Yes, soft water. I added soft water just over a year ago when I installed my new pump stand and it completely changed the chemical consumption.
7 Months on a pail of anything???Is the place shut down?
Possibly a leak just above that ran down the outside of the hose???I do have a siphon break in the discharge tube. Honestly still can't figure out how water got back in the pail.
The culprit surely isn't this obvious, is it? Is the water/soap line in your tank above the syphon break hole?