Soft water and SWG's

[BND]

I am considering adding a SWG( an aquarite). Bbout a year ago i installed a whole house water softener. I did not replumb a direct hardwater line to the leveler of the pool. I wonder what affect softened water will have ( or not have) on the SWG or the amount of residual salt that is or will be present in my pool water.
Any thoughts?

[CarlD]

I only have one: Get a salt test kit and test it! Then you'll know. Taylor makes and sells them, and Leslies sells a re-badged Taylor test.

[Poolsean]

Your water softener will add salt to your pool. So depending on which type of salt chlorine generator you select, there may be a high salt limit that can shut down the chlorine production (btw, Pool Pilot does not have a high salt limit).
The negative is that high salt, above 6,000 ppm, can cause corrosion to stainless steel components in contact with the water. Also, it can taste rather salty.

In a residential pool, you're not likely to loose salt that often. Backwashing of sand of DE filters, bather drag/splash out, and leaks are common ways salt is lost. You may need to add 100 - 150 lbs throughout the year. Not really worth tying in your water softener system to your pool.

Sean

[darenjones]

Assuming your pool is an inground, you definitely need to make sure you maintain your calcium hardness, unless you have fiberglass, or vinyl. Though you will probably only be topping off your water, you will add very little salt to the pool water, of course this depends on what type of softener you have and how hard your raw/municipal water is. I have put quite a few systems (whole house) in that have pools, and have never seen any adverse effects, either way, most people like the fact the water feels better, over time as the water is replaced. Let me know if you have any questions, knowing what type of softener you have, I can likely tell you exactly how much salt you will add per 100 gal.

[waterbear]

I have a whole house softener system and a SWG and fill my pool with softened water. I have a fiberglass pool so I run my calcium at about 200 ppm by adding calcium chloride. (Jury is still out whether fiberglass need calcium. I've posted this elsewhere on the forum so I won't go into it here.) I have not noticed my salt level going too high (and my unit does have a high salt shut off). I test my salt level with chemical tests and with Goldline and LaMotte handheld meters. When I have to add water to my pool my salt levels go down from the dilution effects so the amount of salt being added by my softener system is minimal.

EDIT: An advantage of filling with softened water is you will remove or reduce any metals present in your fill water when it runs through the softener. If metals are not an issue and your calcium hardness of your fill water is not too high then there really isn't any advantage to using softened water. If you have metals or extremly high calcium hardness then, IMHO, there are advantages. Just remember to properly balance the water!

[BND]

Thanks for the replies. Main point in that i dont need to be concerned or re-plumb the leveler before i add the SWG.
Right now the softener unit is a Culligan. i am going to change it out to a unit that i can buy locally( Gilbert AZ) if anyone has any suggestions

[darenjones]

culligans aren't the greatest in the world, mainly due to reliability issues, and their demand to use their "Salt". When you look at it, it has a lot of conditioning agents to " soften" the water. Plus, they have the highest salt content in their water. Not familiar with AZ water, assuming you are on municiple. Would have to know your TDS, and actual hardness, not just calcium hardness (sometimes refered to as Carbonate Hardess, or Total Hardness) and wether or not you have any Iron, sulfur, maganeese, etc.
PM me and I am sure I could reccommend something better in your area, either something you can get direct, and take care of, or someone who can set you up on a more permanent solution.