High CH in Florida

[xxkylexx]

Hi all,

Still pretty new here. I finally finished slamming my pool and getting my FC and CYA situation under control. I am now turning to, what appears to be, my next issue: Calcium Hardness.

Here are the results of my latest tests:

PH: 7.5
FC: 6
CC: 0.5
CH: 850
CYA: 60
TA: 60

As you can see, my CH is pretty high. I have tested it multiple times over the past month and the results are consistent, so I don't think it is a testing error.

My pool is just over 1 year old, so I am not sure if the new-ish plaster has anything to do with it being high like this.

From what I read, the way to lower the CH is to replace pool water. I also tested my city tap water here in North Florida and the CH is 425, which seems high (we have terrible water here in Florida so I am not surprised), so I am unsure how much of an affect replacing water will have for me.

Any thoughts on how to approach this? Is this a problem? I have not noticed or experienced significant scaling issues from the high CH. The only scaling I remember seeing was a small amount on the SWG plates when I cleaned it one time time after this summer. But it seemed like a very minor amount and I hadn't seen any buildup on there in my other SWG inspections throughout the year.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Kyle,

If you were in AZ, then a CH of 850 would sound almost normal..

But it sounds odd for Florida..

As much as I distrust pool store tests, I'd run a sample by one of them to confirm your reading.

Let's see if we can get some of our other Florida members to chime in.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Mdragger88]

Take advantage of the rains as often as u can & lower the water level when u are expecting gully washers.
If you have a water softener you could also use softened water for refilling.
You will need to turn off the autofill to accomplish this

 

[xxkylexx]

Kyle,

If you were in AZ, then a CH of 850 would sound almost normal..

But it sounds odd for Florida..

As much as I distrust pool store tests, I'd run a sample by one of them to confirm your reading.

Let's see if we can get some of our other Florida members to chime in.

Thanks,

Jim R.

I should mention in the months of using pool store testing leading up to my switch to the TF-100 last month, their tests were consistently in the 400-500 range. This too made made me question my TF-100 testing. I have some AquaCheck test strips lying around so I tried one of those to have another reference point. The test strips are always hard for me to read, but it appears to me that I am getting something in the 500-1000 range. See attached photo.

 

[TampaKathy]

I don't know where in "NE FL" Kyle is, but if he's in/near Jacksonville, according to Sir Google, CH could be as high as 450.

 

[xxkylexx]

I don't know where in "NE FL" Kyle is, but if he's in/near Jacksonville, according to Sir Google, CH could be as high as 450.

Yes, I am in the Jacksonville area. As mentioned in my original post, I tested the water coming out of my sink with TF-100 and got a reading of 425. So that sounds accurate.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Make sure you're using a 10 ml sample for the CH test. Multiply drops by 25.

 

[xxkylexx]

Make sure you're using a 10 ml sample for the CH test. Multiply drops by 25.

Yes, that is the process I am following.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

I can't remember anyone posting a a higher CH level for fill water. As suggested, if you have a water softener, run a line to the pool for top-offs and take advantage of rainwater.

I don't have a whole house water softener. I use a portable RV softener that does a great job of reducing CH in fill water.

Best wishes.

 

[wireform]

Make sure you're using the regents properly meaning it must be completely inverted and not sort of dropping off the tip at an angle. Let them drop off themselves with very little help and it may change the story a bit.

 

[Katodude]

Summer rains are your best friend here. I managed to reduce my CH from 560 to 370 very casually. If I aggressively drained before a big rain I could have done better. The water will be colder over the winter which will help your CSI. But I think you can handle it this summer.

 

[Katodude]

Not to mention, but you are probably getting a few inches of rain right now. This would be a good time to drain some water.

 

[xxkylexx]

Not to mention, but you are probably getting a few inches of rain right now. This would be a good time to drain some water.

What's the best way to do this? My pool has an auto-fill and auto-drain setup so it already drains itself. Is the idea to manually drain some before the rain so that we are not draining a higher percentage of the newly added rain water?

 

[wireform]

Let's say they forecast 2" rain fall then you'd drop the pool water minimum 2" for the fresh water without it reaching the overflow by pumping to waste depending on the equipment setup. Autofill for now should be shut off.