ECOsmarte blog

Hi Joshua,

Thanks for writing with your questions.

The calcium base that you speak of is probably a hardness increaser – ECOsmarte pools need a minimum hardness level of 300 (ideally 400) to run effectively. Depending on where you live in the country, you may need to use a hardness increaser (Calcium Chloride flakes) to reach this measurement. This is a very important part of your startup. Hardness increaser just goes into the pool (following directions) but requires no bleach afterwards. I believe I have heard that it’s best to use a pool net and trail the flakes through the water in the net for faster dissolving – so they don’t just fall to the bottom and sit there.

You mention a new liner – I am not clear whether you have an above ground pool or in-ground, because both use liners, and they are completely different. If you have an in-ground pool, the liner is a sort of new surface for the pool. The care of this kind of a liner after applied is completely up to the people who install it, and it is best to follow their directions so the liner is optimally applied – this process may involve bleach (I don’t know). There is, however, no need to bleach anything before starting up an ECOsmarte pool. In fact, the less Chlorine in the water the better. We tell people over and over again do not shock the pool!!!

FYI - Pools that have been running salt systems do need to be drained and re-filled before installing ECOsmarte systems because the TDS (Total dissolved Solids) is too high.

The least hazardous way to lower your pH is to use CO2 gas, which is exactly how the best pool system we offer controls the pH (our fully programmable pool with CO2) If you have the fully programmable, it will use CO2 gas to keep the pH of your pool at 6.8. You may still need muriatic acid on rare occasions when environmental factors cause the pH to raise (wind storm, rain, ash from fire), and you need a faster adjustment. Vinegar has never been recommended by ECOsmarte for pH to my knowledge, so I honestly can’t say what it will do in conjunction with an ECOsmarte pool – not advised.

Congratulations on choosing ECOsmarte – you are going to love swimming in your pool. The pool startup directions come with the system. If you need more guidance, you can always call 1-800-ION-SWIM and one of our incredibly knowledgeable and unfailingly helpful phone guys will take good care of you and answer any questions you have.

Wendy:
Regarding C02 useage for PH control, how long does an average canister of C02 last? Do your local dealers refill the cartridges or are you required to find your own source? Additionally, is there any disadvantage to using C02??

Michael,
It will vary in relation to pool size and environmental factors, but in my experience, a 25 lb cannister of CO2 lasts about 3 weeks to a month for a 40K gallon pool. Your local dealers should have a referral to a CO2 supply place in your area, but you (or your pool maintenance person) will need to change out the tanks and take them to be refilled. If you get larger tanks, most supply houses will deliver them, and then they will last longer.
Disadvantages to using CO2? The only one I can think of is the time it takes to change the tanks out and taking them to be refilled. CO2 is far safer than handling Muriatic acid and extremely effective at lowering pH in a completely natural and non-toxic manner.