Need help with Salt System & Stabilizer...

[Akitas4me]

Hello-
We put in an inground, blown concrete pool, PebbleTec finish, and a salt system, last September. Ever since, the water has seemed very salty even tho the testing and system electronics tell us otherwise.

Are salt sytem pools supposed to have salty water?? I thought it was only supposed to create Chlorine in a less caustic manor since my whole family has sensitive skin.

Our pool company, as part or our sales contract, comes out every 3 months to check everything and will clean our DE filter at the 1st year end...then it is up to us...We do all the pool maintenance ourselves.

Our service tech (from our pool builer) was out on Monday to replace the board on our salt system that went out, and for the first time, told us to add 10 lbs stabilizer...this was the 1st I had heard about this chemical.

What does it do for the pool and how do we know when to add it?? We add Acid weekly and a Scale additive monthly....

What are we doing wrong with the salinity...if anything???

Thanks for your help in advance!

[tenax]

from what i read, if the water tastes too salty (and everyone has different levels of taste sensitivity of course) then the salt content is high..how high is your salt system saying the salt ppm is ?

stabilizer allows your chlorine be more resistant to the sun..basically makes it last longer so it doesn't break down as fast.

[KurtV]

Hello-
We put in an inground, blown concrete pool, PebbleTec finish, and a salt system, last September. Ever since, the water has seemed very salty even tho the testing and system electronics tell us otherwise.
As Tenax asked, what is the salt level in your water (in parts per million or ppm)?

Are salt sytem pools supposed to have salty water?? I thought it was only supposed to create Chlorine in a less caustic manor since my whole family has sensitive skin.
Most people can't tast salt in the 3000-3500 ppm range that most SWG manufacturers recommend. Some systems (Watermaid, I think) operate in the vicinity of 6000 ppm and you can probably taste the salt at that level.

Our pool company, as part or our sales contract, comes out every 3 months to check everything and will clean our DE filter at the 1st year end...then it is up to us...We do all the pool maintenance ourselves.
With the help of this forum, that should be easy for you. Read the sticky threads at the top of the "Using Chlorine and Chlorinating Chemicals" forum and the "Testing and Adjusting Pool Water Chemistry" forum to get started on understading your pool water and how to maintain it.

Our service tech (from our pool builer) was out on Monday to replace the board on our salt system that went out, and for the first time, told us to add 10 lbs stabilizer...this was the 1st I had heard about this chemical.
Stabilizer (aka conditioner) is the common name for Cyanuric Acid (abbreviated CYA). It keeps the active form of chlorine from being detroyed as quickly by sunlight. Most SWG manufacturers recommend a level of 60-80 ppm CYA; check your owner's manual to see what your manufacturer recommends. You can buy it at pool stores and at some of the big box stores such as Wal Mart and Home Depot.

What does it do for the pool and how do we know when to add it??
What it does is above. You know when to add it by testing your water for it. It's generally not a consumable like chlorine; once it's in your pool it's there to stay (with some exceptions).

We add Acid weekly and a Scale additive monthly....
How do you know how much acid to add? Are you testing your own water? With what?

What are we doing wrong with the salinity...if anything???
Let us know what the salinity is and someone here will be able to help you.

Thanks for your help in advance!

Welcome to the forum.

[Akitas4me]

Yes, we test the water ourselves with a water test kit (Pentair) given to us by our pool builder. They gave us the recommended numbers to stay within for our pool size (23,513 gallons), so we know how much and when to add chems (Chlorine/PH/Acid/Alk)....nothing about stabilizer values in this test kit.

The last water test, done by the pool company on Monday, 7/24, showed the following:
Salt 3200
Stabilizer 20
Chlorine 0 (Our Aquapure circuit board had been out for a week, hence the reason our pool co. guy was there - we had been manually adding Chlorine for a week and our testing didn't ever say 0 chlorine, but that is what the pool guys test said)
PH 8.0
ALK 70
Calcium 250

Thanks again for your help.

[KurtV]

Yes, we test the water ourselves with a water test kit (Pentair) given to us by our pool builder. They gave us the recommended numbers to stay within for our pool size (23,513 gallons), so we know how much and when to add chems (Chlorine/PH/Acid/Alk)....nothing about stabilizer values in this test kit.

The last water test, done by the pool company on Monday, 7/24, showed the following:
Salt 3200
Stabilizer 20
Chlorine 0 (Our Aquapure circuit board had been out for a week, hence the reason our pool co. guy was there - we had been manually adding Chlorine for a week and our testing didn't ever say 0 chlorine, but that is what the pool guys test said)
PH 8.0
ALK 70
Calcium 250

Thanks again for your help.

Akitas,
3200 ppm is probably in the correct range for your SWG (check the manual). Many can't taste the salt at that level or find the taste very slight. You must just have a better sense of taste than most.

Your pH is high at 8.0. Most people recommend 7.2 to 7.6 (or 7.8). High pH will limit the ability of your SWG to produce chlorine and negatively affect the performance of the chlorine you do have.

Check the SWG manual on the recommended level of stabiliser (CYA). Most want you to have 60-80 ppm. BleachCalc, a piece of software written by one of the members here, will help you determine how much CYA to add. A link to download the program is in the signature line of every post by mwsmith2.

Until you get your SWG repaired you need to get some chlorine in your pool. Bleach is probably the easiest and cheapest form with the fewest side effects (again, the sticky threads in the chlorine forum will give you some background).

[biker2]

I have the Aquarite system and the salt readings I take from the control unit. First the unit has worked for 4 years now without incident. I do taste a small amount of salt but It's not considered a salty taste. Every year I add at least 200+ lbs of salt to my 45k gallon IG vinyl liner pool. I always find it amazing how much salt you need to add to get the level to 3200 ppm when its first opened for the season.

No one has ever complained about the taste. I am lucky that my pool ph & chemistry is always very steady throughout the season and unless it rains for several days I don't have a lot to do except empty the skimmers and make periodic water quality checks.

GB