I recently did a partial drain and refill to get my 100+ cya levels down to a manageable level. Been using mostly bleach and cal hypo as main sources of Chlorine since then.
Current numbers:
FC 4.2
CC 0
pH 7.5 - 7.6
TA 40
CH 270
CYA 30 (or maybe even less)
Here's the thing. After the drain I had a higher TA of around 75-80 and had a heck of a time keeping the pH in the 7.4-7.5 range I like. It really rose high and wanted to hang around 7.8 - over 8. I was using a ton of MA. I have added no baking soda since the drain and the TA has come down naturally. I notice now that the pH does not want to climb as much, as is expected with a lower TA (any other factor may be the reason post drain?). In fact I haven't added MA in over a week, maybe 2, so to go out there and see a 7.5-7.6 pH is awesome.
I realize that with my current numbers my CYA is a little low, but I'm hesitant to raise again because the sanitation appears fine and WOW, my chlorine doesn't drop very fast at all in these low CYA levels the way it used to at higher cya levels (opposite of what you would expect since cya is supposed to be a sunscreen for chlorine - weird). Also I realize the CSI is etching with these numbers and TA numbers seem to effect on CSI more than anything else, next to pH. I realize I can up my calcium level, but that only has a small impact on CSI compared to TA.
QUESTIONS:
1) Is 40 TA simply too low, and other than CSI what are the possible side effects of TA that low?
2) I'm dealing with some stains that I identified as iron, mostly in the shallow but now I'm seeing them in the deep end too. Could the etching CSI be contributing to that?
3) How important is it to keep cya at 30 or more, is 20 ever ok? I live under the strong Hawaiian sun, but we're in our gloomy weather winter time, so it's not as blazing.
Current numbers:
FC 4.2
CC 0
pH 7.5 - 7.6
TA 40
CH 270
CYA 30 (or maybe even less)
Here's the thing. After the drain I had a higher TA of around 75-80 and had a heck of a time keeping the pH in the 7.4-7.5 range I like. It really rose high and wanted to hang around 7.8 - over 8. I was using a ton of MA. I have added no baking soda since the drain and the TA has come down naturally. I notice now that the pH does not want to climb as much, as is expected with a lower TA (any other factor may be the reason post drain?). In fact I haven't added MA in over a week, maybe 2, so to go out there and see a 7.5-7.6 pH is awesome.
I realize that with my current numbers my CYA is a little low, but I'm hesitant to raise again because the sanitation appears fine and WOW, my chlorine doesn't drop very fast at all in these low CYA levels the way it used to at higher cya levels (opposite of what you would expect since cya is supposed to be a sunscreen for chlorine - weird). Also I realize the CSI is etching with these numbers and TA numbers seem to effect on CSI more than anything else, next to pH. I realize I can up my calcium level, but that only has a small impact on CSI compared to TA.
QUESTIONS:
1) Is 40 TA simply too low, and other than CSI what are the possible side effects of TA that low?
2) I'm dealing with some stains that I identified as iron, mostly in the shallow but now I'm seeing them in the deep end too. Could the etching CSI be contributing to that?
3) How important is it to keep cya at 30 or more, is 20 ever ok? I live under the strong Hawaiian sun, but we're in our gloomy weather winter time, so it's not as blazing.
