What tests do you do in your swimming pool
What tests do you do in your swimming pool
I would like to get a feel for what other pool owners check for in their pool. What tests do you do and how often, what do you test with? Do you record the results? Do you publish them for your guests?
The standard test is for chlorine level and ph level and all kits will give you the ideal levels. However the world of pools is much deeper that that!
I have become a minor expert on pools (9 years & 2 pools).
More complicated kits give you readings for things such as alkalinity and cyanuric acid - all of which you ignore at your peril!
Alkalinity and cyanuric acid change by a kind of accumulative effect that becomes a problem over time.
If you're starting out, with reasonable water, you should concentrate firstly on the ph level. If this isn't bang on you can't trust any other reading. If your ph is high you need to get it down - use hydrochloric acid for this. There are lots of rather expensive brand name 'ph reducers' but they're just good old hydrochloric acid dicky' ed up to cost you more. Personally I buy (from my local pool supplier) 5 gallon containers of H. acid. I lay this container on its side on the edge of the pool and open it slightly so that it slowly drips into the pool (filters running)....pure magic. Much better than chucking a load in at one time. NEVER NEVER USE 'PH INCREASERS. If your ph is too low just leave it to work it out itself.
Once your ph level is good then look at your chlorine (as per kit test). It should always be at least at the ideal level. Personally I keep it a little high especially when guests in situ. No harm done if it's a little high (if it's madly high then blondes will turn green haired - tomato ketchup cures this but not recommended for guests...lol!)
If you keep these 2 levels accurate then you shouldn't have too many problems.
Of course, you should make sure that your filters are running for the right amount of time thru' the day and night. This depends on the volume of your pool, usage etc.
My pools are sparkling and immaculate but it takes work and experience.
I'm happy to help further if you need it.
Oh.....and I would never dream of involving my guests in the CHEMICAL levels in their pool.....just present a sparkling clean pool and they're happy!
I have become a minor expert on pools (9 years & 2 pools).
More complicated kits give you readings for things such as alkalinity and cyanuric acid - all of which you ignore at your peril!
Alkalinity and cyanuric acid change by a kind of accumulative effect that becomes a problem over time.
If you're starting out, with reasonable water, you should concentrate firstly on the ph level. If this isn't bang on you can't trust any other reading. If your ph is high you need to get it down - use hydrochloric acid for this. There are lots of rather expensive brand name 'ph reducers' but they're just good old hydrochloric acid dicky' ed up to cost you more. Personally I buy (from my local pool supplier) 5 gallon containers of H. acid. I lay this container on its side on the edge of the pool and open it slightly so that it slowly drips into the pool (filters running)....pure magic. Much better than chucking a load in at one time. NEVER NEVER USE 'PH INCREASERS. If your ph is too low just leave it to work it out itself.
Once your ph level is good then look at your chlorine (as per kit test). It should always be at least at the ideal level. Personally I keep it a little high especially when guests in situ. No harm done if it's a little high (if it's madly high then blondes will turn green haired - tomato ketchup cures this but not recommended for guests...lol!)
If you keep these 2 levels accurate then you shouldn't have too many problems.
Of course, you should make sure that your filters are running for the right amount of time thru' the day and night. This depends on the volume of your pool, usage etc.
My pools are sparkling and immaculate but it takes work and experience.
I'm happy to help further if you need it.
Oh.....and I would never dream of involving my guests in the CHEMICAL levels in their pool.....just present a sparkling clean pool and they're happy!
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The Olive Grove
- Posts: 750
- Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2007 2:19 pm
Agree with all that has been said above. After spending 3 weeks, with the help of www.troublefreepool.com getting rid of algae in our pool, we are a whole hearted convert to liquid chlorine. Both dichlore and trichlore contain cyanuric acid, which does not disappear in the same way chlorine does.
The cyanuric acid level I agree is critical, and many test kits don't even measure it! I strongly advise a visit to the above web site. If nothing else it will scare you silly into making sure you maintain your pool to a high standard.
The cyanuric acid level I agree is critical, and many test kits don't even measure it! I strongly advise a visit to the above web site. If nothing else it will scare you silly into making sure you maintain your pool to a high standard.
Thanks for those replies brendan and Olive Grove - useful information.
The reason that I asked the question is that I put in my pool just over a year ago and have declared it as a public pool, which means that I am supposed to be monitored monthly by the DDASS (direction départementale des Affaires sanitaires et sociales) who are responsible for checking all water in France (municipal swimming pools, lakes, rivers and drinking water). I have spoken with them on a number of occasions and the truth is that they are really not interested in me - with a maximum of 27 guests here at any one time, it's too small a concern for them.
I followed all the regulations for a public pool when building my set up - which in hindsight is overkill - however it does make my life easier now. Automatic continual monitoring of the water and dosing of liquid chlorine and acid to keep the levels correct.
I maintain a book recommended by the DDASS, where I am supposed to take 2-3 readings of water quality per day and not the number of swimmers and replace 30 ltrs of water per bather - all rather overkill, IMO.
I have a very expensive water analyser and check chlorine DPD1 and DPD3 in order to find the chloramine level (which is the key indicator to the DDASS of any problems).
Olive Grove, is this the first year of using liquid chlorine? I found that in the summer I was using vast quantities of chlorine that was costing a fortune (50+ € per month), so added a stabliser, measured by cyanuric acid, which helps reduce the evaporation.
I started this post because I wanted to know what non-declared owners did - I am sure I am doing too much, and now that I am fairly sure that I will not be inspected, want to bring my testings to a more reasonable level. Their guidelines are setup to deal with municipal pools dealing with hundreds of bathers per day, which is clearly not my case!
The reason that I asked the question is that I put in my pool just over a year ago and have declared it as a public pool, which means that I am supposed to be monitored monthly by the DDASS (direction départementale des Affaires sanitaires et sociales) who are responsible for checking all water in France (municipal swimming pools, lakes, rivers and drinking water). I have spoken with them on a number of occasions and the truth is that they are really not interested in me - with a maximum of 27 guests here at any one time, it's too small a concern for them.
I followed all the regulations for a public pool when building my set up - which in hindsight is overkill - however it does make my life easier now. Automatic continual monitoring of the water and dosing of liquid chlorine and acid to keep the levels correct.
I maintain a book recommended by the DDASS, where I am supposed to take 2-3 readings of water quality per day and not the number of swimmers and replace 30 ltrs of water per bather - all rather overkill, IMO.
I have a very expensive water analyser and check chlorine DPD1 and DPD3 in order to find the chloramine level (which is the key indicator to the DDASS of any problems).
Olive Grove, is this the first year of using liquid chlorine? I found that in the summer I was using vast quantities of chlorine that was costing a fortune (50+ € per month), so added a stabliser, measured by cyanuric acid, which helps reduce the evaporation.
I started this post because I wanted to know what non-declared owners did - I am sure I am doing too much, and now that I am fairly sure that I will not be inspected, want to bring my testings to a more reasonable level. Their guidelines are setup to deal with municipal pools dealing with hundreds of bathers per day, which is clearly not my case!
Liquid chlorine disappears very rapidly especially in sunshine and will be all but useless unless a kind of binding agent is used which is where cyanuric acid comes in. It's built in to the tablets of the 4 in one or 5 in one kind that we buy by the bucket load.
After time (usually a couple of years but it does depend on local conditions) you'll find that your chlorine levels are all over the shop and you can't get it right. Eventually you'll discover that your cyanuric acid levels are sky high. This, in effect, prevents the chlorine from doing its job. The fast way to reduce your cyanuric acid to acceptable levels is to empty the pool and start again. For many, that's not an option. So, start using liquid chlorine and keep using until the cyanuric acid has been reduced to an ideal level. This can take months. Then it's back to the tablets with the built in cyanuric acid and off you go again!
Caroline, I speak as a private pool owner and not someone who has to maintain a pool to 'public pool' standards.
A combination of dumping (maybe a third where poss) pool water and using liquid chlorine will accelerate the process somewhat.
After time (usually a couple of years but it does depend on local conditions) you'll find that your chlorine levels are all over the shop and you can't get it right. Eventually you'll discover that your cyanuric acid levels are sky high. This, in effect, prevents the chlorine from doing its job. The fast way to reduce your cyanuric acid to acceptable levels is to empty the pool and start again. For many, that's not an option. So, start using liquid chlorine and keep using until the cyanuric acid has been reduced to an ideal level. This can take months. Then it's back to the tablets with the built in cyanuric acid and off you go again!
Caroline, I speak as a private pool owner and not someone who has to maintain a pool to 'public pool' standards.
A combination of dumping (maybe a third where poss) pool water and using liquid chlorine will accelerate the process somewhat.
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The Olive Grove
- Posts: 750
- Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2007 2:19 pm
This is our first year using liquid chlorine, after we discovered our cya had climbed to about 120ppm. Yes, you need a lot of liquid - our pool is 440000 litres so we need a very large amount of liquid. The pool gets very high levels of sunlight, so the recommended level of cya for us is 80ppm.
We are doing as Brendan says and using only liquid chlorine so that backwashing and refilling will eventually bring down the cya level. We have been told that you should maintain an FC level of about 10% of the cya level. Have ordered a new, more sophisticated test kit but at present have to go to great lengths to measure the FC level. We had strips which measured cya, but have run out of them. Today we are going to buy some more strips to use until the new kit arrives.
Not sure about going back to the powder or tablets when the cya level comes down. We do have dichlore in stock, but will now only use it if the cya level drops below about 60ppm.
We are doing as Brendan says and using only liquid chlorine so that backwashing and refilling will eventually bring down the cya level. We have been told that you should maintain an FC level of about 10% of the cya level. Have ordered a new, more sophisticated test kit but at present have to go to great lengths to measure the FC level. We had strips which measured cya, but have run out of them. Today we are going to buy some more strips to use until the new kit arrives.
Not sure about going back to the powder or tablets when the cya level comes down. We do have dichlore in stock, but will now only use it if the cya level drops below about 60ppm.
I just test for chlorine and pH. I have an automatic doser now, Zodiac nature Fusion 2, which touch wood, seems to be doing a fine job of keeping everything as it should be.
I have had the cya problem before too, fortunately before the start of the season, but this year I had to pump out half the pool and refill it to solve the problem. The water doesn't look too bad, but it isn't clear enough to see things on the bottom of the pool when you have a problem.
I don't see why guests would be interested in the cl or pH level as they wouldn't have a clue what the correct levels are. As long as the pool is the correct temperature and the water clear, how are they going to know what to complain about?
Although I did have a guest one year who worked in a health centre and bought his own test kit, just to make sure my pool was chemically OK. It was, but I was a bit shocked to see him doing the tests!
I have had the cya problem before too, fortunately before the start of the season, but this year I had to pump out half the pool and refill it to solve the problem. The water doesn't look too bad, but it isn't clear enough to see things on the bottom of the pool when you have a problem.
I don't see why guests would be interested in the cl or pH level as they wouldn't have a clue what the correct levels are. As long as the pool is the correct temperature and the water clear, how are they going to know what to complain about?
Although I did have a guest one year who worked in a health centre and bought his own test kit, just to make sure my pool was chemically OK. It was, but I was a bit shocked to see him doing the tests!
I bet!!la vache! wrote: Although I did have a guest one year who worked in a health centre and bought his own test kit, just to make sure my pool was chemically OK. It was, but I was a bit shocked to see him doing the tests!
Kathy
Waterfront location in Le Faou
"My goal in life is to become as wonderful as my dog thinks I am."
Waterfront location in Le Faou
"My goal in life is to become as wonderful as my dog thinks I am."