No problems at high CH should I lime soften?

[lithium3n]

My pool looks great however the CH I tested was pretty high. The pool is perfectly sparkling clear blue with no issues except for high CH and CYA.

Test results for my 20k plaster pool with SWCG, 1.5 hp pump, and cartridge filter.

FC: 10
CC: 0
pH: 7.6
TA: 120
CH: 900
CYA: 110
Salt: 3400

City fill water from southern California CH is 110.

Should I be concerned about high CH? I was told before that high CYA is no problem for SWCG if FC is maintained. Only minor problem is that my SWCG spits out calcium deposits that I have to clean often. Considering Lime Softening to make cleaning the salt cell less often.

 

[JohnT]

Welcome to TFP!

Have you considered reverse osmosis filtering? It may be available in your area.

 

[lithium3n]

I just searched the forum and found this nicpppardo-reverse-osmosis-t57161.html which says that there is no reverse osmosis service in the Los Angeles area which is where I am. Is lime softening the only option for my area then?

 

[Richard320]

I just searched the forum and found this nicpppardo-reverse-osmosis-t57161.html which says that there is no reverse osmosis service in the Los Angeles area which is where I am. Is lime softening the only option for my area then?

Never heard of that.

I just drain a few inches off to water the lawn and refill with the tap water that would have gone to the lawn. It also helps keep CYA levels down, so I have the luxury of using trichlor pucks when i leave town.

 

[lithium3n]

I just searched the forum and found this nicpppardo-reverse-osmosis-t57161.html which says that there is no reverse osmosis service in the Los Angeles area which is where I am. Is lime softening the only option for my area then?

Never heard of that.

I just drain a few inches off to water the lawn and refill with the tap water that would have gone to the lawn. It also helps keep CYA levels down, so I have the luxury of using trichlor pucks when i leave town.

The lime softening method is mentioned on the other pool forum here http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread ... nt-Process and mentioned here in the deep end section. It would take quite a bit of draining to get my CH down to ideal levels, based on my calculation 75% drain and refill [ x*900 ppmCH + (1-x)*110 ppmCH = 300 ppmCH, where x = fraction of original pool water and (1-x) = fill water, x = 0.24 ]

 

[Richard320]

You can throw those ideal targets right out the window living here.

I will tell you from years of balancing this mess, 900 CH is about the practical limit to keep CSI neutral, and it's not easy. I gain about 25 ppm per week when its hot and windy. for me, draining 3" of water is 5%. It just sort of holds things steady. The real progress comes if/when it rains. I divert a downspout into the pool. The water is only filthy the first day, after that it's not a big problem to just run the filter in the spa/settling tank and clear it in ten minutes.

[center:28e9f0ve]

[/center:28e9f0ve]

 

[lithium3n]

You can throw those ideal targets right out the window living here.

I will tell you from years of balancing this mess, 900 CH is about the practical limit to keep CSI neutral, and it's not easy. I gain about 25 ppm per week when its hot and windy. for me, draining 3" of water is 5%. It just sort of holds things steady. The real progress comes if/when it rains. I divert a downspout into the pool. The water is only filthy the first day, after that it's not a big problem to just run the filter in the spa/settling tank and clear it in ten minutes.

[center0zlyi76]

[/center0zlyi76]

Last year around this time I had 600 CH, so I gained about 300, so I'm getting about 25 ppm per month. I don't know if I should wait until problems occur or do something soon. For the time being it's perfectly fine. The rain water collection is a nifty idea which I'll consider doing next winter.