Draining Pool — Backwash or Pump?

[MugZona]

First, thanks SunnyOptimism for the tips. Second, two questions in this post.

1) When I have the KK at higher speeds (using the Jandy valve to switch between skimmer and the suction port) the pump basket gets lots of bubbles and seems to lose lots of water. This doesn't happen with the KK at moderate speeds. Any ideas what's going on?

2) Because of my high CH, I have to keep my pH around 7.2. However, I have been having to add muriatic frequently (around once a day, to lower it from around 7.5) to do this, despite my TA dropping since the refill. Frequency of muriatic additions may have gone down just a little bit, but not too much. Initially I was concerned about TA being too high, but with these frequent acid additions it could get too low. What should my TA goal be? Here are my latest results:

FC: 4
CC: 0
pH: 7.5
TA: 90
CYA: 40
CH: 500

Thanks!

 

[SunnyOptimism]

1) Are you using the multi-segment hose that came with the KK?

If I run my pump on high speed, I have to adjust my 3-way valve to pull more from the skimmer/drains or else the high flow rates of water cause lots of air to be drawn in from the multi segment hose (they leak like crazy). Also, on high speed, Kreepy will go flying up and over the tile line and suck in lots of air so I don't run him on high.

Lots of air bubbles can be a sign if a suction side leak so make sure all your fittings (those above ground anyway) are sealed. Chances are, your vacuum hose has a leak.

2) your levels seem fine. The TA is on the high end of your range. Considering you live in Tucson (as do I), your CH level is pretty normal. My pool water is only about a year old and I'm already at 450. There's not much you can do about CH except for doing partial drains and/or replacing your water every couple years. RO filtration works but is slow and expensive.

If you want to lessen your MA additions, you might try adding borates to your water to help buffer the pH. You should get your TA down to 70 though before adding borates. I would also suggest using the more expensive boric acid method as opposed to Borax and MA as I would not want the rise in pH attributed to Borax addition to cause calcium scaling. Boric acid is a more expensive route but it will lower your pH when added to water. Either method will add borates which will help you with pH drifts.