RiverbendPoolSupply.com - Todd's Blog - Episode 67

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas as well as a happy and safe New Year. It is chilly outside indeed. I came to check on the basic chemicals and to make sure I have a small chlorine residual.
Free Chlorine - .2 PPM
Total Chlorine - .2 PPM
Very little and there was no tablet left in the feeder so I went ahead an added one. During the winter months people either shock the pool every couple of weeks or keep one tablet in the feeder for several weeks to a month. Very, very little chlorine is needed to keep the pool clean; especially when using minerals and enzymes.
PH - 8.0
I did an acid demand test and had to add 13.6 ounces of muriatic acid. This will bring the PH back to 7.2
Total Alkalinity - 50 PPM
This is low, but given all the other measurements my Saturation Index is -.07 which is near perfect. I am not going to adjust the alkalinity until the beginning of the season.
Calcium Hardness - 300 PPM
This is perfect.
Cyanuric Acid - 20 PPM
This is a bit low. I need between 30 and 50, but will not add any until the beginning of the season, most likely end of march or beginning of April.
Phosphate - 300 PPB
That is a normal rate of Phosphates, especially given the rain we've had recently and the fact that we just added tap water to refill the pool.
Borate - 70 PPM
Still good on our borate levels. I will probably add about a ten pound booster dose in March. Adding the 10 pound booster of SupremePLUS will raise both the borates and the alkalinity.
I checked to see if adding ScaleTec has made a difference in the past two weeks. There is some noticeable improvement but it is not dramatic. The scale in this pool is very old and it will probably take much more time for the ScaleTec to work properly.
Until next week, Happy New Year.