Calcium hardness is 700!

[Dreampool13]

Hello!

I just got my TF-100 test kit and when that ups man rang my doorbell it was like Christmas in July! Anyway I tested my pool right away and here are my results:

FC 3.5
CC .5
Total chlorine 4
TA 80
CH 700
CYA 25 to 30

Calcium hardness is crazy! I have the app that let's me plug in my current and desired numbers and it said to replace 57% of my water. Uh...not going to happen. We have very hard water here in my suburb of Houston so I doubt it will even help. Our pool is only 1 month old so is this high calcium just from the new luna quartz plaster?

Is there a way to lower this?

 

[Dreampool13]

Oh...pH is 7.2.

 

[Bama Rambler]

Did you get the SpeedStir?

Test your tap water for everything except CYA.

 

[jblizzle]

The only way to lower the CH is by replacing with water that has a lower CH value. Yes it is high, but you can still manage the pool by keeping the pH in range (like between 7.0 and 7.5 at all times).

It is pretty odd to be that high after a new fill ... I am wondering if this might be a false reading due to the new plaster??? Maybe someone else will have a thought on this.

As Dave suggested, testing the tap water is a good idea. And the CH test can be problematic if you are not swirling the water enough.

 

[JamesW]

It might be test error. Try adding 5 drops of reagent r-0012 first, and then do the test as normal. Add 5 to the counted drops. Did the builder do an acid startup? What is the calcium of the fill water? Did the builder add calcium?
Is there copper in the water? Is this well water?

 

[chiefwej]

So what. My CH is 1,200. Too high and I will be doing an RO treatment on the water to reduce it. But in the interim, I just keep a close eye on TA and pH, so that the CSI says at or very near zero and its not a problem.

My fill water varies but can run 250+ CH. The evaporation rate is insane here in the middle of a desert. So I just have to carefully balance the water chemistry to avoid scale. If you let your pH get high, you will have scale.

 

[Dreampool13]

Okay I tested my tap water:

FC 1.0
CC 0
TA 200
CH 150

Dang it! I wonder if its the plaster...or I wonder if the pool builder added calcium to the pool. We did do an acid startup. He filled my auto chlorinator with 3" tabs and his pool guy dumped pool chemicals in for the first two weeks.

I'm currently using bioguard trichlor silk tabs, and I used bioguard lithium hypochlorite shock. Neither add calcium. Wtf? We've hosed off the DE filters once and there was a ton of plaster in there. My pool is super clear, sparkly and blue. I'm just afraid the calcium will wreck havoc on my pool.

 

[JamesW]

I would suggest asking the builder why the calcium is so high.

 

[Dreampool13]

Okay I freaked out prematurely. I retested and um...my CH is only 350. I used a clean plastic straw to mix the test tube instead of just swirling. I'm a dork. It's at the high level of average but much better than 700!!!

Silver lining...I learned about CSI levels. So does this basically mean that if I keep my pH at 7.0 or 7.2, that all will be well?

 

[jblizzle]

With the lower CH, you likely do not want your pH that low. Keep it around 7.5 (between 7.2 and 7.8)

 

[Dreampool13]

Good to know! I've been adding muriatic acid every three days or so because my pH creeps up to 8 pretty quickly. I measure it out for a target of 7.2 just so I can go longer before adding more acid, but ill try to stay closer to 7.5.

Y'all are seriously so helpful. Thank you!