Salt Cells & Accessories

In The Swim Knowledge Pool: Salt Cells and Salt Water Pool Accessories

Salt Water Pool Maintenance: 

Salt water pools offer a consistent and constant supply of chlorine, as long as you maintain good pH and stabilizer levels. The pool salt level must also be monitored closely for best results and care of your salt cell. The salt cell should be removed and cleaned regularly in an acid solution, even if your salt system has a self-cleaning reverse polarity feature. Test your pool chlorine and pH levels, and check the salt system controller status, every few days. 

Salt Cells: The salt cell is a stack of electrically charged metal plates that electrolyze the slightly salty pool water, to create chlorine. Over time, the protective coatings can wear thin, and even with regular salt cell cleaning, the output of the cell begins to decrease. Depending on size, pool salt cells can provide 150-300 lbs of chlorine over their lifetime, lasting 4-5 years for the average pool. We carry replacement salt cells for most legacy and current salt system manufacturers.

Sacrificial Anodes: Zinc anodes are metal plates used in your pool to attract ions that could tarnish chrome pool ladders, rails and pool light rings or other steel surfaces in the pool. Galvanic corrosion can be halted however, with the use of these sacrificial zinc anode, which will sacrifice itself to slight surface corrosion. Zinc anodes for pools are available in a variety of fastening methods - for ladders, lights, baskets or plumbed in-line. Use two anodes for larger pools over 30000 gallons.

Pool Salt: Saltwater Pool salt for salt chlorine generators is plain old table salt, sodium chloride, but in a high-grade formula that has 99.9% of impurities removed, and granulated extra fine to quickly dissolve when added to your pool. Don't use solar salt or water softener salts, which contains impurities, or food grade salt which can contain iodine. Use only Pool Salt, other salt types can take days to dissolve, which can damage some pool surfaces. 

Salt Cell Dummys: Used when cleaning a salt cell of scale deposits with an acid solution. Dummy Cells are a threaded union cap that allows you to seal up one end of the salt cell, so you can stand it on end, and fill the salt cell with a 10-20% solution of Acid Magic, or No Mor Muriatic Acid. Allow to soak until the bubbles cease, or 5-10 minutes. Heavy salt cell scale deposits can be carefully scraped out with a thin wooden spatula or tongue depressor, and treated to a second acid bath. 

Saltwater Testing: Maintaining the salt level of your pool is important for optimum chlorine production, and longevity of your salt cell. Some of the more full-featured salt cells will display pool salinity level, but they can lose calibration over time. Be sure that your salt level is correct by cross checking salinity levels with our pool salt test strips, or one of our many digital salt testers for extremely accurate readings. Salt testers are among of our most popular salt water pool accessories!

Salt Water Pool Chemistry: Saltwater pool maintenance starts with proper pool water balance, or good levels for pH, Alkalinity, Calcium Hardness and Cyanuric Acid. Salt pools tend to rise in pH over time, and many salt pools need to apply regular treatments of pH Decreaser and Alkalinity Increaser. All saltwater pools also need to maintain a good level of cyanuric acid or chlorine Stabilizer, to prevent overworking the salt cell. To control stains and scale in a saltwater pool, look to Jack's Magic The Purple Stuff for salt pool stain & scale control. In The Swim Super Shock can be used in saltwater pool for shocking the pool or killing algae, to prevent overworking the salt cell. For control of algae, saltwater pools can use a good 60% polymer like Algaecide 60 Plus, and should avoid copper based algaecides. 

In The Swim is proud to represent the best models of in-ground and above ground salt chlorine generators and associated saltwater pool accessories. If you have any questions regarding pool salt water systems, contact our knowledgeable and friendly staff anytime at 1-800-288-7946.