Salt cell having to be cleaned bi-weekly....

[rdemorest]

I have a 24 Round X 52 inch metal wall above ground pool with a sand filter and a salt generator. Last year al was good, I had to clean the cell about every 5-6 weeks, This year i had to replace the liner (5 years old, cut by ladder). Since opening the pool I have been having to clean the salt cell about every 2 weeks. I clean the cell with 5% or 7 % white vinegar, and let it soak over night unitl clear. I cheked the chemistry and my PH was around 8.2, and TA was at 220. Not sure about calcium hardness, but i am in central texas and with all the limestone, I am sure the Hardness is up there. I say this because drain and refill to reduce CH would be impractical, unless I by about 13000 gallons of distilled water..... Is there a way to slow the build up of deposits on the Cell plates? could it be a chemistry fix once i get the TA down to the 60-80 range? Should i let the PH get back up like it is or keep it on the lower end? Water feels and looks great, and I like what I read about high PH pools. Is there a way to reduce / eliminate Calcium level in the pool?

Thanks

[Watermom]

Hi and welcome!

There is no real way to lower calcium hardness other than draining. Do you have a hardness reading for your pool? Have you tested your fill water to find the hardness reading of that? If not, do so.

Your pH and TA are both way too high. Go to our sister site www.poolsolutions.com and click on "guides." One of them is called lowering alk. The process detailed there will lower both pH and TA.

High pH + high TA + high hardness is not a good combination. More likely to have cloudy water and scale problems.

[rcy100]

You've said you like the idea of a high PH pool based on what you've read at poolsolutions.com I'm guessing.
One of the drawbacks of high PH is "increase scaling if your calcium and alkalinity are too high."

In your case your alkalinity is too high and you are guessing (probably correctly) that your calcium is too high, both of which are a bad thing if you plan to run a high PH pool.

I would suggest that you drop your PH for now to prevent scaling, and work on lowering your TA and calcium. Once those are in check, you could then attempt a high PH pool.

[rdemorest]

ok, It hasn't been a good weekend. added 6 lbs of dry acid, dropped and broke vacuum, circulated a day, then pump went down.... salt cell was out for cleaning for a day by then. so replaced pump, installed cleaned cell, and tested water:

FC 0
PH 7.4
Alkilinity 110
CYA 0
CH 150
salt 2600
phosphates 100

pool clear but smells of pond water. cleared surface of pool (lots of little flowers from wife's rain forest of a yard.
added 6 lbs CYA, 2 lbs dichlor,

running pump overnight, can't vacuum until part for vac comes in Thursday or Friday.
will add another pound of dichlor at 0630 before work.

expect to see the follwing when I retest tomorrow eve:

FC 6+ ????
PH 7.2
TA 100-110
CYA 50-60
CH 150
Salt 2600 (may add 40lbs tomorrow afternoon, not getting low salt warning so debating)
Phosphates 100

Sound like i'm missing anything? or on the right track? Also what are borates?

[Watermom]

Since CYA dissolves so slowly, it will be a few days until yours is able to be read. Because of that, you may not have any chlorine when you next test. Chlorine in unstabilized water disappears fast. Post your new results when you test again. Dichlor is acidic and may drop your pH. Keep an eye on that. I also wouldn't use any more dichlor for about a week or so until you give the CYA time to totally dissolve and see where your CYA level is at that point. Just use bleach.

Keep the pump running 24/7 while the CYA is dissolving --- at least 4 or 5 days.