Hello all, I made a post here a few days ago about the local pool store telling me I needed 105 pounds of Calcium plus.
Well regardless TFP helped me figure out that I only needed 50ppm for my 30,000 gallon vinyl pool. As opposed to the 200-500ppm the store said I needed.
I don’t know much about levels in my pool, we have had the thing for 30 years and for 30 years we never had any problems (has to replace the liner once about 10 years ago), and this year is just giving us grief. So I don’t really know much about how to changed the levels this greatly.
So these were the results the store gave me before I adjusted the water, or tried to at least.
First Test:
6/25:
Test 1: Free Chlorine 0ppm (Low)
Test 2: Total Alkalinity 84.4ppm (Ok)
Test 3: pH 6.8 (Low)
Test 4: Calcium Hardness 0ppm (Low)
Test 5: Cyanuric Acid 52ppm (Ok)
They suggested; shocking the pool, add 2lbs 10oz of pH Plus, add 105lbs of Calcium Plus.
So I shocked the pool more than usual, added the pH Plus, and added 19 pounds of Calcium Plus (which should have brought it up to the 50ppm I wanted).
I did that over the course of two days, and finally yesterday I had it tested again. It should be noted that it did not rain or anything like that over the last few days.
Second Test:
6/29:
Test 1: Total Alkalinity 0ppm (Low)
Test 2: pH 7.2 (Ok)
Test 3: Calcium Hardness 0ppm (Low)
Test 4: Cyanuric Acid 10ppm (Low)
Test 5: Free Chlorine 1.2ppm (Ok)
So notice the tests are out of order. Is that normal? That’s not what I’m really worried about. Why did my Alkalinity drop from 84 to 0ppm and my Cyanuric Acid from 52 to 0ppm? Why did my calcium not raise at all regardless of adding 19 pounds of calcium plus? What’s going on here? I need advice from people that actually know what they are doing. I feel like I’m getting jerked around at the local store. I know I don’t know what I’m doing but they aren’t helpful and won’t explain anything to someone who is truly confused.
I also want to say when I do the test strip myself it looks like my hardness is well over 0ppm, even as much as 200ppm. However I have a hard time seeing these things and can never tell if the colors are right.
EDIT - Oh yeah, I also wanted to add not only do they still suggest I add 105 pounds of Calcium plus, they want me to add 45 pounds of Alkalinity Plus now also. I think tomorrow I'm going to travel into the city and have it tested to see if they are screwing something up in town.
Well regardless TFP helped me figure out that I only needed 50ppm for my 30,000 gallon vinyl pool. As opposed to the 200-500ppm the store said I needed.
I don’t know much about levels in my pool, we have had the thing for 30 years and for 30 years we never had any problems (has to replace the liner once about 10 years ago), and this year is just giving us grief. So I don’t really know much about how to changed the levels this greatly.
So these were the results the store gave me before I adjusted the water, or tried to at least.
First Test:
6/25:
Test 1: Free Chlorine 0ppm (Low)
Test 2: Total Alkalinity 84.4ppm (Ok)
Test 3: pH 6.8 (Low)
Test 4: Calcium Hardness 0ppm (Low)
Test 5: Cyanuric Acid 52ppm (Ok)
They suggested; shocking the pool, add 2lbs 10oz of pH Plus, add 105lbs of Calcium Plus.
So I shocked the pool more than usual, added the pH Plus, and added 19 pounds of Calcium Plus (which should have brought it up to the 50ppm I wanted).
I did that over the course of two days, and finally yesterday I had it tested again. It should be noted that it did not rain or anything like that over the last few days.
Second Test:
6/29:
Test 1: Total Alkalinity 0ppm (Low)
Test 2: pH 7.2 (Ok)
Test 3: Calcium Hardness 0ppm (Low)
Test 4: Cyanuric Acid 10ppm (Low)
Test 5: Free Chlorine 1.2ppm (Ok)
So notice the tests are out of order. Is that normal? That’s not what I’m really worried about. Why did my Alkalinity drop from 84 to 0ppm and my Cyanuric Acid from 52 to 0ppm? Why did my calcium not raise at all regardless of adding 19 pounds of calcium plus? What’s going on here? I need advice from people that actually know what they are doing. I feel like I’m getting jerked around at the local store. I know I don’t know what I’m doing but they aren’t helpful and won’t explain anything to someone who is truly confused.
I also want to say when I do the test strip myself it looks like my hardness is well over 0ppm, even as much as 200ppm. However I have a hard time seeing these things and can never tell if the colors are right.
EDIT - Oh yeah, I also wanted to add not only do they still suggest I add 105 pounds of Calcium plus, they want me to add 45 pounds of Alkalinity Plus now also. I think tomorrow I'm going to travel into the city and have it tested to see if they are screwing something up in town.