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Expanding on what salp said: Over time, water evaporates from the pool. It doesn't take any calcium with it. Then you add more tap water to pool, which adds more calcium. Over time your CH will keep going up. That said, going from 350 to 850 is one heck of a jump; more than double. I can...

CSI will go down as temp goes down, so the risk of scaling over the winter should be on the low side. With a full set of numbers we can be more specific. Next spring you really want to run your well water through a water softener so your refill will help dilute the CH. --paulr

gullzway: A gap is no big deal. If you cover 95% of the surface you get 95% of the benefit. CRG_80cc: If the wind generally comes from one direction, and your seam is perpendicular to that direction, then an overlap will probably help keep things in place. Otherwise probably not. dwichman...

FC 7 with CYA 20 seems excessive; half that would be plenty to keep the tub clean. I'd think you were reacting to the chlorine except you said the same thing happened with Nature2. My tub typically has CC .5 because it's covered all the time, no UV to break it down/outgas it/whatever it is...

I suggest the Overnight FC Loss Test to decide whether you need to shock. If overnight loss is okay, then sun time would take care of your CC buildup and that's the end of it. --paulr

The wind has messed with my cover probably a couple times a year. This sort of thing would depend on how much high wind you get, and what kind of nearby structures you have. My cover can't go far, the fence catches it. If "vacuum" means automatic cleaner, my Polaris seems to work fine with...

You'll want to empty the skimmer basket, and open up the pump to get the pump basket out and dump it (there should be a pretty obvious cover for getting at the pump basket). If you are never using "filter" then "backwash" will do you no good. DE is relatively cheap, if you are motivated to...

People say CC can build up if you don't take the cover off for a while say, every week or so. I shouldn't think that reasoning would be different for bleach pools versus SWG pools. That's different from "causing" algae, though. I've observed that I have to keep my FC a point or two higher...

Evaporation is a major source of heat loss, and the main thing that a solar cover does is cut down on evaporation. (My understanding is that wind affects evaporation rate so that actually would be a nontrivial cooling factor for an uncovered pool.) The volume of water lost through evaporation...

A solar cover will tend to reduce your daily FC requirement, so you do need to monitor closely after you first put the cover on, to avoid bringing FC up higher than you want. Covers will deteriorate over time, even if you don't make a habit of pouring full-strength bleach on them. :-) I just...

Diluting for the CYA test can use tap water. It's only when you're diluting for a chlorine test that you should use distilled water. Here are two links to instructions that (among other things) talk about diluting for the CYA test. If you are very concerned about using less R-0013, look in...

You might try the simultaneous drain/refill procedure described here, to avoid exposing the plaster: refill-experiment-t19800.html As long as where you pull water from is "as far as possible" from where you're adding water, and you can keep the rates balanced, it oughta work. --paulr

I don't know that any particular brand is better than another; they're all basically bubble wrap. The consensus seems to be that thicker lasts longer (8mil better than 6mil, etc.) but then the cover gets heavier and harder to handle. Don't have a reel so no opinion there. --paulr

They did a major upgrade in the spring, I didn't see any new announcements but what do I know. I've been checking in a couple times a week but like chem geek said, I click on anything and it forgets I'm logged in. --paulr

Do you also test chlorine using the yellow OTO test at the same time? I found that staring at the OTO test will cause some color fatigue. For example if I look at the pH, then at the OTO, then back at the pH--the pH looks like it has gone up, because my eye isn't registering the yellow as...

One thing about a sand filter is that it actually becomes more effective when it's a little dirty; as the 10-micron gaps start getting plugged up, it will start filtering smaller particles. In fact some people will put a bit of DE (say 1/2 lb) into a sand filter to "dirty" it on purpose. This...

From alternate-test-procedures-for-the-tf-test-kit-t1723.html

According to what chem geek said, if you're using silver ion + ozonator + MPS, you shouldn't normally need any dichlor, so there would be no need to test for FC/CC. You would just watch the MPS level, and reach for the dichlor only if your water started having issues. If you decide to switch...

MPS shows up as CC (not FC) in the FAS-DPD test. --paulr

Same here. Usually trouble with getting stuck is a pressure problem, which can be a dirty screen in the UWF or loose fittings inside the Polaris itself. --paulr

I hope "PH 6.5" is a typo; if it was 7.5, I'd say your numbers are sweet, except it's a salt pool.... well, the numbers can still be sweet! If pH really is 6.5, you want to bring it up to the mid-7's pronto. --paulr

You'll see borates suggested sometimes for spas, but I doubt any commercial joint would suggest it for a pool. Although I believe one or two of the freelance service guys who hang around here will do it. --paulr

Yes, that's good. And your chlorine won't degrade in a week. --paulr

crek's sig says Nebraska. Not much ocean there.... As a rule, chlorine at normal pool levels is not a real problem for vegetation. I have read somebody's report of "burning" some sensitive plants, which was attributed to borates. Don't remember about salt. Sewer would be safest, after that...

It's the usual blue bubble-wrap cover, purely manual. I leave it on 24/7 except when people are swimming. Or too lazy to put it back on after swimming. --paulr

In the summer, I shoot for every other day; with the solar cover it works out pretty well. Without the cover I'd probably have to go daily. Winter consumption is a LOT less; from last November to March I would dump in a gallon of 12.5% (FC +7) every 2-3 weeks. (I don't do a gallon at a shot in...

All of those unlock the secrets of all pool chemistry. They all contain essentially the same tests so there is no difference there (well, the K-2006 has acid/base demand which is not all that interesting most of the time but some people find uses for them). You are not converting from baqua...

I use 4 tabs when I'm away for a week, but my pool is over twice as big and I have a cover. If you don't have a cover, I'd use 3 tabs in a wide open floater; if you have a cover, 2 should be enough. Bring the FC up a bit with bleach first. --paulr

The new series is doing pretty well overall, I particularly liked David Tennant and one of my daughters is now a Billie Piper fan. If I can locate my old tapes, I'll have to introduce the kids to the older Doctors, though! --paulr

cna91, I think "the first four days" comes from the Seasonal/Temporary Pool Guide. That guide is really intended for smaller pools (up to maybe 5000-6000 gallons) although it doesn't actually say so. At 13,000 gallons, your pool is as big as some permanently installed pools and should be...