Salt and CH question

[Cornhuskerfan]

Here are my latest numbers;

FC- 6
ph- 8.0
TA- 80
CYA- 50
CH- 310
Salt- 3000

Pool Math tells my to add; 2 cups of MA to bring my ph down, 58oz of stabilizer to raise CYA, 66oz of Calcium Chloride (or 125oz of Dilhydrate) to raise CH, and finally 35lbs of salt to increase salt level.

My question is isn't adding 35lbs of salt and 66oz of Calcium Chloride (or 125oz of Calcium Chloride Dilhydrate) counter productive? I currently don't have Calcium Chloride on hand but I'm looking at this product Shop 40-lb Bag of Ice Melt at Lowes.com from Lowe's which is a deicer. Not sure if it's Dilhydrate or not. As a newby it just seems weird to add 35lbs of salt and 5lbs of deicer . Aren't salt and deicer the same thing??

I'm sure it's been asked many times but I couldn't find a thread using the search function. Thanks for helping a newby out!

 

[YippeeSkippy]

No, salt is for the SWG. Calcium is for the plaster.

One could toss salt on to a sidewalk to prevent ice, but it is not the same thing as de-icer which is made of calcium. Do not use the product from Lowes you linked.

Is your SWG asking for more salt?

You do want to up your calcium as your fill water is not high in calcium nor can do you live out west where evaporation causes the calcium to rise on its own. Take it up to 350 using calcium.

Maddie

 

[duraleigh]

PoolMath is only a tool to do the math. It doesn't really "fix" any chemistry for you. You must learn the ranges in which you can manage your pool water and then apply those ranges to your test results.

In short, the only item you have out of range is your pH. Add the 16 oz of muriatic acid and go swimming......you are OK everywhere else

 

[Cornhuskerfan]

YippySkippy, thanks for the explanation on salt and deicer. I will find some calcium hardness at the local big box store and add some. Regarding the question "is your SWG asking for more salt", I really don't know but the system check light is on and states to check cell. That, I assume, either means I need to clean the cell or add salt since it has dropped quickly (3300-3000) the past couple of day's due to 8 inches of rain and draining the pool off..?

duraleigh, appreciate the help. I understand PoolMath just gives me a tool to keep the chemistry within the recommended TFP ranges. What I'm having trouble trying to comprehend is what do you mean by "applying the ranges to my test results"? With my current numbers, and knowing the recommended TFP ranges, "applying the ranges to my test results" would say to me that I need to lower ph, increase CYA, CH and salt..?

Thank you both, will stand by for further advice

 

[ajw22]

duraleigh, appreciate the help. I understand PoolMath just gives me a tool to keep the chemistry within the recommended TFP ranges. What I'm having trouble trying to comprehend is what do you mean by "applying the ranges to my test results"? With my current numbers, and knowing the recommended TFP ranges, "applying the ranges to my test results" would say to me that I need to lower ph, increase CYA, CH and salt..?

Thank you both, will stand by for further advice

Perfect is the enemy of good enough. Your CYA, CH, and salt are at the low end of the range and good enough. You can tinker with the pool water like a mad scientist or monitor the pool and go swim and enjoy it.

If you up your CYA then you probably need to up your SWG % output or pump runtime.

Right now your chemistry is in balance OTHER THEN your PH.

 

[pooldv]

More info here about water balance for saltwater pools and pool chems and what they do.

Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals

Pool School - Water Balance for SWGs

 

[duraleigh]

With my current numbers, and knowing the recommended TFP ranges, "applying the ranges to my test results" would say to me that I need to lower ph, increase CYA, CH and salt..?

ajw22 provides a good explanation above. To give an example, if the TFP suggested range is 250-400 for CH and your CH is 250, you then determine that you are "in the range" of acceptable and you leave CH alone.