Ideal water

[vincent]

My under shed pool is currently running on Cal-Hypo and Trichlor. I switch off my SWG because I need Cal-Hypo to raise my CH and Trichlor to raise my CYA. There's no Calcium chloride , stabilizer or CYA available here. I still have 10 kg (22lb) of Cal-hypo and 4 lb of Trichlor to go before I switch back to SWG.

My #s are:

FC 2
CC 0
CYA 20
CH 60
pH 8.2
TA 80
Salt 3300
Temp 80
Borate I assume as 0 as new pipe fill water 3 months pool

My CSI shows -0.25 which is OK but my pH is going up from 7.8 last week.

My SWG recommand the following #s.

FC 1.0 - 3.0
CH 200 -300
pH 7.2 - 7.8
CYA 40 - 60
TA 100 - 120
Salt 4000

So what should my target be when I resume my SWG. I run my SWG at 60% 4 hrs a day before I get my CYA and CH in so after getting my target of CYA 40 and CH 200, I expect my SWG to run 40% 4 hrs or less a day. All my 44 GPM water from my pump are via a 2 foot high waterfall. So does that produce alot of outgassing and aeration? After hitting CYA 40 I will check my Cl loss due to the little sunlight before proceed to CYA 60.

My pH drift had been quite nominal, took about 2 months to increase from 7.8 to 8.2 (without Trichlor and Cal-hypo). I definitely need acid to reduce my pH, right? As we don't have muriatic acid around, I can only get dry acid (liquid 33%), powder ( concentration to be confirmed) and pH minus. Which is the ideal form to use? I belief the powder one will last me longer under storage and they come in 11lb and 55lb pail.

I cannot get Borate for my pool except from laboratory supplier which supply Sodium Tetraborate Decahydrate (10h2o). Would anybody recommand using such borate and what quantity would be sufficient to 30 ppm?

My pool water are sparkling but I am trying maximise my pool equipment life and reduce my long term chemical use, meaning, optimise everything where possible.

Any recommendation d suggestion will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Vincent

 

[JasonLion]

There are tradeoffs. I would normally aim for:

FC 2-4
PH 7.2-7.8
TA 60-90
CH 400-450
CYA 60-80
Salt 4000

If your shed is blocking most of the direct sunlight you can lower CYA to 30-50.

If getting CH that high is difficult you can run at a higher TA level instead, except that will increase the rate of PH rise.

 

[duraleigh]

Hi, Jason,

Just because it has always seemed the norm, I've advocated 200-400 for CH as a target.

You have moved that target up a little to the higher side but I don't recall a discussion that led to that. Have you always suggested that or am I missing a thread somewhere?

 

[JasonLion]

The TA recommendation for use with a SWG or waterfall/negative edge has been moving down over the last year or two and SWG levels of salt also move the CSI down so I have been moving the CH recommendation up to balance the CSI. The CH 200-400 recommendation goes with TA being around 120 and no salt added. There is still some debate about how relevant CSI is, Waterbear doesn't really agree that it is important and others have suggested ways that it may not accurately model the chemistry in some cases. I feel that CSI is the best model we have to what is happening and so following CSI balance is better than following LSI, or old default recommendations, or ignoring the issue.

 

[duraleigh]

Jason, thanks. I follow what you're saying. I've been watching the suggested T/A sliding down this last year and just never made the connection with CH going up because I typically don't use CSI when balancing a pool.

I'm not opposed to it but I'm not sure (mostly because I've never taken the trouble to investigate it much)the average pool user needs it to keep his pool water clear. Anyway, I understand your explanation and it tells me I need to do a little more homework and understand some things a little better. See ya'.

 

[vincent]

Thanks guys for the info. Gee, that info I can't find posted elsewhere but I catch what the two of you meant. Yes, my shed covers my pool except the last hour of sunlight on a quarter of the pool. I will head for the lower CYA.

Vincent