calcium hypo vs. calcium chloride

Hi,

I have a plaster pool which has a low calcium reading according to my recent test. It is at 160 and I need to get it up to between 200-400. I was using some cal hypo that was around 50% calcium, but recently bought some calcium flakes that says minimum 77%. My pool is approx 30,000 gallons. Does anybody know how to calculate how much 1lb of 77% calcium choride is adding to the pool in ppm? My CYA is at 35%, so I am using this as my sanitizer until I get to my 200+ Calcium reading, then bleach. And what is the difference between cal hypo & calcium chloride. BTW, the calc hypo was by ProGuard or something.

thanks,

Steve

You can use The Pool Calculator to calculate dosages.

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Originally Posted by Oclat

Hi,

I have a plaster pool which has a low calcium reading according to my recent test. It is at 160 and I need to get it up to between 200-400. I was using some cal hypo that was around 50% calcium, but recently bought some calcium flakes that says minimum 77%. My pool is approx 30,000 gallons. Does anybody know how to calculate how much 1lb of 77% calcium choride is adding to the pool in ppm? My CYA is at 35%, so I am using this as my sanitizer until I get to my 200+ Calcium reading, then bleach. And what is the difference between cal hypo & calcium chloride. BTW, the calc hypo was by ProGuard or something.

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Cal-Hypo = CaOCl2
Calcium hypochlorite is a chlorine compound (adds both chlorine and calcium)
Increases both Free Chlorine (FC) and Calcium Hardness (CH)

Calcium chloride = CaCl2
Calcium (sometimes potassium chloride is added) to increase Calcium Hardness (CH)

As I thought Calcium Carbonate was the usual calcium increaser I wondered if Calcium Chloride releases its chlorine into the water as well.

As a vinyl pool owner I've only ever used Calcium Hypochlorite as either a convenient shocking agent or in a failed attempt to use the junk HTH tablets as a slow-release method of chlorination.

We were going away and I didn't want the increase in CYA and decrease in acid from tri-chlor tabs. The tabs turned to a clogging paste in my skimmer in less than 12 hours, rather than the 5 days HTH claimed. HTH had stopped making the capsule-enclosed version. (I think PoolLife or someone still makes them).

Thanks for the replies, not sure that pool calculator is works right on the Calcium. I did a set up and entered current level and desired level and got something like .4 oz to add. Try it, something is not right with it or I need to enter more zeros to get the correct amount to add.

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Originally Posted by CarlD

As I thought Calcium Carbonate was the usual calcium increaser I wondered if Calcium Chloride releases its chlorine into the water as well.

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Apparently not. Though don't ask me to explain the chemistry:

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Calcium chloride can serve as a source of calcium ions in a solution; unlike many other calcium compounds, which are insoluble, calcium chloride is able to dissociate.

3 CaCl2 + 2 K3PO4 (aq) → Ca3(PO4)2 (s) + 6 KCl (aq)

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Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium_chloride