AQUA TIPS
AQUASALT is produced soley for use in swimming pools and spas with Chlorine Generators or Salt Systems. AQUASALT is only available in Pool Supply Stores and is not available in Big Box retail stores. Water chemistry questions and advise about proper use of chemicals for pools and spas should be left to Pool Supply Professionals. Contact your local swimming pool supplier or look up Swimming Pool Equipment & Supplies in your Yellow Pages. Just as important as good advice from a pool professional, the swimming pool retail stores typically encourage you to bring a recent sample of your pool water to them for a free water chemistry analysis. They are able to quickly determine water chemistry items such as pH, chlorine, salt and conditioner levels.
The following AQUATIPS are found in the owners manuals (the manuals) of major chlorine generators. The manuals can be found on the web sites of the chlorine generator manufactures. They also come from actual use of a chlorine generator by the author and from advice sought out and received by the author of AQUATIPS. They are as such to be considered as tips only.
TIP # 1
Although using a chlorine generator will greatly reduce the amount of time required to maintain your pool, please remember to regularly check your chemical levels in the pool water. Very important to the effectiveness of the chlorine generator is proper pH. If the pH level is too high, the thin metal electrodes in the chlorine generator will develop a mineral build-up. If this occurs the chlorine generator will indicate the need to add additional salt in error. If salt levels are too high, the only way to correct the over salt condition is to drain water from the pool and refill with fresh water. Also, chlorine generation will be greatly reduced and algae is likely to form.
TIP # 2
The manuals also recommend waiting two weeks to a month with new pools before adding salt. Pool industry trade magazines and discussions at pool industry trade shows center around the need to allow the plaster to cure before adding salt. More information on this topic will surely be publicized as the popularity of chlorine generators continues.
TIP# 3
Just as important as when to first add salt is the recommendation the manuals make to brush the salt when added to the pool. The manuals recommend not allowing the salt to pile up on the bottom of the pool. Salt will dissolve quicker the warmer the water temperature and the smaller the crystal size. However, in almost all water temperatures and regardless of crystal size, salt will pile up on the bottom of a pool if it is poured in one place and either not sufficiently dispersed or brushed. Broadcast the salt in an area as wide as possible on the pool surface to maximize dissolve speed.
TIP# 4
All of the owners manuals of the top selling chlorine generators advise the pool owner to monitor the level of the conditioner, also know as the stabilizer. This is a chemical added to the pool water to insure the chlorine made by the salt system is effective at disinfecting the pool water. A small quantity is all that is needed to be added to the pool and the pool supply store will perform the free water analysis to determine if this chemical needs to be added to the pool water.
TIP#5
Salt or sodium chloride is hygroscopic. This is a term which describes the ability of salt to attract moisture under conditions of humidity and temperature. What this means to anyone who has salt in storage for later use is simply this, salt has an ability to attract moisture and later release this moisture and potentially harden or cake. This process can occur in a few days or weeks. If you have bag(s) of salt which have hardened, they are still able to be used in a swimming pool application, however the salt will require an increased amount of time to dissolve. Similar to a hardened bag of ice, dropping the bag of salt on a hard surface will break up the hardened salt to speed up the dissolve process.