For those of you in the southwest that use a water softener for make up

[tanksjeep]

Do you notice a dramatic decrease in CH and scale buildup on tile?

I know that the water is going to be soft but during the regeneration process of the water softener, the calcium is replaced by sodium (salt) on the resin beads and I wonder if this is going to be deposited on the tile instead of calcium as the pool is topped off with the soft water every day. My city water is around 300 ppm so to fill with city water would be fine but because of the evaporation (can be 1/2" a day here), I want to fill with zero ppm (or as close to that as possible) to try and hold that 300 ppm. In one year we can see over 1500 ppm from 300 ppm water because of the evaporation. Some people drain/refill their pool every year.

 

[mknauss]

You are not adding salt, you are adding sodium with a water softener.

Many members here in the SW desert use softened water for make up. It helps with the CH rise. It does not stop the TA rise.

I am surprised by your CH rise. I use Colorado River water also, 250 ppm CH, and get about 16-18 months between a full exchange of water and 800 ppm in the pool water. I have looked at a water softener but our water cost is so low the cost to put in a water softener does not achieve payout.