Hi Everyone,
To preface: the question is how to raise CSI slightly (and further prevent it from dropping / controlling it in general) as the trend seems to be leading to a negative out of range due to unexpected (and maybe temporary) low CH in fill water.
I'll mention that I read many threads about CSI and I get it. But I fear that my low CH fill water is leading me into a bad situation.
So my pool's CH has been in the low 200's [202-215 ppm] recently. At the beginning of the season, it was around 250. I was skeptical with my test kit (usually high CH) so I took a sample today to the pool store (I know... they also tried to sell me Phosphate reducers) and got a reading that was very much in line [219 ppm]. I did buy 15 lbs of the CH Up product just in case but may return it based on your advice.
I tested my fill water's CH a week ago [135 ppm] and today [128 ppm]. It is very strange to me because I usually have CH around 400-500, in the pool at least. I never tested the fill water before but where I live is known to have high CH. I've had a couple of drains in the past few years which may have helped keep things in check and I never really paid too much attention to CH until now. Also, early March this year (refill) with an acid wash (not relevant I guess but just in case. Pool is 9 years old now).
Since the beginning of the season, I've been testing almost every 2-3 days max and my PH has been in the range of 7.5-7.8 and my TA needed a bit of a drop and I got it [123->89]. So I've been watching the CSI in the past few days drop to -0.4 and I am worried about it dropping even further. The reason the CSI dropped is due to the TA drop and because the PH decreased over the past few days to 7.5.
So my big dilemma is: given that my fill water usually has high CH, should I risk raising it manually (CH Up)? What are your experiences with city water CH fluctuations? My alternative is to let PH / TA rise to keep the CSI closer to -0.1 (SWG...). I can also raise each a bit, say 50 ppm for CH and keep PH at 7.8 and TA at 120? But using the app's calculations, it seems that keeping the CH higher will keep the CSI more constant with a wider range of PH. I also just bought enough Borax today to raise it from 30 to 50 which I'm guessing you will tell me to do first?
So my numbers for CSI yesterday (which scared me) were (in order):
PH: 7.5
TA: 87
CH: 214
CYA: 71
Temp: 93
Salt: 3600
Bor: 30
CSI -> -0.40
Fill water:
FC: 0.60
TC: 0.79 (I want to also ask about TC/FC in fill [drinking water!] but let's keep it for later...)
PH: 7.9
TA: 148
CH: 128
CYA: 10
Today's pool reading:
FC: 6.66
TC: 6.75 (also something else I want to ask about but also later...)
PH: 7.6
TA: 89
CH: 205 [pool store 214]
CYA: 69
Temp: 94
Salt: 3600
CSI: -0.29
The pool is uncovered and 90% sun all day. Nothing much falling into it.
Thanks all in advance!
Allen
To preface: the question is how to raise CSI slightly (and further prevent it from dropping / controlling it in general) as the trend seems to be leading to a negative out of range due to unexpected (and maybe temporary) low CH in fill water.
I'll mention that I read many threads about CSI and I get it. But I fear that my low CH fill water is leading me into a bad situation.
So my pool's CH has been in the low 200's [202-215 ppm] recently. At the beginning of the season, it was around 250. I was skeptical with my test kit (usually high CH) so I took a sample today to the pool store (I know... they also tried to sell me Phosphate reducers) and got a reading that was very much in line [219 ppm]. I did buy 15 lbs of the CH Up product just in case but may return it based on your advice.
I tested my fill water's CH a week ago [135 ppm] and today [128 ppm]. It is very strange to me because I usually have CH around 400-500, in the pool at least. I never tested the fill water before but where I live is known to have high CH. I've had a couple of drains in the past few years which may have helped keep things in check and I never really paid too much attention to CH until now. Also, early March this year (refill) with an acid wash (not relevant I guess but just in case. Pool is 9 years old now).
Since the beginning of the season, I've been testing almost every 2-3 days max and my PH has been in the range of 7.5-7.8 and my TA needed a bit of a drop and I got it [123->89]. So I've been watching the CSI in the past few days drop to -0.4 and I am worried about it dropping even further. The reason the CSI dropped is due to the TA drop and because the PH decreased over the past few days to 7.5.
So my big dilemma is: given that my fill water usually has high CH, should I risk raising it manually (CH Up)? What are your experiences with city water CH fluctuations? My alternative is to let PH / TA rise to keep the CSI closer to -0.1 (SWG...). I can also raise each a bit, say 50 ppm for CH and keep PH at 7.8 and TA at 120? But using the app's calculations, it seems that keeping the CH higher will keep the CSI more constant with a wider range of PH. I also just bought enough Borax today to raise it from 30 to 50 which I'm guessing you will tell me to do first?
So my numbers for CSI yesterday (which scared me) were (in order):
PH: 7.5
TA: 87
CH: 214
CYA: 71
Temp: 93
Salt: 3600
Bor: 30
CSI -> -0.40
Fill water:
FC: 0.60
TC: 0.79 (I want to also ask about TC/FC in fill [drinking water!] but let's keep it for later...)
PH: 7.9
TA: 148
CH: 128
CYA: 10
Today's pool reading:
FC: 6.66
TC: 6.75 (also something else I want to ask about but also later...)
PH: 7.6
TA: 89
CH: 205 [pool store 214]
CYA: 69
Temp: 94
Salt: 3600
CSI: -0.29
The pool is uncovered and 90% sun all day. Nothing much falling into it.
Thanks all in advance!
Allen