Calcium hardness super high - planning to drain this weekend but will be on-going issue

[JenniferMarie90]

You did it?!

No salt will be go to the pool. Salt is released from the softener through the regeneration/flush process.

Yes we did it! I ended up buying an actual not RV softener and plumbed that to the autofill line. Its sitting outside which may not be ideal.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Yes we did it! I ended up buying an actual not RV softener and plumbed that to the autofill line. Its sitting outside which may not be ideal.

That's great, and a good decision. I'm sure you could find some type of an all-weather cover for it.

 

[proavia]

Here's some info on how a water softener works.

Hard Water Can Destroy Plumbing and Damage Your Clothes, So You Might Want a Water Softener

Hard water can destroy plumbing and damage your clothes. But a good water softener system can be your fix.

www.popularmechanics.com

A properly functioning water softener will not add salt to the softener water.

Tell us more about the softener you bought. Post a few pics too.

 

[JenniferMarie90]

hi there! Here is a link to the softener we installed. I'll take some pics today and I saw some weird stuff with my pebblesheen I'll post those pics later too. It was on sale for a lot less than this when I bought it! https://www.lowes.com/pd/A-O-Smith-35000-Grain-Water-Softener-System/5002101387

So I drained my pool last night and filled it today, its almost finished. I'm going to post results below to see if you guys can please assist on startup as last year my PB did that for me except he had the CYA too low so I added more via the sock method. But he added the salt and also used pucks for chlorine until my SWG was ready. I checked my notebook and my Calcium at startup after construction was 350 on 5/11/2021. And then I tested again on 7/2 and it was 500 and on 8/29 it was 675. That seems like a lot to gain each month. I'm worried if my softener will even keep up...

Tests from today 4/22
pH: 7.8
Chlorine: 0
Calcium: 240 (down from over 700) it turned purple but never fully blue.
Total Alkalinity: 150 (when I tested 2 weeks ago it was at 80, in spec.)
CYA: 0
Pool Salt: 0

 

[stevo777]

Calcium: 240 (down from over 700) it turned purple but never fully blue.

This is known as a “fading endpoint”, due to interference of metal ions on the test. There is a procedure, described in Understanding Calcium Hardness
which entails adding a few drops of the calcium reagent before adding the buffer and indicator, and including those drops in the total count when you calculate hardness. My water had the same effect; using this procedure yielded a distinct transition to blue.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

First, turn off your SWG until 24 hours after adding salt.

How confident are you on your pool volume? Did you use the water meter to calculate when you first filled the pool?

Start adding CYA using the sock method. Target 60 ppm for now, test and confirm results.

You'll need to add liquid chlorine until salt dissolves and you get your SWG running. Add enough to raise your FC to 5 ppm. Maintain that level until you get your SWG running. You can use tablets to maintain 5 ppm since you need to increase CYA anyways.

If your showing no salt now, add enough to get you to minimum level as recommended by your SWG manufacturer. Use Pool Math to estimate the amount of salt. Test 24 hours after adding to confirm results. When salt is in range, turn on your SWG.

I pour the salt on my sunshelf with the pump running and agitate with the pool brush until it dissolves. "Pool salt" dissolves faster because it's made up of smaller crystals, but it costs more than regular water softener salt. Any plain water softener salt will work. I use Diamond Crystal Solar Natural water softener salt. It dissolves quickly and is cheap.

pH looks good for now. Don't worry about TA for now. It will come down as you add MA to control pH.

Your CH is where we would expect assuming you did a complete drain/refill.

 

[proavia]

I would built a solid enclosure around the softener. The LAS sun will trash that plastic in one summer. You may be able to find a Rubbermaid or Suncast "shed" it will fit in or you could build something. I don't believe sunscreen material or another way of partially shading it is a long term solution.

Follow Mike's (@Rancho Cost-a-Lotta) suggestions. It's always better to add too little of CYA and salt rather than too much (which would require a partial drain to reduce).
Add the CYA using the sock method and add liquid chlorine to get in target range for a non-SWG pool (it's a non-SWG pool until the SWG is fully functional and dialed in). That target range should be for the CYA level you intent by the stabilizer addition - if CYA target is 60, FC target range is for CYA 60 (regardless if it's all dissolved or not).

On the CH test, try it again and add another few drops to see if the sample turns blue. Purple is not the end point of the test. If you continue to get purple only, follow @stevo777 suggestion on the fading endpoint.

 

[JenniferMarie90]

First, turn off your SWG until 24 hours after adding salt.

How confident are you on your pool volume? Did you use the water meter to calculate when you first filled the pool?

Start adding CYA using the sock method. Target 60 ppm for now, test and confirm results.

You'll need to add liquid chlorine until salt dissolves and you get your SWG running. Add enough to raise your FC to 5 ppm. Maintain that level until you get your SWG running. You can use tablets to maintain 5 ppm since you need to increase CYA anyways.

If your showing no salt now, add enough to get you to minimum level as recommended by your SWG manufacturer. Use Pool Math to estimate the amount of salt. Test 24 hours after adding to confirm results. When salt is in range, turn on your SWG.

I pour the salt on my sunshelf with the pump running and agitate with the pool brush until it dissolves. "Pool salt" dissolves faster because it's made up of smaller crystals, but it costs more than regular water softener salt. Any plain water softener salt will work. I use Diamond Crystal Solar Natural water softener salt. It dissolves quickly and is cheap.

pH looks good for now. Don't worry about TA for now. It will come down as you add MA to control pH.

Your CH is where we would expect assuming you did a complete drain/refill.

Yes I did a complete drain! This is the salt I have left over from last year hopefully it’s ok to use because I have two bags may as well use it. I’m fairly confident in the level! Luckily I have some CYA left from last year I’ll get that going via sock method. Thanks so much.

 

[JenniferMarie90]

This is known as a “fading endpoint”, due to interference of metal ions on the test. There is a procedure, described in Understanding Calcium Hardness
which entails adding a few drops of the calcium reagent before adding the buffer and indicator, and including those drops in the total count when you calculate hardness. My water had the same effect; using this procedure yielded a distinct transition to blue.

Wow I had no idea! Now I’m wondering if my calcium was really as high as I thought this whole time since I think I’ve had the fading end point previously too but it doesn’t say that in my notes so I’m not sure. I tested it using this method and my calcium is actually closer to 225. Hopefully installing the softener was still a good idea whoops lol I’ll test this way from now on.