Calcium hardness high

[mmesqc1578]

Fc 2.0
Ph 7.6
Ta 100
Ch 375
Cya 60

We use well water that's gone through an iron breaker and water softener to fill. What's best method to reduce calcium hardness as we are noticing some scaling on vinyl liner in 2 corners? I assume this is from our ch levels? Is Scale Free a good product? (as we don't have any other water source available).

 

[reggiehammond]

Your CH is not high. Your Free Chlorine, however, is low and needs to be addressed ASAP.

 

[mmesqc1578]

Your CH is not high. Your Free Chlorine, however, is low and needs to be addressed ASAP.

I do have a salt cell. My gli liner says to maintain FC from 1.5 to 2.5 ppm. Is this incorrect? What could scaling be from then? I use taylor test kit. Ch could be higher bc I stopped when sample turned dark purple/blue and not solid blue.... could be more in 400s.

 

[reggiehammond]

The cornerstone of the TFP method is the FC/CYA chart.

The Free Chlorine and Cyanuric Acid Relationship

Managing your cyanuric acid and Free Chlorine levels is key to stabilizing your pool. Learn how these two items affect each other.

www.troublefreepool.com

The pool industry as a whole fundamentally misunderstands/ignores the buffer effect that CYA provides. Your liner FC level is likely at 0 CYA, which no one has ever followed, or even could given the UV demand on unstabilized chlorine.

Post some photos of your issue and someone will be along to help.

 

[setsailsoon]

ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

 

[setsailsoon]

M,

The most important thing you can do is maintain TFP recommended range and try to keep your CSI slightly negative. You can play around with Pool Math to figure out small adjustments within the TFP recommended range to reduce the calculated CSI. Can you send a photo of the scale?

Thanks.

Chris

 

[mmesqc1578]

Thanks all. So I need to get my CYA down from 60 to 40 and chlorine up to 3 to get a better balance. Hard to get a good photo. Slightly above water level can see a faint whitish powdering on vinyl liner. But not all over, only in some spots. I will add we just had concrete poured and pool was very dirty. Almost have it clean. Maybe could be concrete residue? So nobody thinks I should try to lower my CH?

 

[mknauss]

If you are exclusively filling the pool from a water softener, the CH level will decrease with rain overflow, splashout, etc.

That level of CH should not be an issue.

Just follow the FC/CYA Levels for your CYA.

 

[mmesqc1578]

Ok will do. Is my off balance fc/cya also why my ph tends to rise? I checked yesterday and was 7.6, now it's 7.8. Is a salt pool better balanced with a lower ta?

 

[mknauss]

. Is my off balance fc/cya also why my ph tends to rise?

Aeration and elevated TA causes pH to rise. Manage pH in the 7's and the TA will fall. If your fill water is low in TA, then the pH and TA will stabilize.

 

[setsailsoon]

Ok will do. Is my off balance fc/cya also why my ph tends to rise? I checked yesterday and was 7.6, now it's 7.8. Is a salt pool better balanced with a lower ta?

M,

I found that running TA closer to 50 definitely made pH control easier.

Chris

 

[reggiehammond]

Thanks all. So I need to get my CYA down from 60 to 40 and chlorine up to 3 to get a better balance. Hard to get a good photo. Slightly above water level can see a faint whitish powdering on vinyl liner. But not all over, only in some spots. I will add we just had concrete poured and pool was very dirty. Almost have it clean. Maybe could be concrete residue? So nobody thinks I should try to lower my CH?

I’d get chlorine above 3, perhaps target 5-6 for peace of mind.

 

[mmesqc1578]

I’d get chlorine above 3, perhaps target 5-6 for peace of mind.

Thanks. I increased my SWG to 40%. Pump runs 24 hr. We have been keeping water pretty warm at 80 to 84 degrees. When I checked this morning FC was at 2.0 with SWG 20%. Do you think increasing only to 40% will be enough of a boost to get to 3 ppm?

 

[setsailsoon]

m,

Use Pool Math under "effects of adding" menu choice when you press the button top left. Then select "swg" then press the hour glass to select your brand and model. Fill out the pool size and other settings to estimate your FC addition per day. For your settings I get 2.7 ppm per day which is probably barely enough this time of year to offset UV burn off. To raise the level set at 100 % for a day then drop back to 40 %. You can run a couple ppm above target. This way you never cycle below minimum. FC consumption cycles with cloud cover, pool use, rain etc. If you can't maintain your FC level after this you may want to try an OCLT test to be sure you don't have algae.

I hope this is helpful.

Chris

 

[mmesqc1578]

Thanks. Woke up today and fc is at 2.4. Had swg on 40% (saw your message too late). Since my fc was down a few days I'm wondering now if the "dirt/dust" at deep end crevices of pool could be algae?? We have been swimming in it daily. I vacuum, it clears and then reappears later. We did have our concrete deck done 5 days ago so always thought dust. We are having people swim today in 5 hours. Should I SLAM? Water looks clear otherwise.

Fc 2.4
Ph 7.4
Ta 100
Cya 45
Ch 350

 

[mmesqc1578]

At 830am I turned up my swg to 100%. I want to do an OCLT test to rule out algae. Assuming my fc jumps to 4 or more, Is it ok to turn down my swg this evening x hours before I do my FC sample after dusk? Then I will test again in morning .

 

[reggiehammond]

At 830am I turned up my swg to 100%. I want to do an OCLT test to rule out algae. Assuming my fc jumps to 4 or more, Is it ok to turn down my swg this evening x hours before I do my FC sample after dusk? Then I will test again in morning .

Run it 100% for a couple of days; get your level up above 5, at least. Then you can do an OCLT

 

[mmesqc1578]

Will do. Part of my reason for keeping fc low is because my heater says not to exceed 5ppm. Is this something to be followed precisely?

 

[reggiehammond]

No, again, the chlorine is buffered by the CyA.
I recommend reading TFP’s pool school, and the ABC’s of water chemistry ASAP.

 

[mmesqc1578]

Thanks. I reviewed it again and see the cya and fc must be balanced. I didn't realize before that it buffers the fc. I see that in the cya article. My cya is probably at 50 if I round up.. I have an autocover, does this mean my cya can be kept lower or I should still aim for between 70 to 90? I plan to close the pool in next two weeks if I can get everything balanced correctly and rid the supposed algae. Should I try to raise my cya to 70? I can put some in my skimmers tonite while running swg 100%. Or focus only on getting to the oclt for now?