Run around at pool store

[PoolDoc]

We don't have good data on chlorine loss, if you follow the Best Guess chart, at different CYA levels. What seems to be true is, the chlorine loss is similar, regardless of CYA levels. However, at HiC2 levels, you have a much, much larger reservoir of chlorine present, so there's a larger safety factor, if you miss a day or have a pool party. And, at levels around CYA=150 ppm, you can usually dose with chlorine just 1x per week.

[miker1755]

No wonder that I am confused...

On 6-16-12 @ 10:04 am, regarding a bucket test I was told....

3. Bucket test for lime softening:
fill the bucket w/ ~4 gallons of pool water.
add 1 tablespoon of bleach & mix.
add 1 tablespoon of either pH UP (sodium carbonate) OR Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
cover and wait 24 hours
inspect; note results; recover & wait 24 hours
inspect again; report results

In the forum stickys reagarding Alkalinity & Calcium problems it says:
To perform a lime softening test, you'll need the following:
A white 5 gallon bucket.
A 1 gallon or 1/2 gallon clean milk jug or orange juice container (to measure with).
A Taylor K-2006 test kit -- you will need most of the tests in that kit. (Test kit info page)
A jug of plain 6% household bleach.
A box of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (from Walmart)
Lids or towels you can cover to cover the buckets.
A plastic or stainless steel tablespoon measure
A clean household long-handled stainless or plastic cooking spoon
The capability to vacuum to waste. <= This is CRITICAL!

To carry out the test:
Use the gallon or half gallon measure to collect pool water.
Fill the first white bucket with 4 gallons of POOL water.
(Measure by adding 4 measured gallons OR by adding 33 lbs of water to the buckets).
Add 1 tablespoon of bleach, and mix.
Test your POOL water's hardness; round result up to nearest 100 ppm
Add 1 tablespoon of soda ash to bucket for each 100 ppm of hardness, plus one more tablespoon.
Mix thoroughly, and cover.
(The water should turn very cloudy, after you add the soda ash. If it does not, ask us what's going on!)
Inspect after 24 hours, and again after 48 hours for settling.
If mixture does settle, test clear liquid from top for calcium hardness.
10. Verify that sediment is a thin layer that can be vacuumed up.

I am re-conducting a bucket test and am using 5 TBS of A&H Washing Soda but my original test only had 1 TBS....which is correct?
(My CH is at 400, which according to the abbreviations listing is "in range" although clearly at the high end.
Also, is soda ash and sodium carbonate the same? My bucket water is cloudy, that's for sure!

[PoolDoc]

Yeah.

For better, and for worse, PoolForum content is 'in motion'.

I can pretty much guarantee you that those bucket tests will be at least slightly different next year than they are now. You got one of the early, "Hey, we can probably solve problems this way!", before I realized, "Hey, we can solve a BUNCH of problems this way, and I need to write a more careful sticky!"

[miker1755]

So please clarify what the current thinking is and which should I be doing now and the other questions posed previously (soda ash v. sodium carbonate etc.)

[PoolDoc]

The posted sticky is latest and best.