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doloskeeter

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Mar 26, 2014
32
Mesquite, Texas
Plaster is six months old, aggregate mini pebble and the CH has just been inching up, today is 425. My fill water is 300. I'm a little confused on what my goal should be when using PoolMath. I initially put a goal of 260, which then the calculator said I should drain 40% of the pool.

If the fill water is 300, I guess 260 as the goal in PoolMath is unrealistic.

Should I put 300 as the goal? If my fill water is 300, seems like this is something I'll be doing a lot? Draining a couple of times a year? I'm an owner for 20 years and while the white plaster lasted 20 years, I did not take care of it like I should have so this is new to me.

In case it matters:

FC 5.0
CC 0
Akl 70
PH 8.2
CYA 40
CH 425



Thanks for the help!
 
For plaster your goal should be 250 to 350 per pool math. Down at the bottom of the boxes is "Suggested Goal Levels" and to the right you need to select "Pool Surface" then check to see what the recommended CH is for a plaster pool ;)

I'm just not sure on a newer surface if it should be different (higher) than that. Did the people who did the surface give you any instructions on care for it ?? I would think being a bit high wouldn't be a problem as long as you don't start to see any scale forming and you keep everything else in it's proper range.

You should drop that pH down to something more comfortable for your eyes and skin !!
 
I think the "care" is monitoring the chemistry and adjusting accordingly. Stonescapes will not warrant with CH higher than 400; that's why I'm draining it. Yes, PH needs to be adjusted, but no sense adjust right now if I'm draining 25% or more of water out of it.

I redid my fill water and it's 125. I'm sure the CH is being driven up due to the plaster curing which will take as long as one year.
 
Your pH is high. If let it stay high you're going to have scaling. Use PoolMath to do your calculations. Input your test results and watch you CSI. With high CH levels that is a very important number, if it's too high you will have scale on the pool, to low and it will damage the pool surface and tile grout.

i have very high CH in my fill water and have successfully maintained my CSI balance with CH well over 1,000. But the higher it gets the more of a balancing act it becomes. One slip and you have scale.

If you balance the water carefully you won't have scale. I had a lot of problems before I found the forum. Lowered my TA to help with pH rise. Now I use the Pool Calculator to keep a very close eye on my CSI.


We have very hard water and extreme evaporation rates. The calcium level in my pool has in the past been well over 1,000, yet I have no scale at all. That is too high and required a complete drain and refill, but it shows that with diligence you can manage very high CH levels with no scale. But with only 125 in your fill water it's easier to replace the water than walk a tightrope.
 
425 CH is kid stuff. I don't think mine has ever been that low in four years, even after massive water exchanges.

Just plug 425 in as your goal. No draining, no additions. If CSI starts to climb towards .5, play with the targets until it gets down closer to zero. Typically, that just means lowering TA or not letting pH go all the way up to 7.8 before you add acid.

I can attest that it's not hard to maintain the chemistry up to around 800. After 1000, you have very little wiggle room and partial drains are called for. I divert the raingutter downspout to my pool when (IF) we get rain, and that helps reduce the CH.
 
doloskeeter said:
I think the "care" is monitoring the chemistry and adjusting accordingly. Stonescapes will not warrant with CH higher than 400; that's why I'm draining it. Yes, PH needs to be adjusted, but no sense adjust right now if I'm draining 25% or more of water out of it.

I redid my fill water and it's 125. I'm sure the CH is being driven up due to the plaster curing which will take as long as one year.
Click to expand...

My fill water is around the same CH as yours and I can't keep CH below around 450. If you really want to keep CH below 400 you'll be replacing water fairly often. I got tired of doing that during the first year of my pool.

Like Richard, I've learned to live with higher CH and I just watch my CSI and never let it get above around .2 before I take it back to around -.2.
 
My CH was at 750 last summer but through rainwater, it's down to around 450. It's not a huge deal, but I keep my ph at 7.2 to keep my calcium saturation index (CSI) in check to avoid getting calcium scale on my tile. You will see by plugging in numbers to the pool calc that the easies way to keep your csi in balance by keeping your pH low. Again, I aim for 7.2 and I add acid when my oh climbs to 7.5. I'd recommend that before draining especially if you have have fill water with 300 CH.
 
High CH but Listening to Everybody

Ok, here it goes....

FC 5.0
CC 0.0
TC 5.0
AK 70
PH 7.2 (It will rise.......)
CH 425
CYA 50
CSI -.3

So the Stonescapes warranty is a -3.- to +3.0 CSI......

Am I okay? A little torqued about stressing about this pool all day..........
 
If your fill water is actually at 125 then the easiest solution would be a partial drain and refill. That would bring your CH down to a more comfortable level.

It's possible the CH of your fill water changes depending upon the source your city is using that day. You might want to check it every day over a week or two to see if it remains constant at 125 or 300 ppm.
 

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doloskeeter said:
Plaster is six months old, aggregate mini pebble and the CH has just been inching up, today is 425. My fill water is 300. I'm a little confused on what my goal should be when using PoolMath. I initially put a goal of 260, which then the calculator said I should drain 40% of the pool.

If the fill water is 300, I guess 260 as the goal in PoolMath is unrealistic.

Should I put 300 as the goal? If my fill water is 300, seems like this is something I'll be doing a lot? Draining a couple of times a year? I'm an owner for 20 years and while the white plaster lasted 20 years, I did not take care of it like I should have so this is new to me.

In case it matters:

FC 5.0
CC 0
Akl 70
PH 8.2
CYA 40
CH 425



Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...
Just skimming, it seems we have not quite answered OP's questions concisely.

1. Yes, 260 will never be possible and will confuse "poolmath" I would suggest setting 300 ppm as your "now" column and around 350-375 as your target. all will be well and you will probably finding yourself having to drain a little water from time to time to stay at that 375 "ideal" point.

2. As others have pointed out, get your pH down into the mid 7's and KEEP IT THERE. Anything above 7.8 is troublesome in your case.....I would shoot for 7.4 - 7.5

How does your pool water look?
 
The frequency of acid addition varies a lot from pool to pool. Generally, anytime your pool water goes to pH 8.0 or more, you are getting close to a scaling condition that you want to avoid.

So, yes, keep it in the seven's regardless of the frequency which you need to dose.
 
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