Yikes! It sounds like it's time to call in a pro and, at the very least, clean the sand bed. 22 years with no maintenance is asking too much.
OMG! My pool is ill!
- Thread starter Cat
- Start date
- Jan 9, 2011
- 7
Hi Cat,
Regarding high CH, I live in southern California, and our water is really hard, with CH 400 or something coming out of the tap. So I have been dealing with CH high for years. I have CH around 800 right now with perfectly clear water. The key for me is pH and TA control. To lower TA, I lowered pH to 7 per instructions on this awesome forum, and then let the pH rise back up with aeration - in my case normal pump operation did the trick fine. This can take a few cycles to get the TA down a lot, but if you get your TA down (I got mine down from 130 to around 60) and keep a careful eye on pH (I never let mine above 7.8, and target 7.5) it should help you live with the high CH. My pH tends to drift up a fair bit, so I usually have to add muriatic acid (15% hydrochloric acid) to the pool weekly to keep my pH in the target range.
Without going off the deep end into pool chemistry, this is important because lowering TA this way removes carbonate from the pool (the aeration releases carbon dioxide to the air). The carbonate in the pool is what precipitates the calcium to make cloudy water and scale. And calcium carbonate precipitates more at higher pH. So low TA and low pH help offset the high CH. This is reflected in the incredibly handy CSI index on the pool calculator. My CSI is in the 0.1 range and I do not have cloudiness or scale problems. When it got up above 0.6 earlier this year, I had scale and white precipitates all over the place.
Eric
Regarding high CH, I live in southern California, and our water is really hard, with CH 400 or something coming out of the tap. So I have been dealing with CH high for years. I have CH around 800 right now with perfectly clear water. The key for me is pH and TA control. To lower TA, I lowered pH to 7 per instructions on this awesome forum, and then let the pH rise back up with aeration - in my case normal pump operation did the trick fine. This can take a few cycles to get the TA down a lot, but if you get your TA down (I got mine down from 130 to around 60) and keep a careful eye on pH (I never let mine above 7.8, and target 7.5) it should help you live with the high CH. My pH tends to drift up a fair bit, so I usually have to add muriatic acid (15% hydrochloric acid) to the pool weekly to keep my pH in the target range.
Without going off the deep end into pool chemistry, this is important because lowering TA this way removes carbonate from the pool (the aeration releases carbon dioxide to the air). The carbonate in the pool is what precipitates the calcium to make cloudy water and scale. And calcium carbonate precipitates more at higher pH. So low TA and low pH help offset the high CH. This is reflected in the incredibly handy CSI index on the pool calculator. My CSI is in the 0.1 range and I do not have cloudiness or scale problems. When it got up above 0.6 earlier this year, I had scale and white precipitates all over the place.
Eric
It doesn't in my pool, all the way up to 7.8 pH, in fact, as I discovered last week when i got back from a weeklong trip.Smykowski said:
WOW! I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed.
I tested the FC again this AM. It dropped to 7.5, 2 pts. from yesterday. I haven't added bleach since 8/21. My SLAM started 8/19. Current readings, CSI=0.12
Eric, thank you so much! I needed to read how you solved your own predicament. If I just use my jets (pointing up) for aeration, how long until I know if the jets are adequate?
I'd like to know what to do first.
1) continue the SLAM?
2) get the sand filter cleaned? (Can't do this myself?)
3) drop the TA and pH before I continue the SLAM?
Thanks everybody!
I tested the FC again this AM. It dropped to 7.5, 2 pts. from yesterday. I haven't added bleach since 8/21. My SLAM started 8/19. Current readings, CSI=0.12
Eric, thank you so much! I needed to read how you solved your own predicament. If I just use my jets (pointing up) for aeration, how long until I know if the jets are adequate?
I'd like to know what to do first.
1) continue the SLAM?
2) get the sand filter cleaned? (Can't do this myself?)
3) drop the TA and pH before I continue the SLAM?
Thanks everybody!
Hey Cat,
1) Yes, I would elevate to SLAM level as per the CYA chart.
2) A soon as possible.
3) I thought your last pH was 7.2 so no unless that changed, and it went above 7.8... Did I miss something?
1) Yes, I would elevate to SLAM level as per the CYA chart.
2) A soon as possible.
3) I thought your last pH was 7.2 so no unless that changed, and it went above 7.8... Did I miss something?
Hi Brushpup-
Yes, my pH is still 7.2, I was basing question 3) or Eric's (eswayze) reco of pH 7, and TA 60, he too has a CH of 800 and is able to keep his water clear.
Yes, my pH is still 7.2, I was basing question 3) or Eric's (eswayze) reco of pH 7, and TA 60, he too has a CH of 800 and is able to keep his water clear.
Ok, get someone out tomorrow on your filter if possible and have them fully service it. If it were mine, I would check out all the laterals. multi port valve, gaskets, and replace everything it needed including sand. That is what I would do. Make sure they put on a new pressure gauge too.
I would make sure the filter is functioning first. It has been neglected a very long time and, if not working properly, may not allow you to SLAM successfully.
It's been cleaned and serviced. Within 48 hrs., the water was crystal clear and that beautiful blue I remember. What team work! Could not have done it all with out you guys. Thanks so, so much. I'm keeping my chlorine at the target level (testing daily) and I will be testing everything on a weekly basis until I get the hang of it all.
Most excellent! Just out of curiosity, do you remember what all they found wrong?Cat said:
Let us know if you have questions Cat.
Ohhhh Brushpup-I'm sorry for getting back to you so late. My son started a new classical, christian school and it has been all consuming (and overwhelming!) for both of us.
I wasn't here when the pool pro did the work, but he checked everything, cleaned everything, and all he replaced was the sand. He said everything else was intact and working fine, but extremely dirty. I didn't have him replace the gauge because it broke last year and I had it replaced then, he said it was working fine.
You guys are super. Thank you. :-D