Help - problems with Bioguard MS11

[waterbear]

The Mineral Springs system is manufactured by Goldline controls for Bioguard. First thing, you DON'T NEED Beginnings and Renewal. They will just waste your money and give you no control over your water.

Use plain solar, water softener, or pool salt that is at least 99.5% pure.
Beautye350 is right on the money for balancing the water first and his numbers are where you want to be.
Get the numbers in these ranges and don't worry about the saturation index. It will be fine if you keep within these parameters he posted.
Balance the water by adjusting the pH with muriatic acid to lower, borax if you need to raise it (doubtful with a SWG), raise alkalinity with baking soda, lower it by following the instructions in this thread
http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=191
adjust your calcium hardness by adding calcium chloride (Dowflake de-icer is what Dow recommends for pool/spa use on their website and it is MUCH cheaper than buying calcium chloride from the pool store!)
and get your CYA levels in the right range.
If you ever need to shock your pool use bleach. The superchorinate setting on the SWG will just shorten the life of your cell.

First order of business is to get a test kit so you can test yourself and then get some bleach and CYA in there until things are working right then assuming the pool store numbers are correct then get your alkalinity in the proper range by lowering it. Once the Alk is in range adjust your ph and then once that is in range adjust the calcium level.

Acid Demand is a useless test that is supposed to tell you how much acid needs to be added in one shot to adjust pH. Best way to adjust pH is in small increments, especially with acid!

The "minerals" reading is exactly the same as a "salt" reading. I have a Goldline Aqualogic PS-8 and I can set my unit to display either "minerals" or "salt". I called Goldline tech support to ask what the difference is. They told me it was the word that shows up on the display in case I was using the Mineral Springs system! It really is just for those foolish enought to buy into Bioguard's hype to make them think that the salt mix they are putting in is something special. So when you read 'minerals' think 'salt'

As far as the 'check cell' light....that could be several things
First, make sure that the cell is plugged into the control panel and also make sure the flow switch is connected and working.
It can also come on if the salt levels are too low or too high.
It might be from your very high pH.....get it down to 7.2 or 7.4 with muriatic acid.
Basically the light comes on when the cell is not working properly for some reason.
I am not sure about the "minerals' light but my unit does have a 'salt' display for when the salt levels are too high or low. The Aquarite unit has a 'check salt' light to indicate a low salt condition and a 'high salt' light to indicate a high salt conditon. If your 'minerals light is indicating a low salt condition and you know your salt level is ok then either the cell is scaled and needs cleaning or it is dying and needs to be replaced. If it is indicating a high salt condition and you know your salt levels are ok then you might want to check the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS).(see below)
How old is the system? The cell could have scale deposits and could need cleaning in acid or it might be worn out and needs to be replaced. Your unit might not have a self cleaning cell (the older ones didn't, I believe) and the cell does need to be cleaned by soaking in acid and water about every 3 monthsif that is the case. If you go to the Goldline website www.goldlinecontrols.com and look at the info for the Aquarite it is basically the same as your unit except the cell is self cleaning.

I noticed that you stated that the system is reading much lower than the tested salt level and that if the tests are right then your salt level is somewhere in the range of 3800 ppm or possibly higher. The Goldline units WILL cut off with high salt levels (mine cuts off at about 4100 ppm and if the actual TDS in your pool is high (that would be the TDS reading minus the salt level) this could push the unit over the limit. There also seems to be a calibration problem with your unit since it is reading much lower than your tested salt levels. Not sure what to tell you about this other than the cell might need cleaning or is about to die. (they have a lifespan rated in hours of use)

Now, in a nutshell....
keep the generator off until you balance the water and use bleach to chlorinate while you do. you want at least about a 6ppm FC with your CYA at the suggested levels when using bleach. Once you get the water balanced THEN try to get the generator going.
You are going to need your own test kit. Don't depend on the pool store! I would strongly suggest the one sold on the sister website www.poolsolutions.com You want the PS234s which has the salt test option. You will NOT find a better 'bang for your buck" than this kit. check out this thread for a comparison of Ben's kit and Taylor's pricewise.
http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=151

I suspect that once the pH is in normal range and you get your salt levels in the recommended range and the water balalnced things will start working properly. It might be helpful to get a TDS test done and subtract the salt reading from it. This will give you your true TDS. The only reason I say this is because TDS will increase the conductivity of the water ( as will the salt) and if the level is very high (I would be wary of anything over about 1500ppm) it can cause the cell to shut down just like in a high salt situation because of the combination of your salt level and your TDS. The unit will just see this as a high salt condition.

I know that I have crammed a lot of info in here and I hope I haven't confused you. Just read through it slowly and take it all in along with the other good info that has been posted in this thread and you will be a SWG expert in no time!