Bought a house with a pool (my first) in the Winter of 2017. With TFP's guidance, I've been doing relatively well (thank you). Last summer was the best, all chemicals stayed pretty close to ideal and water was beautiful. I am preparing to open the pool in the next few weeks and I peeked under the cover (normal dirt on the bottom, water is clear) and pulled a water sample. Test results are a little surprising with low alkalinity and calcium hardness. I would like to know if it is best practice to get these numbers up before doing my Pool Opening SLAM or do the SLAM first and then adjust Alkalinity (add baking soda) and Calcium Hardness (add Calcium Chloride)?
Closing Test Numbers: Pre-Opening Test Numbers:
10/5/2020 5/2/2021
TTL Chlorine 3.72 .17
Free Chlorine 3.72 .15
Combined Chlorine 0 .02
PH 7.8 7.7
TTL Alkalinity 61 28
Calcium Hardness 311 120
CYA Stabilizer 42 23
Water Temp 82 55
Thanks for your thoughts.
Closing Test Numbers: Pre-Opening Test Numbers:
10/5/2020 5/2/2021
TTL Chlorine 3.72 .17
Free Chlorine 3.72 .15
Combined Chlorine 0 .02
PH 7.8 7.7
TTL Alkalinity 61 28
Calcium Hardness 311 120
CYA Stabilizer 42 23
Water Temp 82 55
Thanks for your thoughts.