Quote Originally Posted by wapate View Post
Didn't think about temperature. Now you mention it, his reagents are kept in the back of his truck, exposed to the hot sun all the time.
And there you have it!

FWIW, high TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) in and of itself is not a problem. It is the actual ionic species that make up the TDS that can be problematic. For example, if your TDS is mostly sodium and chloride ions (from use of chlorine as a sanitizer) then they really have not negative impact on your water. On the other hand, if they are cyanurates from continued use of stabilized chlorine, calcium from continued use of cal hypo or from hard fill water, sulfates from use of dry acid and non chlorine shock, and metals such as copper form algaecides or fill water then they can be problematic. Your 'cake icing dribbles' sound like you have had some water balance issues over the years. It is not necessarily a results of the TDS but more likely a result of how well you regulated your pH and what your calcium saturation index was.