Salt water pool green
Green salt pool? Lift free chlorine by 10 ppm (parts per million, the number a salt test shows) with liquid chlorine tonight, brush, and do it again each evening until you can see the floor. A shock is 5 to 15 ppm in Jandy's manual. Type your gallons for your dose.
How do I clear it fast?
Boost won't clear green water. All it does is push the cell to 100% output, 24 hours straight. Green needs a real shock from a jug.
The rule of thumb: a 10000 gallon pool gets 10 ppm more free chlorine from 1 gallon of 10% liquid chlorine. Pour it by a return jet with the pump on and brush the walls and floor. Test before bed and add enough to get back up. Keep going every day until the water's blue again. Keep pH from 7.2 up to 7.8 as you go; that's Hayward's range.
Why the cell fell behind?
Most green salt pools start with low salt. An IntelliChlor stops under 2600 ppm (Pentair's guide) and an AquaPure stops under 2.0 gpl (grams per liter; 1 gpl is 1,000 ppm). Running that low also shortens the cell's life.
Flow and cold do it too. An IntelliChlor Plus or LT wants 25 GPM through the cell. An AquaRite quits once water drops under 50 F, an IntelliChlor under 52 F.
So it stays blue
Once it's blue, test salt and free chlorine. Hayward and Jandy run free chlorine at 1.0 to 3.0 ppm and Pentair at 2.0 to 4.0 ppm. Don't sit above 3.0 ppm for weeks: Jandy says that corrodes metal.
Short on salt? Top it up, then set the output dial to hold the range. Too much salt only leaves with water, so drain some and refill. On an AquaRite, super chlorinate gives you 24 hours at full output; leave the filter pump on for all of it.
Questions people bring to the counter
How do you fix a green saltwater pool?
Raise free chlorine 10 ppm with liquid chlorine, brush and run the filter. In 10000 gallons that's 1 gallon of 10%. Test that evening and dose again each day until it's blue, then check salt, flow and the cell.
Why does my salt water pool keep getting algae?
The cell stopped making enough chlorine: salt too low, flow too weak or water too cold. An IntelliChlor shuts off under 2600 ppm, and the Plus models need 25 GPM. Fix the cause, then set the output to hold free chlorine at 1.0 to 4.0 ppm.
What wrecks a salt water pool?
Too little salt and too much chlorine. An AquaPure cell wears out early under 2.0 gpl, and Jandy says free chlorine held over 3.0 ppm can eat pool metal.
Will shock get rid of algae?
Yes, if you hold it. A shock is free chlorine at 5 to 15 ppm; boost mode alone won't get there. 1 gallon of 10% in 10000 gallons adds 10 ppm. When it's clear, let the cell hold 1.0 to 4.0 ppm.