Removing excess water from salt water pool

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malcolminthemiddle
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Re: Removing excess water from salt water pool

Post by malcolminthemiddle »

Is there any significant cost difference in construction and operation between a skimmer and overflow pool?

Thanks in advance.
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404cameljockey
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Re: Removing excess water from salt water pool

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Bluesky wrote:If you need to remove water from the pool normally you can achieve this by closing off the skimmer box draw pipe so that water is drawn from the hydrostatic valve/waste drain located in the bottom of the pool. set the Spyder valve to 'Waste' and switch on the pump. water should then flow through the waste pipe and reduce the level of water in the pool. If this is not available there are available in thailand electrically powered submersible pumps at a reasonable price. They generally come in a two pin configuration with an earth clip.(strongly suggest using the earth clip at all times by connecting it to an earth stake) they are available in a number of head pressures and flow rates ( depending on how fast you want drain the pool) the only addition would be a suitable length of layflat hose attached to the outlet with a jubilee clip that ran reach the area where you wish to dispose of the salt water. (Don't run the pump dry or it will damage the seal) Suggestion: If the salt levels are too high it will damage fittings, chlorinator and the finish on the pool surface. The manufacturer of your salt cell will have have the specification for this. If you need further info let me know. ( Please note knowledge is based on pool construction and maintenance in Aust)
Bluesky, I'm interested to know how you would determine a high salt level in the pool, short of buying expensive testing apparatus. My chlorinator warns about low salt, but doesn't give a readout of the ppm salt level. I want to run about 6000-7000 ppm but don't know a way to check it at reasonable cost, other than having to make regular trips to a pool shop for testing?
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Nereus
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Re: Removing excess water from salt water pool

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404cameljockey wrote:Bluesky, I'm interested to know how you would determine a high salt level in the pool, short of buying expensive testing apparatus. My chlorinator warns about low salt, but doesn't give a readout of the ppm salt level. I want to run about 6000-7000 ppm but don't know a way to check it at reasonable cost, other than having to make regular trips to a pool shop for testing?
You are probably running the salt level too high. The recommended level is between 3,000 and 5,000 ppm. Most people can just taste salt when it is around 3,500 ppm. (ocean water is around 35,000 ppm)
It is more important to get the pH level as close to 7.2 as possible, and no more than 7.8. Most test kits include testing for salt levels, but a simple test strip is accurate to between 200 and 300 ppm. More expensive kits use silver nitrate drops in a test sample, or you can buy digital direct reading testers.

The following explains it better:

http://www.saltwaterpoolandspa.com/salt ... t-kit.html
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404cameljockey
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Re: Removing excess water from salt water pool

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Nereus wrote:
404cameljockey wrote:Bluesky, I'm interested to know how you would determine a high salt level in the pool, short of buying expensive testing apparatus. My chlorinator warns about low salt, but doesn't give a readout of the ppm salt level. I want to run about 6000-7000 ppm but don't know a way to check it at reasonable cost, other than having to make regular trips to a pool shop for testing?
You are probably running the salt level too high. The recommended level is between 3,000 and 5,000 ppm. Most people can just taste salt when it is around 3,500 ppm. (ocean water is around 35,000 ppm)
It is more important to get the pH level as close to 7.2 as possible, and no more than 7.8. Most test kits include testing for salt levels, but a simple test strip is accurate to between 200 and 300 ppm. More expensive kits use silver nitrate drops in a test sample, or you can buy digital direct reading testers.

The following explains it better:

http://www.saltwaterpoolandspa.com/salt ... t-kit.html
Thank you for the great reply. Yes I test Cl and pH regularly. pH and hardness (or lack thereof) are a real headache with the incredibly soft water in my area. I understood that some chlorinators (like the defunct EnduroChlor I am replacing) are designed to run as high as 7000 or even 8000 ppm salt without suffering problems, as in hot climates like ours chlorine depletes more quickly and can be replenished better this way. But I'm happy to learn from you too. I know that pool equipment may suffer at high salt levels anyway.

It's good news about the test strips, I just need to find somewhere that stocks them.

Thanks again.
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Re: Removing excess water from salt water pool

Post by Bluesky »

Thanks Nereus for picking this up. There are reasonable salt test strips produced by "Aquachek". They are fairly inexpensive and straightforward to use. Apart from matters addressed by Nereus there is some variation on salt levels required from cell manufacturer to cell manufacturer. (PM me with chlorinator and cell details and I will check for you) Probably one of the biggest causes of premature cell failure is damage to the ultra thin titanium coating caused by poor pool chemistry an incorrect cell cleaning methods. The following link will give some idea on pricing. I am not able to help with a local stockist at the moment.

http://th.outlets.city/catalogsearch/result/?q=aquachek
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404cameljockey
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Re: Removing excess water from salt water pool

Post by 404cameljockey »

Thanks Bluesky. Yes the lack of knowledge about pool detailed chemistry here in the pool shops is worrying. I'll PM you, thanks.
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