calcium hardness

[SeaBass]

pool water
CH 400
TA 80

I just tested my fill water and got these results:

pH 7.8
FC .5
CC 2
TA 200
CH 350

Will I ever be able to decrease the CH? If so, how??
Never tested the fill water before, but wondering about the TA too. Is that normal for fill water?

 

[JasonLion]

Having TA and CH that high in your fill water is not common but you do see things like that in some areas. You are going to need to let your CH level get fairly high to avoid refilling the pool all the time. At the same time you are going to need to replace water fairly regularly, because that is the only thing that will keep the CH level under control.

The key to managing high CH fill water is to keep your PH and TA reasonably low at all times. That may get tricky with high TA fill water, but can be done.

 

[SeaBass]

Ok.
So how high can I safely let that CH level get?
And then, how low (or how much lower) should the TA and pH be??

Is this just about maintaining a "balance" using what you've got? It's making me a little nervous...I don't want to eventually ruin something.

Thank you for all your responses!

 

[Guest]

Ok.
So how high can I safely let that CH level get?
And then, how low (or how much lower) should the TA and pH be??

Is this just about maintaining a "balance" using what you've got? It's making me a little nervous...I don't want to eventually ruin something.

Thank you for all your responses!

Some parts of the country have fill water with CH over 1000 ppm. The key is to lower TA and watch pH. CH of 350 is not that high and is, in fact, well within acceptable range. TA CAN be lowered but if your fill water has high TA it means that it is something you will need to keep on top of. Basically it means you work with what you have. The key to avoid problems in these cases is very 'tight' pH control. It might be a bit more work but it's not impossible.

 

[SeaBass]

So, is it correct to say that I should just stay at the bottom of the recommended range for pH...like 7.2?

 

[JasonLion]

Right now you are fine with PH between 7.2 and 7.8, but if TA and CH go up, as they are likely to do, you will need to tighten that range to 7.2-7.6 or even 7.2-7.4. It is possible to manage CH levels up to about 1,200, but that requires tight control over TA. With the TA level in your fill water you may need to have a lower CH limit. It depends on how well you can keep TA under control.

As water evaporates you will be adding more water to the pool. The TA and CH originally in the pool don't evaporate, so adding new water will be raising your levels. You can lower TA using the lowerin TA procedure in this article. You don't need to do that right now, but if TA goes up much you will.

 

[lovingHDTV]

Funny thing, I saw your number and thought "Wow must be from Texas".

I have the same fill water "qualities". My CH is 650 and TA is 210. I keep my pool at CH 650, TA 80-90 and PH between 7.2 and 7.8.

I found that if I don't keep my TA in that range the PH goes off the charts fast. I've become very good at adding muriatic acid and aerating the pool. I do it every time I add water to the pool, which is every week or so.

dave