Well here we go! 1st day of SLAM

[Coach_1]

So my TA is high and my CH is low.
TA = 150
CH = 150
Poolmath is saying to add 489 oz of calcium chloride or 647 oz of calcium chloride

Which do you recommend?

 

[Richard320]

So my TA is high and my CH is low.
TA = 150
CH = 150
Poolmath is saying to add 489 oz of calcium chloride or 647 oz of calcium chloride

Which do you recommend?

Get a couple empty barrels and come get some of my pool water. That'll boost your CH!

I would say whichever is cheapest and/or easiest to acquire. It's the wrong time of year to find ice-melt but maybe the local stores still have some in the back or can get it from the warehouse. Otherwise, it's the pool store. I have never ever needed to add CH and I doubt I ever will so that's the best I can tell you. I have no clue if calcium chloride or calcium chloride dihydrate is better than the other for some reason.

 

[Coach_1]

Did you really say ice melt? Like the stuff you put in the driveway and sidewalks?

 

[Mr Bruce]

Yes, but with no additives. Sometimes they have metal in them as well. I don't think you are going to have any luck finding some anyway, based on your location and the current season.

What is your CSI? If it's low your best bet would be to go to Lowes/HD and get their Hardness Increaser ($$$) and/or switch to Cal-Hypo for awhile. Each 1lb bag will add about 1.5CH so it'll take a while to get any big gain. You will probably want to boost with calcium chloride first if you decide to use Cal-Hypo.

Play with the pool calculator a bit to see what gets you into a CSI over -0.6

 

[Coach_1]

Here are the numbers as of 15 minutes ago and tested everything twice just to make sure I didn’t make a mistake. CYA was between 30-40 so that’s why I put 35.
Don’t have a Lowe’s/hd in town so I’ll have to go to the dreaded pool store for calcium. Gonna have them run a test just for the heck of it and see if there’s any unwanted metals or anything lurking around.

 

[Richard320]

Here are the numbers as of 15 minutes ago and tested everything twice just to make sure I didn’t make a mistake. CYA was between 30-40 so that’s why I put 35.
Don’t have a Lowe’s/hd in town so I’ll have to go to the dreaded pool store for calcium. Gonna have them run a test just for the heck of it and see if there’s any unwanted metals or anything lurking around.

What about Home Depot? Walmart? Ace Hardware?

I just plugged numbers in and your CSI is good, thanks to the high TA. There's no hurry to get the Calcium. See what you can get online. A couple days shipping (or ship-to-store) won't hurt anything. You could even aim low on the CH and chlorinate with Cal-hypo to bring things up. A 25 lb bucket of 73% Cal hypo will add 52 CH as it adds 72 FC. That's like a month's worth of chlorine!

 

[Coach_1]

Isn’t Cal-hypo basically the “shock” that Walmart sells? I’ll try and track down some cal-hypo this weekend

 

[Richard320]

Isn’t Cal-hypo basically the “shock” that Walmart sells? I’ll try and track down some cal-hypo this weekend

That's one of many dry chlorine products sold as "shock" There's even some non-chlorine "shock" out there. Read the label. Poolmath can give you the dose for whatever strength you end up with, same as with bleach.

 

[Coach_1]

So I’ve been cleaning up the little spots and imperfections and when I was cleaning the tile at the waterline is has this rough white residue. Would it be safe to use a pumice stone on the tile only? Also what is causing that? My CH is low nd I’m trying to get it in the correct level. It’s like a salt type of texture.

 

[Richard320]

So I’ve been cleaning up the little spots and imperfections and when I was cleaning the tile at the waterline is has this rough white residue. Would it be safe to use a pumice stone on the tile only? Also what is causing that? My CH is low nd I’m trying to get it in the correct level. It’s like a salt type of texture.

Yep. And it will sound awful. Worse than squealing chalk on a chalkboard. But surprisingly, the tile won;t be all full of gouges and scrapes. Your pool will be filled with pumice dust, though.

That sort of work is best attacked from in the pool, seated on an inflatable or a pool noodle, so you just move yourself along with one hand and scrub with the other.


Just so you know, that waterline is caused by evaporation.

 

[Coach_1]

Yeah good idea on doing it from Indy the pool. It will definitely save the knees. Will the dust clear up quickly?

 

[Richard320]

Yeah good idea on doing it from Indy the pool. It will definitely save the knees. Will the dust clear up quickly?

The dust will fall to the floor so you can vacuum, it up. Pumice stones float. Pumice dust sinks like sand.