Salt water pools are popular in Ellis County for good reason. Softer feel on skin, less harsh smell, less daily chemistry juggling. But "salt water" is a little misleading — your pool isn't really a saltwater pool, it's a chlorine pool that makes its own chlorine from the salt you dissolved in it.
That changes the maintenance picture. Most of the chemistry is still the same. The difference is the salt level itself, the salt cell that does the chlorine generation, and a couple of secondary chemistry quirks the cell creates.
What level your salt generator actually needs
Most residential salt chlorine generators (SCGs) want salt in the 2,700–3,400 ppm range. The ideal is usually printed on the cell or in the controller manual.
Pentair IntelliChlor: 3,200 ppm target, runs 2,500–3,500.
Hayward AquaRite: 3,200 ppm target, runs 2,700–3,400.
Jandy AquaPure: 3,500 ppm target, runs 3,000–3,500.
CircuPool: 3,200 ppm target, runs 2,800–3,800.
Plug your model number in the Pool Salt Calculator and it'll set the target for you.
Why salt drifts down (rarely up)
Salt does not get "used up" by the cell — the chlorine generation reaction returns the salt to the water. Salt only leaves your pool through:
Splashout.
Backwashing.
Pool drain or rain overflow.
Filter rinses.
In a typical Ellis County pool, salt drifts down by maybe 200–500 ppm over a season, mostly from splashout and filter rinses. Heavy rain can drop it faster if the pool overflows.
How much salt to add
Pool salt is sold in 40-lb bags. To raise salt by 200 ppm in a 20,000-gallon pool you need about 67 lbs (a little under two bags). The calculator handles the exact number based on current and target.
Important: use pool salt specifically — non-iodized, no anti-caking agents. Don't use water-softener salt unless the bag explicitly says "pool grade" (most do, but check). Iodized salt and rock salt with impurities will stain your plaster.
How to add it
Test salt with a real digital meter or test strip designed for salt. The reading on your SWG controller is not an accurate salt reading — it's an inferred reading based on cell conductivity, and it lies as the cell ages.
Calculate the dose.
Walk the perimeter of the pool with the bag, pouring slowly along the edge, with the pump running.
Brush the bottom to disperse any salt that piles up.
Run the pump 24 hours straight to fully dissolve.
Retest the next day.
Don't dump 80 lbs of salt in one corner of the deep end. Salt won't damage anything, but it'll take a week to dissolve and your readings will lie until it does.
Why your SWG might not be making chlorine even at the right salt
Even with the right salt level, salt cells stop making chlorine for a few specific reasons. We see all of them in Ellis County pools:
Cell is scaled up. Calcium scale on the plates blocks generation. This is the most common failure. A clean cell with a 15-minute acid wash can come back to life. A long-neglected cell can't — the scale eventually pits the plates permanently.
Water is too cold. Below ~55°F, most cells stop producing or reduce dramatically. This is why your SWG looks "dead" in February.
Stabilizer (CYA) is too low. SWGs make chlorine in small steady amounts; without stabilizer, the sun destroys it as fast as the cell makes it. Texas SWG pools usually want CYA in the 60–80 ppm range.
pH is too high. SWGs naturally drive pH up; if you don't dose acid regularly, pH gets stuck at 8.0+ and the chlorine the cell does make is mostly ineffective.
Cell is just old. Cells last 4–7 years on average in Texas. Past that, they make less and less chlorine no matter what you do.
Cell maintenance
Visually inspect the cell every 2–3 months. Pull it out, look at the plates. White scale = acid wash. Black corrosion = aged out. Clean plates = no action needed.
Acid wash only when needed. Every acid wash takes a tiny amount of life off the cell. Don't do it preventatively.
Keep calcium hardness in range. High CH = more scale on the cell.
Keep pH in range. High pH = more scale on the cell.
When to call us
Salt cells aren't field-rebuildable. If your cell is 4+ years old and chlorine output is dropping despite correct salt, correct chemistry, and a clean look on the plates, it's probably time. We can test a cell in 5 minutes and tell you whether it's the cell or the controller. Cell replacements are also a place where homeowners get oversold by big-box pool stores — happy to give you a second opinion.
Run the Pool Salt Calculator or call Thomas directly at (214) 399-7347.
