Hi all,
I have been reading through old threads regarding salt effect on stone coping. After reading the discussions, I have some info I would like to share, in case anyone may be interested.
I am in central Texas and had a pool done 5 years ago. We elected to go with limestone (leuder) coping which is very popular here. As others have reported, pool builders here are generally adamantly opposed to SWG , citing adverse effects on equipment and natural stone. So, we went with a standard trichlor feeder system, but shortly after the pool was finished, I moved to the TFP liquid chlorine method.
In the last couple of years, I began noticing deterioration of the stones, particularly in areas that receive a lot of carryout of pool water, like at the step entrance. I had suspected that it might be due to salt buildup, but since this is not a salt pool I didn't think it would be a big problem. The erosion has become worse lately, and after reading here, I decided to get an idea of what my salt level might be. A test strip, which I know is not the most accurate method, shows around 2500 ppm. The water does have a slight salt taste to me when I dive in, so that's probably close.
Due to the high heat and evaporation here, and limited splash out (no kids), we get very little dilution. Also a cartridge filter, so no backwashing. We also have a very long season, with a lot of chlorine addition, Consequently, I think 5 years of liquid chlorine addition has me at what would be close to a SWG pool as far as salt concentration. It has definitely affected the relatively soft stone coping. This stone was never sealed, as it was never suggested to me that it should be.
I will attach a couple of photos. Hopefully this will be helpful information.
I have been reading through old threads regarding salt effect on stone coping. After reading the discussions, I have some info I would like to share, in case anyone may be interested.
I am in central Texas and had a pool done 5 years ago. We elected to go with limestone (leuder) coping which is very popular here. As others have reported, pool builders here are generally adamantly opposed to SWG , citing adverse effects on equipment and natural stone. So, we went with a standard trichlor feeder system, but shortly after the pool was finished, I moved to the TFP liquid chlorine method.
In the last couple of years, I began noticing deterioration of the stones, particularly in areas that receive a lot of carryout of pool water, like at the step entrance. I had suspected that it might be due to salt buildup, but since this is not a salt pool I didn't think it would be a big problem. The erosion has become worse lately, and after reading here, I decided to get an idea of what my salt level might be. A test strip, which I know is not the most accurate method, shows around 2500 ppm. The water does have a slight salt taste to me when I dive in, so that's probably close.
Due to the high heat and evaporation here, and limited splash out (no kids), we get very little dilution. Also a cartridge filter, so no backwashing. We also have a very long season, with a lot of chlorine addition, Consequently, I think 5 years of liquid chlorine addition has me at what would be close to a SWG pool as far as salt concentration. It has definitely affected the relatively soft stone coping. This stone was never sealed, as it was never suggested to me that it should be.
I will attach a couple of photos. Hopefully this will be helpful information.
