Saltwater System & Chlorine Shockby Teresa
If I do shock and chlorine the water, can I then go ahead and start using the saltwater system right away? Thank you! Thanks for the question Teresa You won't get rid of the alga problem by turning on the salt water generator (SWG) to 100%. You will need to shock the pool, but this is a process, not an event. You'll want to turn off the SWG before you shock the pool. I'd like to have your complete chemical readings: Chlorine, CYA (cyanuric acid/stabilizer), pH, Alkalinity, Calcium Hardness, and Metals (iron and copper). It makes troubleshooting much easier and the process of clearing up your pool will go much faster. Without these numbers I'm just guessing at what the problem is. You can get this done at your local pool store or get a good test kit. I'd encourage you to get a Taylor FAS-DPD K-2006 pool test kit. Pool Water Testing Water Testing Kit If your CYA (stabilizer) is too high or low and/or the pH is above 8.0ppm, you're going to be playing catch up with the algae for the rest of the Summer. After you shock the pool and get rid of the algae, you'll need to wait until the chlorine level comes down to an acceptable level to use the SWG again. Around 5 - 6ppm should do it. The sun and heat will eat up any residual chlorine, but this can take a few days depending on the heat. Get me the chemical numbers and I'm sure I can help. One more thing Teresa. Remember that a salt pool is slightly different than a regular chlorine pool. There's lots of good info. on the salt pool and chlorine generator pages: Salt Water Swimming Pools..System..Maintenance..Chlorine Generator Chlorine Generator & Salt Cells For Salt Water Swimming Pools And a huge list of answered question on the Q&A page in the salt pool and chlorine generator categories: Swimming Pool Questions and Answers This is my experience with salt pools since 1999 when I had my pool route in Arizona and since 2008 as the pool operator for the YMCA salt pool. Hope this helps and have a great Summer. Robert |
