I had absolutely no idea what the first thing to do was when I decided to add salt to my swimming pool. I had just seen a video on the internet where the panel discussed all of the benefits of adding salt to the swimming pool water. I knew for sure that I wanted to enjoy all of the many benefits that were discussed but I was completely clueless.
Do I need to purchase special equipment? Do I need special water treatment chemicals? Does it mean I’ll have to spend more? What type of salt do I add to my swimming pool? I didn’t know the answer to any of these questions. A couple of weeks passed and the idea still had not left my head.
I decided to do a bit of research to know just what direction I was to go. I particularly wanted to know the quantity of salt my pool would require. This led me to do a bit of research and what I found might interest you.
The salinity of level of a swimming pool is measured in of parts per million (ppm). The ideal quantity of salt in a swimming pool is 3,200 ppm while anything between the 2,700 and 3,400 range is acceptable.
Here is a chart to help you determine the amount of salt to be added to your pool.
Table of Contents
Salinity Level Before Salt Addition In PPM
| 0 | 500 | 1000 | 1500 | 2000 | 2500 | 3000 | 3500 | 4500 | ||
| How much salt to add (pounds) | ||||||||||
| 4 | 117 | 100 | 83 | 67 | 50 | 33 | 17 | 0 | Ok | |
| 6 | 175 | 150 | 125 | 100 | 75 | 50 | 25 | 0 | Ok | |
| 8 | 234 | 200 | 167 | 133 | 100 | 67 | 33 | 0 | Ok | |
| 10 | 292 | 250 | 209 | 167 | 125 | 83 | 42 | 0 | Ok | |
| 12 | 350 | 300 | 250 | 200 | 150 | 100 | 50 | 0 | Ok | |
| 14 | 409 | 350 | 292 | 234 | 175 | 117 | 58 | 0 | Ok | |
| 16 | 467 | 400 | 334 | 267 | 200 | 133 | 67 | 0 | Ok | |
| 18 | 525 | 450 | 375 | 300 | 225 | 150 | 75 | 0 | Ok | |
| 20 | 584 | 500 | 417 | 334 | 250 | 167 | 83 | 0 | Ok | |
| 22 | 642 | 550 | 459 | 367 | 275 | 183 | 92 | 0 | Ok | |
| 24 | 701 | 600 | 500 | 400 | 300 | 200 | 100 | 0 | Ok | |
How Much Salt Do I Need For My Pool?
A salt- water swimming pool differs from traditional chlorine pool because of the amount of salt and chlorine that is present in them. The salt-water pool requires very little chlorine and is expected to have an ideal salinity rate of 3,200 ppm while the chlorine pool contains more chlorine and no salt.
Calculating the amount of salt needed for a swimming pool is as easy as pushing a button. You only need to type ‘swimming pool salinity calculator” into your search box on the internet. Two values will be required by the pool salinity calculator to calculate the exact quantity of salt to be added to the swimming.
These values are the current salinity level of the pool water (current ppm) and the second is the gallons of water in the swimming pool. You then input the desired parts per million salinity level that you wish to achieve. All that is now left is to do is hit the calculate button. The calculator does its thing and you have your answer in less than a second.
Follow these steps
- Search for pool salinity calculator on the internet.
- Input the volume of your pool in gallons into the field provided for it.
- Input the current salinity level of the current pool water (current ppm).
- Set the desired salt ppm you wish to achieve.
Click the calculate button and the amount of pound (lbs) of salt to be added or amount of fresh water to be added is calculated under a second.
How Do I Calculate The Quantity Of Water In My Pool?
Calculating the amount of salt needed by your swimming is dependent on knowing what the capacity of your pool is. This means you need to know how many gallons or liters of water your swimming pool holds.
This should be readily available information as many people already know how much gallons of water fills their pool. If you do not know how many gallons of water you pool holds don’t worry about it, let’s quickly fix that.
- Search pool volume calculator on the internet.
- Select the shape of your swimming pool
- Fill-in the correct values of your pool dimensions is the correct fields
Click the submit button and the number f gallons of water that will fill your pool is calculated
How Do I Calculate The Current PPM Of My Swimming Pool?
PPM stands for part per millions, it is a scientific unit of measure used to quantify the amount of salt present in water. The level of ppm in a swimming pool is what determines the amount of salt that would be added to the swimming pool water.
Swimming pools with a salt chlorine generator would typically give a reading of the current ppm of the pool water. If you pool does not have a salt chlorine generator or you can’t get a reading from the salt chlorine generator then you use a salt testing kit.
If the current ppm is below your desired ppm level, then you need to add more salt to the swimming pool but if they current ppm is above your desired ppm level, you would need to change the pool water.
What is the best salt to use for my pool?
The question of ‘what is the absolute best?’ often arise in conversations and this conversation will not be any different. Choosing salt to be added to the swimming pool should be guided by two major factors.
Safety of the swimmers and pool users and the effect that the salt would have on the swimming pool and pool equipment. This means that whatever salt will be added to the swimming pool must be completely safe for swimmers and other pool users.
The salt must also be kind on the swimming structure and equipment to guarantee the longevity of the swimming pool’s life span.
The best salt for a swimming pool is salt that have very high purity ratting. Only use salts that have a purity ratting of 95% and above. A salt- chlorine generator is also required to get the best out of your swimming pool. The high purity rate of the salt would make the salt very unlikely to stain the swimming pool and damage swimming pool gadgets and equipment.
What Types Of Salt Should I Use For My Swimming Pool?
Although there are various types of salt used in pools, experts seem to be confident of only three types. These are: mechanical evaporated salt, mined salt, and solar salt.
Choosing the right salt for your pool is very important to its water chemistry and how long it will last. These three salt types are the least likely types of salt to cause damages to the pool gadgets or equipment or stain the swimming pool itself.
This is because of the pure nature of the salts. Salts with more impurities tend to cause damage to pool accessories, stain the pool and generally increase troubles with the pool and salt cell.
Mechanical evaporated salt
it is not the purest salt type, it contains minerals like: Phosphates, Nitrates, Iron, Copper, Magnesium Silicates, Calcium and Magnesia that contaminate it. The minerals present in the salt depends largely on where it was manufactured.
It is not ideal to introduce these minerals into your swimming pool as they will affect the water balance even if they do not affect the cleanliness of the pool water. Some of these minerals are metals that are capable of staining your pool.
Solar salt
this type of salt is gotten from sea water. The sea water is trapped and then exposed to sunlight to evaporate it. The salt left behind after the water has been completely evaporated is referred to as solar salt.
The process of extracting salt from sea water sees living organisms that liv in the day water die out. The remains of these organisms are organic in nature and that counts as impurities in the salt
Mine salt
Mine is the purest type of salt with 95% purity levels. It is produced in evaporation plants for different purposes. Mine salt is used in food preparation and preservation. It is also used to soften water that is used to fill swimming pools.
Advantages Of Adding Salt To Your Swimming Pool?
Do you wonder what benefits to expect from adding salt to your swimming pool?
Saltwater pool is an alternative to the traditional chlorine swimming pool. The major difference between the two is that the traditional pools make use of chlorine in sanitizing the water of the swimming pool while the saltwater swimming pool replaces the chlorine with pure salts for its sanitization.
Many people favour the salt water swimming pool over the traditional chlorine pool for certain reasons, some of the benefits of the salt water pool include the following:
- Saltwater pools are gentler on the skin and clothing. Saltwater swimming pool causes less irritation when compared to chlorine pools. People do not experience redness of the eyes and extremely dry skin like they do with chlorine pools. This is because saltwater pools contain less chlorine
- Lower cost of maintenance: salt water swimming pools are cheaper to maintain than chlorinated swimming pools. The lower cost is most prominent in cost of chemicals used for pool maintenance.
- With saltwater swimming pools, you can finally say goodbye to the harsh smell of chlorine. This is because the chlorine in saltwater swimming pool is created naturally.
- Saltwater pools are safer than chlorine pools on some fronts. Chlorinated pools usual need owners to stock up of chlorine and other chemicals. This pose has potential hazards to children and pets around where they are stored.
- It is easier to source for salt to be added to the swimming pool as it is readily available.
