Should I drop Mineral Springs?

[Wooderson]

Our pool is "Mineral Springs", and startup each year costs several hundred dollars, and we have a maintenance bag every week on top of that. We also use regular shock and muratic acid as needed per their water analysis. I'm starting to think it's a premium product that our pool company pushes for higher sales and margins.

He said that the Mineral Springs includes optimizer, scale inhibitor, salt, muratic acid, and cyanuric acid, and if we didn't use Mineral Springs, we'd need to add those things individually.

Do you think I could drop the Mineral Springs products, and instead just use regular pool salt, plus weekly shock, and muriatic acid as needed? I currently do those things already as needed based on test strips. I also vary the salt cell % as needed during the summer months to maintain appropriate chlorine levels.

We've never had a problem with algae or maintaining the chemistry, even when we strayed from the Mineral Springs bags for most of last summer.

 

[pinguy]

Drop it like a bad habit.

Check out this article:
Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals

On top of that, you don't need to shock on any regular basis as long as you are keeping your FC within range.

We also don't recommend test strips as they are pretty unreliable. Grab a TF100 or K2006 kit.

 

[RobbieH]

I am assuming you are using "Renewal"

sodium hydrogensulphate
7681-38-1
15 - 35 %
boric acid
10043-35-3
2 - 13 %
sodium sulphate
7757-82-6
< 5 %
aluminium sulfate
10043-01-3
1 - 7 %
Phosphonic acid, reaction products with maleic anhydride, sodium salts
180513-31-9
0.1 - 3 %
cyanuric acid (Dust)
108-80-5
0.1 - 3 %

 

[DaninFLA]

you dont need it, and you dont want it! you have a saltwater system, thats all you need to use. i cant believe they have you doing other stuff, oh wait, i know why

get your salt cell dialed in and all you should need to do is possibly add a little muriatic acid every once in a while to lower your pH.

CYA and Salt doesnt decrease so there is no need to be adding that every week, and you shouldnt

you just need to get a test kit, not strips. Get the TF-100 it will last you a long time. once you have it, you will determine your stabilizer (CYA) levels and base your chlroine levels on that. as the water warms up, you just increase the pump run time or salt generating % to increase to compensate for additional losses.

 

[Wooderson]

Yep, that's what I thought. Thank you for your responses and confirmation, I'm going to pick up a proper test kit and study up in the pool school.

 

[jblizzle]

Sounds like a plan.

Too bad we did not have this discussion 3 years ago when you joined