Wanted to thank Reach and other contributors for the posts. I was able to program my new fleck 5600sxt 64,000 grain system based on the settings recommended. Thanks again for all the knowledgeable posts. Can't emphasize how helpful they were!
That said, I set my hardness to 19 possibly temporarily as the average hardness according to the city is 17. I ordered the Hach 5-B, but it has yet to arrive, so until then just going with the average city hardness.
I just forced a regeneration and will wait awhile before testing.
In the meantime, I did have a question on the salt. Is there a recommended type of salt to use...ie. smaller crystals vs. pellets? I remember a water softener guy telling me for our old house system that the crystals were the only way to go because the system can handle them easier and they don't get stuck. Is that correct? Also, is it recommended or is it okay to fill the brine tank all the way up to max capacity with salt (I believe four bags for my tank) or is there a certain amount of salt to keep in there based on the 5 gallons or so of water? I'm having a hard time understanding how the 5 gallons of water will break the salt down if it's filled to capacity. Or does it just break down the salt that's submersed in the water until it cycles through and processes the salt little by little?
Ive always filled my salt tank pretty much up to the top, but not covering brine well. Don't let it get super low. Refill when it gets down to 1/3 or 1/2 of salt.
I buy the morton or diamond yellow bags, since they have the additive to help keep the resin clean (i think its just citric acid or something). If you have iron go with the green ones. Some people like solar salt.
It all works fine.