Quote:
Originally Posted by Topspinmo
I thought that was the advantage of salt water pools? Less chemicals. Why wouldn’t rain affect PH balance.
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I don't think salt water pools require less chemicals. The advantage is that the chlorine generated by the chlorinator, converting salt to chlorine, is less harsh on the swimmer. However, the side effect of the process of creating chlorine from salt creates alkalinity, which needs to be balanced back to a neutral PH of close to 7. There are lots of variables that need to be considered to keep the pool balanced. Sun eats up chlorine, so in the summer, when the sun is high and the days are long, the chlorinator needs to be set to run more often. On the other extreme end, in the winter when the sun is low and the days are short, the chlorinator needs to be turned way down or the pool will be over chlorinated. Also, if you use a pool cover in the winter to hold in the heat, the cover also holds in the chlorine that usually naturally evaporates, making it necessary to turn the chlorinator down even more.
Bottom line, it is trial and error as every pool has a unique personality that needs to be managed. I keep a detailed log of what the appropriate chlorinator setting is for every season. In the summer it runs at about 25 - 30%, in the spring and fall it runs about 15%, and in the winter it typically runs at about 7%, but can need to be set as low as 3% if the cover is on most of the time.
Hope that helps.