hello everyone, I wanted to introduce myself.
I manage an estate with a small indoor pool. It is an 18,000 gal with an 840 gal spa, that spills into the pool. It is a concrete pool with travertine marble tiles and large stones inlaid above the water line.
It is a salt water pool and uses a sand filtration system, swg for chlorine, and sits in an enclosed gym area of the house. When I started working here seven years ago, I inherited this pool as part of my building maintenance. There was a thick line of calcium carbonate along the water line that had formed over the years prior. I had little knowledge of pools, and the area I live in is remote and pool companies are 100s of miles away and not cost effective for routine maintenance.
Within a few months of reading, testing, trying to balance the water, I decided to go to school. I took a seminar at the community college and received a CPO certificate. The course was only a couple days, but the knowledge I gleaned from that was immeasurable! Most of the people in the class were motel owners, or school, county employees learning how to manage their public and semi-private pools. In Wyoming, the health department requires certification for public and semi-private pools. The pool I manage is private and is solely used by the family and their invited guests.
I have been using the LSI but have always thought this was not very well suited for saltwater pools. LSI calculation software always says my CH is way high. I often enter a much lower value to the formula to get the desired result.
I actually discovered that maintaining CH at 340-360 eliminated ALL my scaling problems!
I learned this from visiting TFP a few years ago! Since making that calcium adjustment, the pool has never looked better!
I am as stickler for cleanliness and take pride in a crystal clear pool. I do all equipment repairs, water chemistry and upgrades to the pool. We have a "git er done" mentality here in Wyoming. So many resources people take for granted don't exist here! Technicians, plumbers...........basically ALL skilled tradesmen are hard to find, and backed up with workload. You can get companies to come from Colorado, but the hourly and mileage rates are in the $100s before they even arrive at your door! Then if they diagnose a problem and need a part, They order it and have to schedule a return trip to complete the repair. I haven't had a pool company here in 4 years. I started diagnosing problems and doing my own maintenance.
One problem I struggle with is the constant roller coaster ride of water balance.
The JVAs send 1/2 the return water through the spa, which has a waterfall into the pool. There are three spillways constantly splashing and agitating the water. I have achieved "zero" water on a few occasions, but it is very rare when all the planets align and I hit 0.0.
I can keep it within the LSI, but the PH rises daily. I apply muriatic acid a couple times a week and of course, it ALWAYS drops alkalinity in the process. The pool looks beautiful and the owners comment on a regular basis. There isn't a speck, smudge or stain ANYWHERE.
I have read about agitation, water features etc, but this roller coaster is frustrating. Even when I achieve perfect balance, it wont last more than a few days. I used sodium bisulfate for years, but I had to order that online, given my remote location. I also got tired of mixing it in 5 gal bucket and pouring that along the sides. Muriatic acid is available at both hardware stores in my town. The home improvement stores even in the larger cities here only carry pool supplies seasonally and it is 160 mile round trip to Casper.
I switched to muriatic acid a few years ago. I currently use about a gallon a week, or about 50 gallons a year, give or take. I am considering installing an acid delivery system attached to a large drum of acid. I get tired of hauling jugs of acid in my vehicle.
Does anyone use an acid/PH automated system? I have 40 gal drum of acid, waiting to hook up. I recently installed the iAqualink web interface and motherboard. I replaced a couple JVAs and cammed one for spa overflow. I feel I could install an acid delivery system myself.
I am wondering if anyone has experience with using a system like that?
Another issue I have is with broad casting sodium bicarbonate. There is exercise equipment, flat screen tvs at the workout stations, high end gym equipment, etc. The housekeeper HATES when I broadcast into the pool. The cloud of baking soda is like a fog and settles on EVERYTHING. I have mixed it in a 5 gal bucket and poured it into the pool, but most of the reference books I got in my pool certification class suggest this is not a good practice.
Is there a way to add sodium bicarb without casting?
Thanks for reading everyone, and I will post some pics of my pool tomorrow. It is a beauty and I feel good about where I am at, I am just trying to simplify the process.
I manage an estate with a small indoor pool. It is an 18,000 gal with an 840 gal spa, that spills into the pool. It is a concrete pool with travertine marble tiles and large stones inlaid above the water line.
It is a salt water pool and uses a sand filtration system, swg for chlorine, and sits in an enclosed gym area of the house. When I started working here seven years ago, I inherited this pool as part of my building maintenance. There was a thick line of calcium carbonate along the water line that had formed over the years prior. I had little knowledge of pools, and the area I live in is remote and pool companies are 100s of miles away and not cost effective for routine maintenance.
Within a few months of reading, testing, trying to balance the water, I decided to go to school. I took a seminar at the community college and received a CPO certificate. The course was only a couple days, but the knowledge I gleaned from that was immeasurable! Most of the people in the class were motel owners, or school, county employees learning how to manage their public and semi-private pools. In Wyoming, the health department requires certification for public and semi-private pools. The pool I manage is private and is solely used by the family and their invited guests.
I have been using the LSI but have always thought this was not very well suited for saltwater pools. LSI calculation software always says my CH is way high. I often enter a much lower value to the formula to get the desired result.
I actually discovered that maintaining CH at 340-360 eliminated ALL my scaling problems!
I learned this from visiting TFP a few years ago! Since making that calcium adjustment, the pool has never looked better!
I am as stickler for cleanliness and take pride in a crystal clear pool. I do all equipment repairs, water chemistry and upgrades to the pool. We have a "git er done" mentality here in Wyoming. So many resources people take for granted don't exist here! Technicians, plumbers...........basically ALL skilled tradesmen are hard to find, and backed up with workload. You can get companies to come from Colorado, but the hourly and mileage rates are in the $100s before they even arrive at your door! Then if they diagnose a problem and need a part, They order it and have to schedule a return trip to complete the repair. I haven't had a pool company here in 4 years. I started diagnosing problems and doing my own maintenance.
One problem I struggle with is the constant roller coaster ride of water balance.
The JVAs send 1/2 the return water through the spa, which has a waterfall into the pool. There are three spillways constantly splashing and agitating the water. I have achieved "zero" water on a few occasions, but it is very rare when all the planets align and I hit 0.0.
I can keep it within the LSI, but the PH rises daily. I apply muriatic acid a couple times a week and of course, it ALWAYS drops alkalinity in the process. The pool looks beautiful and the owners comment on a regular basis. There isn't a speck, smudge or stain ANYWHERE.
I have read about agitation, water features etc, but this roller coaster is frustrating. Even when I achieve perfect balance, it wont last more than a few days. I used sodium bisulfate for years, but I had to order that online, given my remote location. I also got tired of mixing it in 5 gal bucket and pouring that along the sides. Muriatic acid is available at both hardware stores in my town. The home improvement stores even in the larger cities here only carry pool supplies seasonally and it is 160 mile round trip to Casper.
I switched to muriatic acid a few years ago. I currently use about a gallon a week, or about 50 gallons a year, give or take. I am considering installing an acid delivery system attached to a large drum of acid. I get tired of hauling jugs of acid in my vehicle.
Does anyone use an acid/PH automated system? I have 40 gal drum of acid, waiting to hook up. I recently installed the iAqualink web interface and motherboard. I replaced a couple JVAs and cammed one for spa overflow. I feel I could install an acid delivery system myself.
I am wondering if anyone has experience with using a system like that?
Another issue I have is with broad casting sodium bicarbonate. There is exercise equipment, flat screen tvs at the workout stations, high end gym equipment, etc. The housekeeper HATES when I broadcast into the pool. The cloud of baking soda is like a fog and settles on EVERYTHING. I have mixed it in a 5 gal bucket and poured it into the pool, but most of the reference books I got in my pool certification class suggest this is not a good practice.
Is there a way to add sodium bicarb without casting?
Thanks for reading everyone, and I will post some pics of my pool tomorrow. It is a beauty and I feel good about where I am at, I am just trying to simplify the process.
Sounds like you've been busy already. 
As for the baking soda, while broadcast spreading is generally the typical response, your situation is a bit different due to the equipment nearby. Go ahead and mix in a bucket and pour slowly at the return jets and you should be fine.
