Tips&Tricks

BALANCING CHEMICALS FOR SALT POOLS

Calcium Hardness – Range from 175 – 250

  • If above, do not add any chemicals. The only way to remove excess Calcium or Salt is to drain the pool 10% at a time and retest.
    • You must drain your water at the pump (Pettit pools all have spigots at the pump to drain pool water) while adding the same gallons per minute of fresh tap water in the shallow end.  Watch that the water level does not go below middle of skimmer and close the spigot at the pump until it matches the same water GPM out as coming in from your tap water hose in shallow end.  Retest every 10% or 1-2 hours. 
  • If below 175, then add BP 300 to raise it to 180

Total Chlorine – Range from 1 – 3

  • If Total Chlorine is between 5 and 10, then put on auto 0% and make sure PH is between 7.4-7.6 or drain the pool and add fresh water until total chlorine is within 1-3.  The longer high chlorine is in your pool the higher the chance you have stains or bumps.  
  • If Chlorine is below .5, then Super Chlorinate 100% for up to 2 days while testing daily. 
  • Do not use the pool if chlorine higher than 3. 

Free Chlorine – Range from 1 – 3

  • If Chlorine is high, do nothing.  Let it come down on its own but make sure PH is within range. If still high after 1 day, consider draining some of the pool water. 
  • Do not use the pool if chlorine higher than 3. 
  • If free Chlorine is low, use powdered shock to bring it back up to 2 or super shock chlorinate 100% while checking the Chorine range does not go above 3 daily. Reminder that when super shocking/chlorinating on the Salt System, you must reset it daily as it will digitally stop super chlorinating after 24 hours regardless of switch position.  Algae is just a plant and won’t hurt your pool if it turns green for a few days usually. However high Chlorine above 3 WILL hurt your gelcoat finish over time and be dangerous to your skin and clothing. 
  • DO NOT USE LIQUID CHLORINE, only granular shock for fiberglass pools. Liquid Chlorine is BLEACH, while salt systems create the same type of chlorine gas as liquid chlorine, salt systems do it slowly and diluted when set properly.  When Liquid Chlorine in high concentrations is absorbed by gelcoat pores it will turn into Oxygen ion molecule once PH hits 8.5 and cause blisters / bumps from the pressure. 

pH – Range from 7.2 – 7.8

  • If pH is low or high, check total alkalinity
  • First, get total alkalinity in balanced, then pH
  • If pH is above 8.4, add Lo-N-Slo, add 1.5 lbs. at a time
  • If pH is between 6.8 – 8.4, do nothing
  • If pH is below 6.2, add 1 lbs. of BP 200 and retest in 3 hours.
  • DO NOT USE LIQUID MURIATIC ACID to adjust PH, only dry acid for fiberglass pools (Walmart sells bags of Clorox brand PH+ and PH-)  Muriatic acid is used to etch concrete and undiluted, will open the pores in the gelcoat making staining easier.  Dry Acid is a different type of acid that dissolves at a better rate.

Total Alkalinity – Range 80 – 120

  • Alkalinity has to be in range before adjusting pH
  • If alkalinity is above 180, add BioGuard Lo-N-Slo per directions on the package or any quality  Alkalinity – powder,
  • If alkalinity is between 80 – 120, do nothing
  • If alkalinity is 40 or below, add 1.5 lbs. of BioGuard BP 100 or any quality  Alkalinity + powder, then retest in 6 hours.

Cyanuric Acid (Stabilizer) – Range between 50-80

  • If high, do nothing.  Let it come down on its own, or add fresh tap water to top of skimmer opening, then drain down to middle of skimmer opening. 
  • If 50 or lower, add whole bottle of Salt Scape Stabilizer
  • Northern states can use less Cyanuric Acid range. Too much CYA will cause chlorine lock issues, too little and your salt cell has to work too hard. 

Salt

  • If salt machine is reading 2500 or below, add 1 bag of salt.
  • If the check cell light is on, and the salt light is on, check cell light, may indicate you need salt
  • If check cell light is on and salt balance is okay, clean cell with salt scape cell cleaner and hold the diagnostic button for 5 seconds.

Phosphate Guidelines

  • Make sure all chemicals are in balance. 
  • If you have algae, kill is first.
  • Add Phosphate Remover to the skimmer and let the pool run for 48 hours. 
  • After 48 hours, clean the filter and retest the chemicals.
  • If you have high Phosphates, your Salt Cell will NOT work. You will have to constantly increase the % on your salt cell up to 100% and even then you might have algae form. So if your salt cell is above 75% on a fiberglass pool, most likely you have phosphates (Or scale, but you can see this buildup inside the salt cell).

Mineral Out

  • Always use Mineral Sequestrant agent like Mineral Out or Pool Magnet Plus WEEKLY. Amazon.com sells 2 packs of Pool Mineral Out for under $30. Follow the directions on the bottle for stain prevention. Florida water is very hard and has metals diluted in it. Mineral Out will reduce stains, soften the water, and reduce the speed your handrail and ladder rusts.