Best levels for taste and eye comfort?

[tomfrh]

My current levels are:

FC 4
CC <0.5
TA 60
pH 7.6 - 7.8
Calcium 350
salt 4400
CYA 60

SWG pool


The water is ok to swim in, but it tastes a little harder than I'd like, and it irritates my eyes ever so slightly.

What are the optimal levels for comfort? I've heard low TA can hurt your eyes. Would TA of 80-100 be nicer?

What about calcium? If I run it a bit lower will it make the water taste softer?

 

[cfherrman]

Your numbers are fine, try swimming when the pH is 7.5 and see if that helps.

Certainly drinking ch 350 water tastes bad but I don't think swimming in it should.

 

[tomfrh]

What about alkalinity. I read that low alkalinity can irritate your eyes, and many sources consider less than 80 to be low.

 

[ajw22]

What about alkalinity. I read that low alkalinity can irritate your eyes, and many sources consider less than 80 to be low.

Can you link to where you read about low alkalinity irritating your eyes?

We have found TA can go as low as 50 in some pools to stabilize PH. You can't control TA independent of PH. You need to find the PH range that works in your pool and any TA between 50 - 100 that maintains that PH range is acceptable.

 

[cfherrman]

With pools, many sources are flat wrong

Never heard of low ta and discomfort before

 

[tomfrh]

Can you link to where you read about low alkalinity irritating your eyes?

We have found TA can go as low as 50 in some pools to stabilize PH. You can't control TA independent of PH. You need to find the PH range that works in your pool and any TA between 50 - 100 that maintains that PH range is acceptable.

This one for example:

Maintaining Swimming Pool Alkalinity

[h=3]If your pool total alkalinity level is too low (less than 80 ppm).[/h]...
Swimmer eyes burn, skin is itchy.Unbalanced water[FONT=&quot] will irritate swimmers in the pool water, as eyes and nasal passages are affected by water with low alkalinity. Skin will also feel tight and itchy, resulting in an unpleasant swimming experience.





I'm not defending this by the way, it's just something I've read here and there. I was wondering if any truth to it.[/FONT]

 

[ajw22]

I was wondering if any truth to it.

No truth to it as far as I know.

 

[yann]

I'm sure the pros will correct me if I'm wrong, but eye irritation can be caused by 2 things:
- a pH out of range (too acidic under 6.8-7.0 or too basic over 8.2)
- presence of combined chlorine

 

[Saturn94]

What about alkalinity. I read that low alkalinity can irritate your eyes, and many sources consider less than 80 to be low.

TA in our pool is usually under 80 with no discomfort at all.

 

[Brad_C]

Another completely different angle. I have a salt pool and also swim in the ocean a lot. I find if my eyes sting underwater (in either) I'm low in salt. A bit more salt in the diet and the sting goes away. I tend to have a very low salt diet however.

 

[scdaren]

My current levels are:

FC 4
CC <0.5
TA 60
pH 7.6 - 7.8
Calcium 350
salt 4400
CYA 60

SWG pool


The water is ok to swim in, but it tastes a little harder than I'd like, and it irritates my eyes ever so slightly.

What are the optimal levels for comfort? I've heard low TA can hurt your eyes. Would TA of 80-100 be nicer?

What about calcium? If I run it a bit lower will it make the water taste softer?

Just personal experience, my eyes are somewhat sensitive and I've noticed that they are most comfortable when pH is as close to 7.4 as I can get it. I usually keep my TA at around 70.

Do you have kids in the pool? When my 5 year-old pees in the pool, my eyes can feel the spike in CC's almost immediately. He's finally figured out he can't get away with it, somehow I always know!

 

[AUSpool]

What about alkalinity. I read that low alkalinity can irritate your eyes, and many sources consider less than 80 to be low.

All depends what the source is and how their numbers are derived. pH is commonly discussed while alkalinity is often overlooked or not treated independently. Open ocean water has a pH of ~8.3 with and alkalinity of ~120ppm while natural fresh water systems have a pH of ~7 - 7.6 while the alkalinity can be as low as 20 - 30ppm although depending on the watershed the alkalinity may be as high as 90ppm.

Your numbers look good to me. I believe eye irritation is a bit individual, I’ve had no irritation with my FC at 9ppm, CYA ~60ppm and TA ~80ppm and my son’s never complained. As others have eluded, the concentration of CC’s is likely a large contributing factor.