Low CH Skewing CSI Results

[loveSaturday]

Hi I’ve been using Pool Math for a week now and have a question regarding CSI.

Today’s results as follows:

FC 8
CC .5
PH 8
TA 90
CYA 70
CH 50
Salt 3400
Temp 85F
CSI -.55

I just added 8oz 31.45 Muriatic Acid and expect TA and PH to come down a tad, but that’s going to put my CSI out of range.

If I plug in 250 for CH my CSI looks fantastic, but not true because CH is 50 and we were advised not to worry about CH in our fiberglass pool.

Does this mean when my pool is well balanced for everything else that I’ll never have a good CSI, or is there something else I should be doing?

Happy Sunday!

 

[mknauss]

Why are you concerned with low CSI? No issue for the fiberglass or the SWCG.

 

[JamesW]

Review your warranty.

The manufacturer might have specific requirements if you have a surface quality issue.

The first thing they will do if you file a surface finish warranty claim is to test the water chemistry and compare it to the stated requirements.

If the measurements are outside the specifications, they can, and probably will, use that as a reason/excuse to deny warranty claims regardless of if the chemistry actually contributed to the issue.

 

[loveSaturday]

Why are you concerned with low CSI? No issue for the fiberglass or the SWCG.

Because it’s something reported on the calculator. I didn’t know I shouldn’t be concerned about it with fiberglass. Good to know, thanks!

Review your warranty.

The manufacturer might have specific requirements if you have a surface quality issue.

The first thing they will do if you file a surface finish warranty claim is to test the water chemistry and compare it to the stated requirements.

If the measurements are outside the specifications, they can, and probably will, use that as a reason/excuse to deny warranty claims regardless of if the chemistry actually contributed to the issue.

Thanks, Imagine Pools says we need 80-120 per terms of warranty. Working towards getting it to 80.

Sounds like I don’t need to worry about CSI. I’m all good now, thanks!

 

[JamesW]

Calcium Calcium naturally occurs in water. Different areas of the country have higher and lower levels of calcium in the water. The higher the calcium concentration in the water, the more prone the water is to calcium leeching. When the pH is maintained between 7.2 and7.4, the calcium is balanced in the water.

Calcium levels must be maintained between 80 and 120 parts per million and the terms of the Warranty require you to maintain this level.

When the pH rises above 7.4, calcium begins to leech out of the water and cling to the Product surface. The higher the pH is allowed to go, the more pronounced the calcification can become.
Obviously, the problem occurs more often in areas with higher natural concentrations of calcium in the water (also known as hardwater).All that is required for calcium to fall out of balance creating a layer of scale is a pH above 7.4 and calcium hardness over 120parts per million. The higher the levels, the more pronounced the problem will be. Many guidelines being used in the industry for adding calcium to water are based on concrete pool guidelines. There should really be only limited reasons whyyou should add calcium chloride to your water for an ImaginePools Product.

https://imaginepools.com/warranty/Imagine-Pools-Product-Handbook-10-2022.pdf

15. failure to maintain a monthly written record of the water levels, including the levels of chlorine, free chlorine, pH, total
alkalinity and calcium hardness (with calcium hardness to be tested by a pool shop at least every 6 months);
16. failure to maintain the pH level of the water between 7.2 and 7.4, the total alkalinity level between 80 to 120 parts per
million, the calcium level between 80 and 120 parts per million (for claims under a Product’s surface limited warranty), and/or the
free chlorine level between 1 and 3 parts per million;

https://imaginepools.com/warranty/Imagine-Pools-Limited-Warranty-5-2023.pdf

11. failure to maintain a monthly written record of the water levels, including the levels of chlorine, free chlorine, pH, total alkalinity and calcium hardness (with calcium hardness to be tested by a pool shop at least every 6 months);

https://imaginepools.com/warranty/Imagine-Pools-Limited-Warranty-4-2020.pdf

 

[loveSaturday]

16. failure to maintain the pH level of the water between 7.2 and 7.4, the total alkalinity level between 80 to 120 parts per
million, the calcium level between 80 and 120 parts per million (for claims under a Product’s surface limited warranty), and/or the
free chlorine level between 1 and 3 parts per million;

We have really low calcium in our water. Yesterday I actually tested the water from the hose we use to top up our pool and got these results…

HOSE WATER:
TA 170
PH 8 (+maybe)
CH 10 (step 2 was purple, never red)
FC 2
CC .5

I’ll work on keeping PH at 7.4 and getting calcium up to 80 for the warranty, but how am I supposed to keep FC between 1-3 when I should follow the FC/CYA chart that shows I should keep CYA at min 60 which has a target FC starting at 4?

I just got out of the pool and my water always been clear looking, but today it looked especially clear & pretty TFP for the win!

 

[JamesW]

11. failure to maintain a monthly written record of the water levels, including the levels of chlorine, free chlorine, pH, total alkalinity and calcium hardness (with calcium hardness to be tested by a pool shop at least every 6 months);

The calcium hardness is the only parameter required to be tested by a shop.

Make sure that all readings are within spec for test day or have the shop only test calcium hardness.

The rest of the readings are based on your written records.

The different levels from different sources are not compatible, so you have to figure out how to navigate that on your own.

 

[loveSaturday]

Good advice, thank you.

The pool shop, who is also our pool builder, is who said not to worry about calcium when they tested it at 40 and I asked if I should add an increaser. We take our water in once a month and I’ll be sure ito have it within the warranty specs, although they gave us a “perfect” when our FC was 6.4 in July.

Thanks for your time and knowledge, much appreciated!