To Drain & Fill or go Another Season

BassTrix · Apr 19, 2016

Currently, my CH is at 800. Last year at this time, CH was 500. The last time I did a D&RF was 2 years ago. Fill water CH ranges from 170-200. It appears that I'm picking up about 300ppm/yr.

Today's numbers are:

FC: 5.0
CC: 0
pH: 7.97 (dropped to 7.5 just after test)
TA: 80 (should drop to ~65 after MA)
CH: 800
CYA: 75
Salt: 5400
Borates: 50
Temp: 70
CSI: .17 (should drop to -.32 after MA)

What do the experts recommend?

Thanks,
BT

Richard320 · Apr 19, 2016

If you can do it without incurring penalties, do it. Above 800 CH you don't get a lot of wiggle room to keep CSI in the safe zone. I was really hoping this El Nino year would pan out so I could drain my pool.

chiefwej · Apr 19, 2016

I ran a full season with the pool over 1000 CH, so it can be done. With a SWG you are going to have to keep a low TA and regulate the pH very carefully to keep the CSI near zero or very slightly negative. Once my CH got above 1200 it felt like walking a tightrope.

pooldv · Apr 19, 2016

You guys are all masterful CH tightrope walkers. Impressive!

BassTrix · Apr 21, 2016

Thanks guys, this is exactly the kind of info I need. Going to refill.

SunDevil1 · Apr 21, 2016

To piggyback on this - what causes BassTrix's CH to jump about 300ppm/year? I live in the same area and refilled my pool water with fill water that reads 175 ppm CH. How can you avoid this number getting out of hand?

chiefwej · Apr 21, 2016

SunDevil1 said:
To piggyback on this - what causes BassTrix's CH to jump about 300ppm/year? I live in the same area and refilled my pool water with fill water that reads 175 ppm CH. How can you avoid this number getting out of hand?

The high rate of evaporation causes the CH rise. The water goes away but the calcium is left behind. Keeping a pool covered would help, but other than that, it's just one of the joys of living in a desert.

SunDevil1 · Apr 21, 2016

chiefwej said:
The high rate of evaporation causes the CH rise. The water goes away but the calcium is left behind. Keeping a pool covered would help, but other than that, it's just one of the joys of living in a desert.

Ahhhh that makes a lot of sense. I was worried about my CH being lower than recommended levels, but it looks like there's nowhere for it to go but up!