New member here. I've been maintaining my pool for several months with the help of this site. It's about a 12,500 gallon gunite pool with a salt water generator and bubble cover in sunny Honolulu, Hawaii:
The local pool professional I trust most recommended these levels:
FC 3.0
pH 7.4
TA 120
CH 150-200
Salt 3400
I've been shooting for these levels even though they differ somewhat from the TFP advice. My pH shoots up to 8.0 in a few days. I add about a gallon of muriatic acid per week. TA tends to fall to 90 if I don't add baking soda regularly. FC swings up and down, mostly depending on whether the cover is on or off (sunlight kills chlorine). I sometimes adjust the output of the SWG between 20% and 40%.
Lately there have been white flakes in the end nearest the pump, paper thin, crumbly and not slimy. I suspect they are calcium scale from the SWG as described here. A test revealed that my CH has crept up to 350, so I have the triple-whammy: high pH, high TA, and high CH.
Three questions:
Is there a good explanation why the target levels would be different in Hawaii or for this specific pool?
Should I be concerned about the rising pH and adding so much muriatic acid?
Which reading(s) should I focus on lowering in order to prevent calcium scale?
The local pool professional I trust most recommended these levels:
FC 3.0
pH 7.4
TA 120
CH 150-200
Salt 3400
I've been shooting for these levels even though they differ somewhat from the TFP advice. My pH shoots up to 8.0 in a few days. I add about a gallon of muriatic acid per week. TA tends to fall to 90 if I don't add baking soda regularly. FC swings up and down, mostly depending on whether the cover is on or off (sunlight kills chlorine). I sometimes adjust the output of the SWG between 20% and 40%.
Lately there have been white flakes in the end nearest the pump, paper thin, crumbly and not slimy. I suspect they are calcium scale from the SWG as described here. A test revealed that my CH has crept up to 350, so I have the triple-whammy: high pH, high TA, and high CH.
Three questions:
Is there a good explanation why the target levels would be different in Hawaii or for this specific pool?
Should I be concerned about the rising pH and adding so much muriatic acid?
Which reading(s) should I focus on lowering in order to prevent calcium scale?