nocturnalsheep

What do you mean by 'it doesn't seem to be producing chlorine'? Is it that your pool's chlorine level isn't holding?

If you think you might know the source of your leak, you can always do your own dye test to see if you are right. You can just buy a pH test reagent (r-0004 for taylor test kits) and squeeze out drops near where you think there water loss may be occurring. If there is a crack, you will see the dye getting sucked into it. Simple as that. This is really only effective when you have a good idea where the leak is though. Otherwise you will waste a lot of time and reagent searching for your leak.

You also must consider what your well water could introduce into your pool. You should get it tested for various metals before you just go ahead and use it. Worst case scenario you can attach a filter to your hose to remove a large percentage of the metals before the water gets into your pool.

Maybe your property was a cemetery at one time Just kidding. but the worms could be getting enough enrichment in your soil that your neighbors do not have. When it rains the worms move topside I wouldn't be worried by this. I know it is gross, but it is normal. Worms are attracted to moisture and as mentioned above will move to the surface when it rains. Considering that within an acre of land there can be more than 1 million worms, finding a few in your pool doesn't seem to unlikely. I maintain pools in Washington state and during the fall it is common for me to find hundreds if not thousands of worms in the bottoms of some of the pools I take care of. I hear to some they are considered a delicacy when smoked over a wood fire. Good source of protein.

I'm curious as to where (other than washington state) these problems are occurring. Do you happen to know the other areas that seem to be having salt system issues?

What kind of filter do you have? Is it a sand or cartridge filter? Also, it is more likely that you have a pool circulation pump that pulls water from both the main drain(s) and skimmer(s). More information is needed about your system before your problem can be properly diagnosed. My initial thoughts are that your filter is dirty, which can make it hard for the pump to catch prime. There are a lot of other things that could be wrong though. Find out a little more about your equipment and plumbing setup and respond with that info.

My recommendation would be to add a fairly large dose (6-8oz) or a pH neutral non-chlorine shock such as bioguard's spa shock. This will oxidize out organic content in the water that can create nasty/foamy water. Also, if it has been awhile since the last time you cleaned out your jet lines, it might be a good idea to think about that. If the foaming gets really bad when you turn your jets on, then that is an indication that your lines have a build-up of organics. If you do this, just wait until the next time you are going to drain your water (because cleaning your jet lines requires this) and do it then. You should be draining your water about every 4 months. A maintenance dose of the spa shock will help keep organics at bay. It will also cut down on chlorine use a little bit because whatever it oxidizes, the chlorine no longer has to. Chlorine works as both a sanitizer and oxidizer and if you cut out one of those jobs, it has less to do and will last longer as a result (if all other chemical conditions in the spa are correctly maintained).

Salt systems have been in use since the 60's worldwide. There have been reports of problems in some localized areas like parts of Texas BUT these are linked to the materials used to construct the pools such as local natural rock or (cheaper) componants that are not designed to stand up to the higher salt levels. What is interesting is that most of today's SWCGs work at a much lower salt concentration ( around 3000 ppm) than the earlier units (5000-6000 ppm) so the 'damage" reports (which are generally connected with these newer, lower salt units) really go back to how the pool was constructed and not the use of a SWCG. Otherwise, the reports of damage would have decreased and not increasede as pools with these lower salt units were being built. Well one of the biggest issues we have seen has been related to the types of metals used in the pool construction in relation to galvanic corrosion. Dissimilar metals on the galvanic series in conjunction with the conductivity of saltwater wreaks havoc on a system. Without the addition of a sacrificial zinc anode the damage runs rampant. But even with it problems still persist. Our biggest problem pool around here ended up being a result of galvanic corrosion because of the heavy amounts of rebar used during the construction process. The pool is right on the waterfront and large cubes of rock surrounded with rebar had to be brought in to create a foundation on which the pool was built. Unfortunately, though, the rebar ended up contributing to the corrosion process and now there is extensive damage. The light rings are corroded and the grout is having to be replaced (which is a big deal when you consider the pool is all tile and around 30k gallons) among other things; and this is with zinc anodes. I'm not saying salt systems have no benefit, but with the way things are being built and the materials used (though not necessarily because they are cheap) it isn't worth it in my opinion. There are good chemical regimens for taking care of pools outside of salt.

Also, if there truly is a leak in the suction side you more than likely won't be able to tell when you turn the pump off except for a very brief spurt of water from the pipe. Leaks in this side are a little harder to locate because when the pump is on, it doesn't leak water because it is under suction and thus is only pulling air into the system. One way to find a leak in the suction side of the pluming is to put a Genie jet (or drain king) in the skimmer line and plug the plumbing in the pump pot with a plug so that way when you turn the hose attached to the genie jet on it creates pressure in the suction line and thus water will start coming out where any leaks are.

A dirty filter would raise the pressure, not lower it. More than likely your problem is before the pump. Air getting into the lines certainly won't help your cause. Also you really do need to get a good pressure gauge. Looking at the ripples in the water just isn't going to cut it. After fixing your leaks, if the problem persists, then you might have a blocked line. This can be caused by a variety of things. If you vacuumed the pool at some point without a leaf trap and had large debris in the pool, then that debris can get caught in the ball valve or even plug the skimmer line. It's hard to say without more information. Fix your leaks (and your chlorinator) and see what happens and move on from there.

First of all, I wouldn't waste my time with a salt system. I understand the draw given the constant production of chlorine so you don't have to keep adding it manually, but the damage that it does far outweighs the benefits. You will end up dealing with corrosion and even if you install sacrificial anodes (zinc) problems still come up. The company I work for is doing everything they can to steer customers away from salt systems due to the huge costs in damages that they have resulted in. The cost ($$$) will not be worth it in the long run. As far as removing the algae, you unfortunately can't remove the algae physically (which is usually the best option) because you have a cartridge filter and no multiport valve so you can't vacuum to waste so your next option is to remove it chemically. This will involve an algicide and a heavy dose of chlorine. There is a good product I have used on some of the pools I maintain called Algatec by mcgrayel. I won't bother going into dosage details because you can simply follow the directions on the bottle (they are accurate). Before you do anything, though, you must brush all the surfaces of your pool to get the algae off the surfaces and into the water so the algicide can attack it. Follow this with a large dose of chlorine and keep the pump running and brush up the walls and floor again (doing this periodically over the next couple of days). I'm not sure how many gallons your pool is (you didn't give a depth) so again it's difficult for me to give you dosages, but that's the gist of it. Algatec is great too because it is relatively powerful but yet does not use copper so it doesn't cause a buildup of copper in your water. Some companies give you a copper based algicide, then after you have killed the algae and need to remove high levels of copper in your water, they sell you a copper remover that is full of phosphates (algae food) and I bet you can guess what happens next. Yep, another algae bloom. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

You're kidding right? Dihydrogen monoxide? You mean H20 (water)? Dihydrogen monoxide is just another way to articulate the chemical formula for water. There are websites out there saying it is dangerous but look closer and you'll realize that they are really talking about water. These websites aren't serious from what I gather. But if there are sites that are, then they need to go back to school and take a basic chemistry class. I'm hoping I misinterpreted and you were joking, but you wouldn't be the first that was fooled.