Hi all,
When I opened the pool this year, I had significant scaling (full details in this post from June). After finally learning how to take care of my pool in Pool School, I've had really great results. Levels have all been good as I test pretty much every two to three days since I've "gotten to know" my pool pretty well (to the point where I can pretty much predict what the results will be).
I have, however, had my CH rising. It's gone from 275 in June (after a 50% drain) up to 475 today. Most current readings as of this morning:
FC - 5.5
CC - 0
pH - 7.8
TA - 80
CH - 475
CYA - 55
Borates - 50
Can the CH readings still be jumping up from leftover scale coming off the walls? I've noticed that after we did our treatment, we had some rough spots still, which have gotten somewhat better. My CSI hasn't been overly negative except when I've used MA to drop my TA (pH goes up pretty quick in my pool even without aerating--I've tried to drop TA to 60, more on that below) so I wouldn't think it'd be leeching out of the plaster. I haven't added anything else other than throwing in some leftover dichlor occasionally to bring up the CYA (I have an SWG) and the occasional dose of Jack's Purple Stuff to ensure the copper is sequestered (we had minor copper staining).
Now for the second question...my TA continually rises...what could cause that? Because my pH goes up pretty quickly, I added borates to the pool and try to maintain a low TA (around 60). However, I still need to use a gallon of MA a week to keep the levels in check and inevitably, my TA goes up to 80 in a week or so, at which point the pH rises much more rapidly.
Finally, I'm right now in the process of doing a partial drain again to drop the CH to a more reasonable level (probably around 300-350) so that when I winterize, I don't have to worry as much about scaling. If the Pool Calculator levels show it as being balanced (CSI of .07 with TA of 80 and -.03 at a TA of 70) should I even be worrying about CH? My biggest concern is to NOT have to go through the scaling I had at the beginning of the year after we shut the pool down this winter.
Thanks!
When I opened the pool this year, I had significant scaling (full details in this post from June). After finally learning how to take care of my pool in Pool School, I've had really great results. Levels have all been good as I test pretty much every two to three days since I've "gotten to know" my pool pretty well (to the point where I can pretty much predict what the results will be).
I have, however, had my CH rising. It's gone from 275 in June (after a 50% drain) up to 475 today. Most current readings as of this morning:
FC - 5.5
CC - 0
pH - 7.8
TA - 80
CH - 475
CYA - 55
Borates - 50
Can the CH readings still be jumping up from leftover scale coming off the walls? I've noticed that after we did our treatment, we had some rough spots still, which have gotten somewhat better. My CSI hasn't been overly negative except when I've used MA to drop my TA (pH goes up pretty quick in my pool even without aerating--I've tried to drop TA to 60, more on that below) so I wouldn't think it'd be leeching out of the plaster. I haven't added anything else other than throwing in some leftover dichlor occasionally to bring up the CYA (I have an SWG) and the occasional dose of Jack's Purple Stuff to ensure the copper is sequestered (we had minor copper staining).
Now for the second question...my TA continually rises...what could cause that? Because my pH goes up pretty quickly, I added borates to the pool and try to maintain a low TA (around 60). However, I still need to use a gallon of MA a week to keep the levels in check and inevitably, my TA goes up to 80 in a week or so, at which point the pH rises much more rapidly.
Finally, I'm right now in the process of doing a partial drain again to drop the CH to a more reasonable level (probably around 300-350) so that when I winterize, I don't have to worry as much about scaling. If the Pool Calculator levels show it as being balanced (CSI of .07 with TA of 80 and -.03 at a TA of 70) should I even be worrying about CH? My biggest concern is to NOT have to go through the scaling I had at the beginning of the year after we shut the pool down this winter.
Thanks!