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H20 101. “It was clear just yesterday!”. “My pool looks like a swamp”. “Pool chemistry is hard”. “No pool party today”. “This is going to cost a lot to fix”. “I just can’t keep up”. “How did this happen?”. “Why is my water so cloudy”. “Should I just shock it?”.
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Unbalanced Water can result in …. cloudy water
Unbalanced Water can result in …. ineffective sanitizer and oxidizer
Unbalanced Water can result in …. raised chemical costs (time and money)
Unbalanced Water can result in ….corrosiveness I
Unbalanced Water can result in ….equipment problems
Unbalanced Water can result in ….problems for swimmers (red eyes, dry skin and hair, etc.).
Unbalanced Water can result in ….Unhealthy swimming conditions
Balanced Water Promotes …. Healthy, clear, clean water and increases bather comfort and enjoyment while keeping your maintenance costs down.
Water testing – Reagents and test blocks • Start with a good fresh sample of pool water taken at elbow’s length deep water away from the skimmer or returns. Use only clean bottles for transporting the water sample. • Make sure to hold all vials straight up so that all drops are the same size. • Use stoppers for test blocks and do not allow fingers to contaminate the water sample. • Rinse test blocks after each test with sample water. • Dispose of expired reagents. You will not get accurate readings with deteriorated reagents.
Water testing – Test strips • Start with a good fresh sample of pool water taken at elbow’s length deep water away from the skimmer or returns. Use only clean bottles for transporting the water sample. • Follow the directions that came with the kit. • Keep wet fingers out of the bottle. • Store test strips in a low humidity environment at room temperature. Keep the cap on tight between uses. • Dispose of expired test strips. Using test strips after the expiration date will lead to inaccurate results.
Calculating pool water volume • Rectangle • Length x width x average pool depth x 7.5 = volume (in gallons) (7.5 is a fixed number to represent the gallons of water in each cubic foot) • Example: 20 x 40 rectangle pool with a 3 ft shallow end and 9 ft deep end • L (40) x W (20) x 6 (3 + 9 / 2 = 6) x 7.5 = 36,000 gallons • Round or Oval • Length x width x average pool depth x 5.9 = volume (in gallons) (5.9 is a fixed number to represent the gallons of water in each cubic foot) • Example: 16 x 32 oval pool with a 3 ft shallow end and 9 ft deep end • L (32) x W (16) x 6 (3 + 9 / 2 = 6) x 5.9 = 18,125 gallons • FYI… The filter system should have a turn over capacity of 8 hours. • Water circulation is only as good as your filter system. Make sure it is sized correctly and is cleaned regularly. (backwashing sand, cleaning grids & cartridges)
What is involved in Pool Chemistry Sanitizers Oxidizers Balancers (pH, alkalinity, calcium) Algaecides Specialty products
Sanitizers and Oxidizers • Sanitizer Proper Range: The proper range of chlorine is 1-3ppm. This range is an average range for any pool. • Pool sanitization involves a low level of chlorine residual to control bacteria. It is easily maintained while using stabilized chlorine, although it can be done using unstabilized chlorine it is more difficult. • Oxidizing is the “burning up” of organic contaminants introduced to the water by the bather. In oxidizing (or shocking) strong agents are often used, especially simple chlorine compounds such as sodium hypochlorite or calcium hypochlorite (“cal-hypo”). Maintaining a safe concentration of disinfectant is critically important in assuring the safety and health of swimming pool users. When any of these chemicals are used, it is very important to keep the pH of the pool in the range 7.2 to 7.6; higher pH drastically reduces the sanitizing power of the chlorine; with a pH too low the chlorine will become so aggressive it will quickly burn itself out.
Sanitizers and Oxidizers • Trichlor: Trichlor is available in tablet, stick or granular form and usually with an erosion feeder or floater. It has a high Free Available Chlorine (FAC) but a low pH (2.9). Because of this it can lower the pH and Total Alkalinity of the pool water. Trichlor is a stabilized chlorine and will have small amounts of cyanuric acid in it • Dichlor: Dichlor is available in granular form and has a nearly neutral pH of 6.5. Dichlor is a salt and is soluble in water and often used for shocking vinyl lined pools. It is available as a Class 3 oxidizer which is hazardous for storing and as a Class 1 oxidizer which has a lower level of FAC. Dichlor is a stabilized chlorine and will have small amounts of cyanuric acid in it • Sodium Hypochlorite: Widely known as “bleach,” sodium hypochlorite is available in liquid form. It is derived from salt so it has a high dissolved solid content and a pH of 13.0 which will facilitate use of pH minus or Muriatic acid. Sodium hypochlorite is unstabilized and will lose its strength over time.
Sanitizers and Oxidizers • Lithium Hypochlorite: Available in a totally soluble granular form, lithium hypochlorite has a pH of 10.5. The drawbacks to using lithium are the low FAC and the higher cost. Even with these in mind, it is a good shock for vinyl lined and above ground pools. • Calcium Hypochlorite: Available in granular and tablet form, calcium hypochlorite (“cal-hypo”) has a pH of 11.0. It is very popular due to the high FAC and relatively low cost. Cal-Hypo is not totally soluble so it can leave a residue in the pool. • Blended Calcium Hypochlorite: This is a relatively new product, available in totally soluble granular form, which combines Cal-Hypo with Magnesium Sulfate. Magnesium Sulfate adds a silky feeling to the pool and does not detract from the products shelf life. The drawback is that the FAC is lowered to 47%-54%.
Free chlorine, Combined chlorine, Total chlorine • When chlorine is added to water, it. is added as free chlorine, which acts as a disinfectant. • When free chlorine comes into contact with various forms of contaminants, the chlorine is transformed to combined chlorine, also known as chloramines. • Combined chlorine has very little ability to sanitize and oxidize. • Total chlorine is the sum of both free and combined chlorine. • Free Chl + Combined Chl = Total Chl
Cyanuric Acid (CYA) • Definition: Cyanuric Acid is also known as stabilizer and conditioner. Stabilizer is a compound that protects free available chlorine (FAC) from being prematurely burned off by the sun. You could say it is the chlorines’ “sunscreen.” Tri-Chlor and Di-Chlor style chlorines have small amounts of Cyanuric acid in them which make them “stabilized chlorine.” • Proper Range: Although some pool water may not have detrimental effects if the Cyanuric level is over 100ppm... Your customers’ pool will be more easily maintained if the CYA level is around 30ppm but below 100ppm residential. • Low Cyanuric Acid: Lower amounts of stabilizer (<30) will cause chlorine to not be as efficient as it could because it will dissipate before it could be used to its full potential. • High Cyanuric Acid: High Cyanuric Acid levels (>100) can cause less effective chlorine because it can get bound up moving between Cyanuric compounds, very high stabilizer also contributes to pH balancing problems. • This chemical can be very difficult to remove, so do not over dose.
Alternatives – chlorine generators • Salt Chlorination: Your pool water (containing the proper amount of dissolved salt – 3200ppm) enters a “salt cell”. Power is applied to the cell and a low voltage current initiates electrolysis. This electrolysis breaks up the water compound into hydrogen gas and hypochlorous acid. The gas dissolves into the water and the acid sanitizes the pool water. And ultimately reverts back into salt and the process repeats. • Advantages: Comfort of silky soft water without harsh chlorine odor Convenience of not lugging buckets of chemicals Lower maintenance costs • Disadvantages: Salt is naturally corrosive High initial cost of set up
Sanitizers and pH comfort zone 7.2 - 7.6 acidic basic 1 13 3 5 9 11 7 • Trichlor pH is 2.9 • Dichlor pH is 6.5 • Lithium pH is 10.5 • Cal Hypo pH is 11.0 • Liquid chlorine pH is 13.0
pH • pH: This is a reading of the acidity or basicity of a body of water. pH is based on a scale between 0 (acidic) and 14 (base) with 7 being neutral. This scale is a graduated scale so a pH of 8.0 is ten times more base and 6.0 is ten times more acidic than a pH of 7.0. It is adjusted with the use of pH increaser (soda ash) or decreaser (sodium bisulfate or muriatic acid). pH is affected in many different ways, chemicals, rain, swimmers, pool shell, algae, sanitizers, oxidizers, source water, and blown in organics such as leaves and pollen.
comfort zone 7.2 - 7.6 acidic basic 1 13 3 5 9 11 7 • Proper range: 7.2 to 7.6, of pH will ensure bather comfort, clarity, optimum sanitizer efficiency, and protection of anything touched by the water from scale and corrosion. • Low pH: acidic water, lower than 7.0, will corrode items that the acidic water touches including the pool shell and filter media. It also increases the effectiveness of the sanitizer but a byproduct of that is that the sanitizer burns off much quicker. Acidic water corrodes all it touches so the water might contain metals and minerals that will cause stains if the pH is increased too fast. • High pH: base water, higher than 7.8, will scale items that the basic water touches including the pool shell and filter media. High pH water lowers the effectiveness of sanitizers, promotes cloudiness, minerals and metals to drop out of solution, buildup of scale and in certain situations, metal stains.
Total Alkalinity (TA) • Definition: Alkalinity is related to pH. It is a measurement of how well the water is buffered against pH drift. This is a measurement of all the carbonates and other chemicals that contribute to the overall buffering capacity of the water. Total Alkalinity, also known as T.A., has a major role in stabilizing pH in a body of water. When the Total Alkalinity values are within the desired range pH becomes stable and is resistant to change. This is where the pool water needs to be to remain pH consistent. • Proper Range: The proper range of Total Alkalinity in a pool ranges from 80ppm to 150ppm. This range is an average range for any pool. • Low Total Alkalinity: When Alkalinity is low, pH is not stable and can change easily creating an unstable environment for everything the water touches. • High Total Alkalinity: When Alkalinity is high, pH tends to be high as well which leads to all of the detrimental effects of a high pH (scale, cloudiness, sanitizer ineffectiveness, bather discomfort).
Calcium Hardness (CH) • Definition: Calcium Hardness is the amount of dissolved calcium in the body of water. Water seeks out a mineral balance within itself so if the hardness is not in its proper range, water will find it somewhere or keep trying, which can cause all kinds of problems to anything within the pool. • Proper Range: Vinyl pools 175ppm to 400ppm Plaster pools 225ppm to 400ppm Fiberglass pools 300ppm to 400ppm • Low Calcium Hardness: Since water seeks its own balance of minerals low calcium will make the water aggressive. It will attack anything it touches until that mineral need is met. This leads to corrosive water which etches pool surfaces and weakens pools’ equipment and plumbing. • High Calcium Hardness: When the calcium level is over 400ppm, the water will seek to balance itself and deposit its minerals on accessible surfaces resulting in scale deposits.
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) • A measurement of every dissolved item in the pool water. (sweat, pollen even used up pool balancers). And salt is also considered a dissolved solid. So when determining TDS levels in a pool be sure to get the real reading. TDS - Salt = true pool TDS. • Proper Range: TDS can only be as low as the source water, so the proper range is relative. • High Total Dissolved Solids: The higher the TDS the more chemicals, time, and money it will take to maintain a pool. The only way to lower TDS is through fresh fill, dilution is the solution.
Alternatives – Ozone systems • Ozone Systems: Ozone (O3) is a form of oxygen that has one more oxygen atom than the atmospheric oxygen (O2) we breath. An electrical energy is introduced to the O2 molecule and breaks the molecule into two O1 atoms. The free oxygen atoms unite with the other O2 molecules to produce ozone (O1) + (O2) = (O3) The bond created is an unstable and weak bond. Therefor, the extra third oxygen atom easily combines with organic and inorganic molecules and destroys them through oxidation. Thru this “oxidation process” the extra oxygen atom disintegrates and only oxygen (O2) is left behind. And the process repeats itself.
