CH waaaay ohh

[bear31088]

I had to drain about 80 percent of my pool water for some work to be done. Now, after filling it, I'm struggling with some of the chem readings. In particular is CH which is showing a reading of 80 which equates to needing about 20 pounds of calcium chloride. Is calcium chloride just plain salt? What do I buy? I checked the big box stores, but they don't carry calcium chloride. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

No, CH is not "plain salt".
Here is the link to the Pool School article teaching about the various chemistry items you need to know. ChemGeek here says that we fiberglass pool owners don't need to worry too much about CH <whew!>.
http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/123-abc-of-pool-water-chemistry
This should help you get a handle on what everything is. Sounds like your water down there is as soft as mine up here near Augusta. Out west people talk about how horribly high their water is.

 

[Leebo]

ChemGeek here says that we fiberglass pool owners don't need to worry too much about CH <whew!>.

There are some companies that use a calcium carbonate filler in fiberglass shells. There can be issues that can arise from low CH levels in fiberglass such as higher risks of stains and a chance for the gel oat being damaged. Due to us having no way of knowing if calcium carbonate was used, it's best to still follow the Recommended Levels in Pool School.