Question to Ask the Pool Guy:
We are replacing our pool liner after 10 yrs. We are also switching to a Salt System and was wondering if there was any special steps I needed to take before adding the salt to the water and turning the salt chlorine generator on. We live in the country and use well water when the pool gets low. Should I put anything in the pool to prevent staining or corrosion to the metals in the pool, or staining to the steps. I noticed you have several products for sell but wasn’t sure which I may or may not need. Our pool is an 18×36 and around 25,000 gallons.
Answer:
When you switch to a salt system, the most important part to add to the pool is a zinc anode. You can either get the small disc zinc anode that you can screw into the skimmer basket (either use the plastic screw provided or get a stainless steel screw from your local hardware store), or you can plumb one of these inline anodes in at the equipment pad. If you add well water to the pool and it has a high iron content, you can use our product FerriTabs to remove the iron – you need to get the right kind for the type of filter you have, sand, cartridge or de.
If you have staining on the steps currently, you can remove the staining with this product, Natural Chemistry’s StainFree. It needs to be followed with FerriTabs then to remove the iron from the water and to prevent re-staining.
Keep in mind with a salt system as well you have to keep an eye on the pH levels in the pool. Sometimes the levels can get high because the chlorine the salt cell generates has a high pH. Adjust the alkalinity first, and keep it on the lower area of the range, and you should be able to keep the pH easily in line.
Good luck with the the new liner and salt system. You’ll enjoy the low maintenance!