Hi all,
I'm trying to figure out if I made the right choice when I filled the pool.
For background, we live in an area that requires well water, and our water has quite a bit of iron. I run the softener with the iron reducing pellets, but if the softener gets low on salt, or if I put in the normal pellets, then we get hard water stains in the toilets and sinks within a day or two.
So when it came time to fill the pool, I decided on using soft water instead of the hard. I thought the water would feel much nicer, and be able to avoid having the iron in the pool.
So the pool has been up for 2 weeks, and has stayed clean and clear so far. I monitor the chlorine and pH each day, and have been successful controlling those. I also added the CYA, and it has remained at around 50 ppm.
I don't have one of the really good test kits (yet), but I did get the HTH kit from WalMart. The reasons for questioning my decision are 1) alkalinity and 2) total hardness. My alkalinity was initially 350, and my total hardness was ZERO.
So I've been working on getting the TA down (thanks to JasonLion for the latest pool calculator, which helped me realize how much muriatic acid I need) by adding the acid and aerating the water to keep the pH in line. But I realize that this is going to take awhile!
My total hardness is now about 30, as I've been replacing lost pool water from the well. I guess I will try to find the best method for raising hardness after getting TA where I need it.
But would TA and total hardness have been better by using the well water from the beginning? Would fighting iron (and maybe other metals? I'm not sure) have been the easier fight?
This isn't a topic (hard water vs. soft water) I've seen discussed much, so even if I chose incorrectly maybe your answers will help others with the choice if it is an option.
I'm trying to figure out if I made the right choice when I filled the pool.
For background, we live in an area that requires well water, and our water has quite a bit of iron. I run the softener with the iron reducing pellets, but if the softener gets low on salt, or if I put in the normal pellets, then we get hard water stains in the toilets and sinks within a day or two.
So when it came time to fill the pool, I decided on using soft water instead of the hard. I thought the water would feel much nicer, and be able to avoid having the iron in the pool.
So the pool has been up for 2 weeks, and has stayed clean and clear so far. I monitor the chlorine and pH each day, and have been successful controlling those. I also added the CYA, and it has remained at around 50 ppm.
I don't have one of the really good test kits (yet), but I did get the HTH kit from WalMart. The reasons for questioning my decision are 1) alkalinity and 2) total hardness. My alkalinity was initially 350, and my total hardness was ZERO.
So I've been working on getting the TA down (thanks to JasonLion for the latest pool calculator, which helped me realize how much muriatic acid I need) by adding the acid and aerating the water to keep the pH in line. But I realize that this is going to take awhile!
My total hardness is now about 30, as I've been replacing lost pool water from the well. I guess I will try to find the best method for raising hardness after getting TA where I need it.
But would TA and total hardness have been better by using the well water from the beginning? Would fighting iron (and maybe other metals? I'm not sure) have been the easier fight?
This isn't a topic (hard water vs. soft water) I've seen discussed much, so even if I chose incorrectly maybe your answers will help others with the choice if it is an option.