How Many Bags Of Salt Are Needed To Startup A Pool?
Hello guys! According to weather experts, this year, summer will be long and hot. While some might not like the news, for people who like to spend time in the pool, it is like music to their ears.
By now, you are well aware of the fact that every member of my family falls into the second category. My wife used to think that a private pool is nothing but an extra expense. Luckily, some of my enthusiasm about pool related stuff has inspired her.
Now she encourages me to take on pool projects. Sometimes I wonder why she had such a change of heart. Anyways, as long as she is happy, I am glad as well.
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Pool startup: Pay attention to small details
My sudden love and expertise in pool related matters have encouraged my friends to invest in properties, which come with pools. Barry came over to my place a few months back and said that he was buying a new home.
When he mentioned that the house has a massive pool, I knew I was going to tackle another pool startup project. He moved in with his family about a month back, and now that he is all set, it is time to take on the big project. So, last Saturday, I reached his home early in the morning and inspected his pool.
The pool was massive! He asked his brother to come over, and three of us started work on the pool. I tackled the basics, and they were following everything I was saying like obedient students. I like to pay attention to details when I am prepping a pool.
I removed the pool cover and was surprised to see that the pool was perfectly clean. Barry told me that he had hired some professionals to clean the pool.
They had done a good job. So, it was time to refill the pool with fresh water. Once the pool was full, I started work on adjusting the salt level in the pool.
Chlorinator machine is a must
I keep on mentioning that it is crucial to maintain the overall salt level in pool water. So, Barry had already installed a chlorinator machine.
But it will not produce any salt unless there is sufficient chlorine in the water to start with. So, it was time to add salt to the pool water. Ideally, the salt level in the pool water must be between 3500ppm to 7000ppm.
If anyone maintains this level, then the chlorinator will create and maintain salt concentration in the pool perfectly. No matter what type of water you use, it will have some amount of salt in it.
You need to adjust the salt level according to that. So, I used a salt testing kit to measure the overall salt level in the pool. It was on the lower side of the bar and meant that I needed some bags of salt to increase the salinity level.
Purchase good quality salt
You can either purchase salt bags from the online store or make a quick trip to the swimming pool maintenance store. Since the supermarket has a good collection of pool salts, I opted for the latter.
Barry went with me, and we opted for good quality swimming pool salt bags. From my prior experience, I can say that rock salt is not an ideal choice.
How many bags you really need?
The stores will try to sell more salt bags. You can prevent extra expense if you use my tip. There is a perfect way to figure out exactly how many bags you require. It is simple math.
For every 1000 ppm increase in salinity level, you need to add 0.5 bags of salt to 10000 liters of water. In case your pool contains 20,000 liters, you need to add one full salt bag. I have prepared a table that will help you in the calculation.
Raising ppm by | 10000 liters | 20000 liters | 40000 liters | 60000 liters | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1000 ppm | Half a bag | 1 salt bag | 1.9 bags | 2.9 salt bags | |
2000 ppm | 1 salt bag | 2 salt bags | 3.8 salt bags | 5.8 salt bags | |
3000 ppm | 1.5 salt bags | 3 salt bags | 5.8 salt bags | 8.6 salt bags | |
4000 ppm | 2 salt bags | 4 salt bags | 7.7 salt bags | 11.5 salt bags | |
5000 ppm | 2.4 salt bags | 5 salt bags | 9.6 salt bags | 14. 4 salt bags | |
6000 ppm | 3 salt bags | 6 salt bags | 11.5 salt bags |
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This table will make it easy for you to add the exact quantity of salt that your pool needs. As for Barry’s pool, we had to purchase around ten bags of salt. His pool holds approximately 40,000 liters of water. Honestly speaking, there was no need to buy a house with such a humongous pool.
Adding Salt To The Pool
Adding salt to the pool is really easy. All you need to do is tear open the salt bags, and pour the salt all over the water surface. Yes! It is that simple. Even my daughter can do that. We kind of enjoyed this task.
Once all salt bags were emptied in the pool, it was time to turn on the pool filter. As the water circulated, it helped in dissolving the salt faster. I asked Barry to keep it on for next 24 to 35 hours.
It was enough time for the salt to dissolve. I only helped him to start up the pool. For the rest of the chemical treatments, and following water testing, he hired a professional.
His pool is completely ready now, and he has invited us to a pool warming party. So, I am all set to have a nice time with Barry next weekend.
Conclusion
Following these tips will allow any individual to attain success in a pool startup project. Set the chlorinator so that it produces just enough salt to maintain the salinity level of the pool water between 3500ppm to 7000ppm.
Anything more or less must be corrected immediately. In case homeowners are not confident, they can hire the services of a professional.
