When is it too cold to drain?

It's not too cold. I've been here since 1970 and we used to "ice skate" on the school grass when it frosted several times each winter. There are no freezes anymore with all the concrete and asphalt we have now. Are you in north Phoenix or up in Carefree, Cave Creek or Anthem? Were going to be in the low 80s next week. Still, anything close to a freeze won't last more than a couple of hours. The real temp to be concerned with is the high for the day. If you can drain and refill before we get to 90-95 then you're pretty safe. I'm going to drain mine due to the high CH and then switch my autofill to soft water so I don't have to do it again. While it's drained I am going to replace some pop up heads and then after the water change I will put my new SWG in.
 
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How are you dealing with the scaling?

HOneslty right now Im not. I have a bottle of ScaleTec I was gonna dump when I got my checms under control. But Im reaing mixed reviews and some say its snake oil. I tested my fill and its 400 hardness. I have a water softner and inside water is 50. Any siuggestions on scaling? I have jsut been pumicing the ring. Had pools in last 3 homes and this is first time things got so out of whack. I suspect it was the guess sticks telling me my Alk was really low and me dripping a bunch (like 20 lbs) of baking soda in. That and me using shock this summer to fight algae instaed of liquid.
 
Also as far as the Calcium buildup It came fast but I didnt let it last too long so its basically a ring worund water line and a haze on tiles where the water flows from hot tub to pool. Cant really see any buildup on pebbletech or anything.
 
Fill out your signature with pool, all pool equipment (include manufacturers and model numbers) and test kit info.
This assists us in providing you help without needing to ask you each time for this important information.

Do a complete drain and refill. Hose down the pool walls as you are draining.
Is your water softener plumbed to your autofill? You refill the pool using unsoftened water and use softened water for the autofill to help control CH increase due to evaporation.

Consider getting yourself a Speed Stir or other electronic stirring device for testing.
For PHX, your reported fill water CH of 400 ppm is suspect. Should be around 200-250 on city water.
With our high evaporation rate, you will evaporate 1 to 2 times your 10k pool volume every year. That means that your CH will increase by 1 to 2 times your fill water CH every year. With a fill water CH of 400, you will be doing a drain/refill every spring (unless your autofill is using soft water).

Are you in PHX proper or one of the 'burbs?
What is your water source (city, well, etc)?
 
Fill out your signature with pool, all pool equipment (include manufacturers and model numbers) and test kit info.
This assists us in providing you help without needing to ask you each time for this important information.

Do a complete drain and refill. Hose down the pool walls as you are draining.
Is your water softener plumbed to your autofill? You refill the pool using unsoftened water and use softened water for the autofill to help control CH increase due to evaporation.

Consider getting yourself a Speed Stir or other electronic stirring device for testing.
For PHX, your reported fill water CH of 400 ppm is suspect. Should be around 200-250 on city water.
With our high evaporation rate, you will evaporate 1 to 2 times your 10k pool volume every year. That means that your CH will increase by 1 to 2 times your fill water CH every year. With a fill water CH of 400, you will be doing a drain/refill every spring (unless your autofill is using soft water).

Are you in PHX proper or one of the 'burbs?
What is your water source (city, well, etc)?
Maricopa. Fill is not plumbed to water softner.
 
Change your account details to reflect Maricopa AZ

Double check the CH of the fill water again.
Dispense the reagent at a rate of 1 drop per second.
Continue adding drops until the last drop doesn't change the color any further and then subtract the last drop.

If your fill water is really CH 400, you will likely need to drain/refill yearly - unless you plumb the autofill to softened water. Any chance there is an outside wall that has a sink or other water on the inside? How easy would it be to run piping from your water softener to the autofill?

Don't forget about completing your signature.
 
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