CH high and cart. filter question

[garyg]

HI all:

getting up to speed as the temp in phx. has been over 100 for a few days now..

Readings this am..FC 3.0, PH 7.6, TA 70, CH 700, Salt 6600...using K 2006 kit..

Two questions:

#1 CH and Salt seem high.. what would you recommend..

#2 Have not cleaned cart. filter in a few years.. it is huge, see equip. below .. pressures always the same and water clear... how do I know when to clean it ?

thanks for your help,

Gary

 

[JasonLion]

Your location says "phx", is that Phoenix? Phoenix is known for high CH levels in the fill water and rapid rates of evaporation. In that situation you want to try and put off replacing water for as long as you can.

Still, your salt level is getting seriously high, and I recommend replacing water to get it down. That will also help your CH level, though how much it helps CH depends on your fill water CH level.

There one quick double check you should do before replacing water, how did you measure the salt level? Several of the common ways of measuring salt are rather inaccurate. Pool store salt measurements seem to be particularly prone to errors.

It is generally a good idea to clean a filter at least once a year, even if it doesn't really need it. You can go longer, particularly with a huge filter like that one, but eventually the dirt on the cartridge will harden in place and become much more difficult to remove.

 

[garyg]

Yes I am located in PHoenix..

I used the aquacheck strips for the salt test...

last year at this time I had a CH of 260 and salt at 5500 ppm.. after I refilled the pool..

Sounds like the CH raises because of the high evap. rate and have no idea why the salt level would raise 1000 in a year...

Anyway it sounds like the solution is to dump some water...

thanks for your help,

Gary

 

[mas985]

I have a similar situation and setup as you. My fill water is very high in calcium which pretty much forces me to do a partial refill once a year to avoid scaling. The calcium usually reaches above 800 ppm by the time I do a refill. I wait until early spring when the city starts to use more surface water so I don't need to replace as much.

As for the filter, I have a large cartridge and I could probably let it go more than a year between cleanings but I usually clean it twice a year even though it doesn't really need it.

 

[reebok]

it probably won't help the salt, but this company noted in the pool school can remove the ch.
http://www.calsaway.com/

 

[mas985]

it probably won't help the salt, but this company noted in the pool school can remove the ch.
http://www.calsaway.com/

Usually much more expensive than just replacing the water.

 

[Guest]

it probably won't help the salt, but this company noted in the pool school can remove the ch.
http://www.calsaway.com/

Usually much more expensive than just replacing the water.

Depends on the CH of the fill water though.

 

[garyg]

draining pool

Hi:

I am using a K-2006 test kit and am located in phoenix az... the temp is 103 today and probably will be between that and 115 for the next 4 or 5 months...

today's test results: FC 3.2, ph 7.8, ta 89, CH 750, CYA 65, Salt 6500..

My biggest concern is the CH and salt number... I filled the pool a year ago and ch was around 200.. It had just been replastered when it was refilled.

I am thinking of draining off about 4" of water every few days.. to the bottom of the tiles.. what are the pros, cons of doing this..what should I watch for..???????

I am afraid to drain the whole thing because of what the heat would do to the exposed plaster.

Any other options that I don't know about???

thanks,

Gary G.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Re: draining pool

What is the CH of your fill water? As long the fill water CH is in range, doing the water replacement that way should be fine. Any idea how it got that high? Have you used cal-hypo or added calcium products?

 

[fuzzy_dba]

Re: draining pool

...using a K-2006 test kit...in phoenix az...temp is 103 todayand will be between that and 115 for the next 4 or 5 months...
today's test results: FC 3.2, ph 7.8, ta 89, CH 750, CYA 65, Salt 6500..
My biggest concern is the CH and salt number... I filled the pool a year ago and ch was around 200.. It had just been replastered when it was refilled.
...thinking of draining off about 4" of water every few days...I am afraid to drain the whole thing because of what the heat would do to the exposed plaster.

Some questions:
What is the CH # of your fill water?
What did you use to come up with the 6500 number on the salt?
What are/have you been using as a sanitizer and to shock the pool?

 

[garyg]

thanks for your responses:

my fill CH is 110... the actual salt reading is 6330 from aqua check strips..I use a SWG for a sanitizer..

No, I have not added any calcium products of any kind... My guess is that since it was just replastered last year, some of the calcium from the plaster could leach into the water but I really don't know how it got that high..

Since it was replastered and refilled i have added muriatic acid on a regular basis... once every two to six days depending on the readings.. have added some baking soda... also some polyquat 60....

The salt is high but a few years ago, an old timer from australia said the element would last longer and run cooler if I ran it around 6000 ppm... I guess they use to do that back in the day in australia...anyway, that will go down as well as the CH if I drain off 6" every few days...

thanks,

Gary