Moved into a new house with a salt water pool. 12,000gal. Hayward aquarite controls with T15 cell.
Pool turned green after a few days. Control panel indicated "no flow" evenethough the pump obviously was flowing. Did some research about maintenance. Found the flow switch was broken. Easily replaced it and had flow indicated. Next it displayed 300ppm salt level with no chlorine being generated. Followed the table in the manufacturer book and added approximately 360 pounds of salt as well as algecide. After cleaning the filter several times and re-establishing good flow, the readout was 1800ppm. A local pool supply company dictated that I add shock to clear the pool. The pool went from green to a deep blueish color with foam on the surface. Still, however, no chlorine was being generated by the system. Since chlorine generation won't happen until the salt level reached at least 2300ppm, I felt more salt would be the solution. Eventually, the readout was 2400ppm and chlorine was being generated. The pool cleared a little bit more, but was still blueish and cloudy. I did a dip strip test with the following results:
Total hardness: 500
Total chlorine: 3.5
Free Chlorine: 1
pH: 7.8
Total Alkalinity: 45
Stabilizer: 0
I added some pH lowering and did another test the next day. pH came down to 7.2. It was then decided to bring a sample to the local pool supply from before and have it checked. They reported that salt was over 4500ppm and chlorine and free chlorine were both 0. It was suggested that I drain some water and refill with clean new water. It is impossible to say how much was drained and replaced, but the two hoses (standard garden hose) we're running for approximately 3.5 hours. Now the salt readout on the Hayward control box is 0ppm and is not generating any longer. I have inspected the cell and it is free of scale and debris. The filter is clear, the pumps are working.
At this point I feel that stabilizer is necessary. But the real question though is if the salt content is too high, would the cell read 0ppm? The led led indicator for high salt is not lit.
I need the system to generate again, but it won't until 2300ppm is sensed. So, where do I go from this point?
