, you fill the included vials with samples from your saltwater pool and then add the liquid reagent according to the manufacturers instructions. Once youve mixed the reagent with your pool water samples, the samples will change color.

At this point, you should refer back to the manufacturers instructions for guidance on how to interpret the test results, although this is a simple process that youll get better at with time. Most liquid reagent kits require you to compare your pool samples against an included color chart to determine their salinity.

The Best Salinity Meters For The Home Pool

Lets be frank no one likes pool maintenance. If you have a saltwater pool or a spa, theres a device that can help take the guesswork out of maintenance and ensure you get the use of your pool this summer.

Whats the device? A salinity meter!

Instrument Choice Scientists have put together a review of the five best salinity meters for home pool use.

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Determine Total Dissolved Solids

This is the most ignored aspect pool water chemistry: The TDS in your pool should not exceed 1500 ppm.

The levels of TDS increases as chemicals are added and as organic matter dissolves in the water. If it drifts to the higher side, TDS significantly affects free chlorine levels and other chemicals and may cause cloudiness in the water.

The only way to reduce excess TDS is to drain and replace the water. Alternatively, you can increase the frequency of backwashing and cleaning your pool filter.

Using Salt Testing Strips For Manual Testing

Checking your pools salt level

Sometimes it is not good to rely only on the equipment. Machines can be wrong at times. So you could use manual methods to check the salt levels in your pool. The strips are placed in your pool for 20 seconds, and change in color is compared to the chart given with strips. If the strip is Aquacheck strip, then the testing strip is placed for 10 minutes in a container filled with pool water, and the color change is noted.

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How To Balance Chemicals In A Saltwater Pool

In any swimming pool, you must begin with chemically balanced water. To accurately test and adjust important chemicals such as pH, free chlorine, combined chlorine, total chlorine, total alkalinity, cyanuric acid, and bromine, I use the LaMotte ColorQ Pro 11 digital pool water test kit. It takes a very accurate measurement for all the chemicals at once.

Advancements In Cya Test Strip Technology

Once upon a time, a test strip could only test for CYA up to 150 ppm. It was hard to get a clear picture of how high the level really was. Bio-Active has been working hard to fix that.

We partnered with Hach to build a fast, convenient strip that can give you a more precise reading of higher CYA levels.

The more information you have about your pool, the better you can take care of it. There is a big difference between a level of 30-50 ppm CYA, where Chlorine is very effective to kill bacteria and 250 ppm CYA, where you might have a much bigger problem to maintain an algae free pool. With the right test strips, you can assess the situation with confidence.

Can we find a different way to write this sentence? It just read funny to me. It may also be good to mention that at 120ppm, your CYA isnt that far from the recommended zone. So many people may have ignored it as a minor problem until their CYA levels reached significantly higher levels.

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How Do I Lower The Salt Level In My Saltwater Pool

The only way to lower the salt concentration of your swimming pool’s water is to dilute it. Unfortunately, this means you will need to partially drain your pool and refill it with fresh water. This is true because salt doesn’t wear out, break down or evaporate only your water will evaporate. First take a salt reading.

Accordingly, what should the salt level be in a saltwater pool?

The ideal salt level is between 2700-3400 ppm with 3200 ppm being optimal. Before adding salt to your pool, test the water to check your salt level.

Also Know, how often do you have to add salt to a saltwater pool? There is no set timeframe of when you need to add salt to your pool. Because salt does not dissipate from your water, the only time you would add salt to your pool is when you add fresh water or after heavy rain that dilutes salinity levels.

Hereof, how do I add salt to my saltwater pool?

When adding salt to the pool, make sure to turn off the salt chlorine generator, but leave the pool pump on to circulate and distribute the salt evenly throughout the pool. When pouring the salt into the pool, add it around the deep end to have it circulate through the main drain. Brush the salt towards the main drain.

Can you put too much salt in pool?

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How To Test Salt Level In The Pool

Salt Water Pool Systems

As a father, it is my primary duty to ensure the health and well-being of my kids. I am ready to take on the entire world to safeguard my kids. Which father wont do the same, right? The pool that brought smiles to the faces of my family members was also responsible for a lot of pain and tears.

I must admit it was my fault. I should have been more careful about maintaining the chemical balance in the pool. Remember how my youngest daughter loves the pool? A slight imbalance in the pool salt level gave her an eye infection.

My baby was unable to sleep for two nights. We took her to the doctor, but only a father knows how it hurts when you see your daughter suffering, and you cannot do anything to comfort her.

Contents

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Salt Water Pool Maintenance Checklist

We’ve put together a salt water pool maintenance checklist specifically for salt water pool owners. As you continue reading keep in mind that not all pools, generators and water quality are the same which will present unique maintenance challenges. We’ve also put together a detailed hot tub maintenance checklist with helpful tips and advice specifically for salt water hot tubs.

Daily

How Is Salinity Made

There are three ways that salinity can be made, which include primary salinity, secondary salinity, and tertiary salinity.

  • Primary salinity is the most common method, which occurs via natural processes such as the buildup of salt from rainfall over a lengthy period of time. When rain falls, some of the salt from this water will evaporate from bodies of water or soil. Its also possible for some of the salt to enter directly into the ground water or soil. A small amount of this water will also enter into rivers and streams before eventually flowing into oceans and lakes.
  • As for secondary salinity, this type of salinity occurs when the levels of groundwater rise, which is usually brought about by vegetation being removed from a specific area.
  • Salinity can also be made via tertiary salinity, which occurs when water is applied to horticulture and crops over numerous cycles. Every time that water is applied to the crops, a small amount of it will evaporate, which means that the salt concentration will increase. If water is reused on a regular basis, crops can have very high concentrations of salt.

If youre trying to maintain the right amount of salinity in your pool, a salt water generator is typically used to maintain the correct levels of salt.

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Does Your Pool Have The Right Amount Of Salt

In order for a pool with a salt chlorination system to carry out the chlorine generation process correctly, we must take into account the amount of salt necessary for each installation.

Many believe that adding salt to the water is enough when starting the salt chlorinator. However, we must put aside this false belief because as time passes, the concentration of salt in the pool decreases thanks to certain processes such as evaporation, filter washing and the water that comes out of the pool due to use.

Also, it must also be borne in mind that this does not mean that salt will have to be constantly added to the pool as we could exceed the necessary amount that the pool should have. Now, it is important to measure the salt levels in the pool from time to time to keep track of this issue. On the contrary, we could find two possible scenarios:

  • If the level is too high, the metal elements and accessories that are in contact with the water can corrode, the water can start to taste very salty and may look cloudy.
  • If the salt levels are very low, we can have problems when generating natural chlorine.

How to calculate the cubic meters of your pool

In the case of a rectangular pool, the dimensions of the pool surface must be taken into account, as well as the average depth to calculate the cubic meters of the pool.

How to carry out a salinity test

The Impacts Salinity Has On Your Pool

How To Test The Salt Level Of A Pool

Over time, incorrect salinity levels can deteriorate your pool water quality, leading to costly repairs and cleanings. If the level is too low, you end up with less chlorine in the pool since there is not as much salt for the generator to convert to chlorine. By not having a high enough salt content, your pool may grow bacteria and algae. If this is caught quickly and your saline levels are adjusted, the algae should come off with a pool brush. But if the growing materials begin to take over, you may have to use chemical cleaners or drain your pool to clean it. Plus, running a chlorine generator with salt at low-level results in a faster breakdown of cell plates. The system may also quit operating.

It is typically not as much of a problem if the salt level for a saltwater pool is too high. However, at very high levels 5000 ppm and above you will typically see issues arise, and your system may shut down.

Avoid these issues by regularly testing salinity and maintaining the appropriate levels for your pool.

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Prepare The Taylor Salinity Test Kit

The Taylor Test Kit comes is a cute blue box. It purchased it from an online store, and the delivery rather quick. As soon as I got the kit, I got down to business. I know that the ideal salt balance in the pool water should be anything between 3000 ppm to 3500 ppm.

The box contains a small jar, where the testing will take place, a small bottle of Chromate Indicator, and a little container of Silver Nitrate reagent. Make sure you are out of the house when doing this test. If the chemicals get in touch with your clothes, the stains will never come off.

A Swimming Pool Chemical Calculator

Adjust sliders to calculate pool salt.

For proper chlorine production in a salt water pool, it is extremely important that the salt parts per million to be kept as close to the system recommendations as possible. Operating a chlorine generator outside the recommended salt PPM can result in poor chlorine production or even damage to the chlorine generator itself in some cases.

When adding salt, open the bag on the corner and walk around the pool while pouring the salt in evenly. It can take up to 24 hours after adding salt to dissolve completely and circulate through the entire pool.

RESULTS SHOWN HERE

More About A Salt Water Pool

A salt water pool is a more convenient and healthy way to chlorinate the pool water. The chlorine is produced on site in a closed loop with the salt directly in the pool, eliminating the need to purchase and transport chlorine. The salt water pool generator provides a more automatic granular method of controlling the chlorine dosing. With the salt water pool generator, chlorine is constantly being produced. Making it easier to adjust the chlorine level on a daily basis as opposed to dumping large amounts of chlorine every few days spiking the chlorine levels. The salt water is said to have some health benefits like softer skin and better feeling water. Salt water pool generators also reduce eye and skin irritation.

LOW SALT EFFECTS:
HIGH SALT EFFECTS:

Tips About A Salt Water Pool

Salt Water Pool Maintenance
WHEN TO ADD SALT TO POOL:

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How To Maintain A Trouble

Maintaining a trouble-free saltwater swimming pool is not rocket science its all about monitoring chemicals used in the pool regularly and maintenance of chlorine via a regulating chlorine generator.

From my own experience with a saltwater pool for more than five years now, the major problems you will encounter in a saltwater pool are calcium buildups that come in your pool as white flakes, low chlorine levels that cause cloudiness, low salinity, salt chlorinator maintenance, and corrosion issues.

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