Healthy Pool Water, Balanced Chemistry

Healthy Pool Water with Balanced Chemistry


Water Balancing

Residential or Commercial Pools, water balancing is a necessary and is an important exercise. It is simply the relationship between different chemical parameters. Your water is constantly changing. Our tropical weather with sunshine and rain , affects the water balance. You will probably not change the water in your pool for some time. Continuous filtration and disinfecting removes contaminants which keep the water enjoyable, but it does not balance your water chemistry. A pool that is balanced has proper levels of pH, Free Chlorine, Total Alkalinity, and Calcium Hardness. It can also be defined as water that is neither corrosive nor scaling. This concept is derived from the fact that water will dissolve and hold minerals until it becomes saturated and cannot hold any more water in solution.

pH

pH is a measure of how acidic or basic the water is. pH is a logarithmic scale from 0-14, with 7 being neutral. pH values below 7 are defined as being acidic; while levels above 7 are said to be basic (or alkaline). Everything that enters your pool has a pH value. For instance, acid rain is rainfall with a very low pH. Then there’s the human eye with a pH value of 7.35, which is just slightly basic. This is, coincidentally, in range with proper pH levels for your pool. To have pH in balance we adjust the water with additions of pH adjuster chemicals or acids to achieve the range of 7.2 – 7.8. If your testing (which you should do daily) of the water indicates a pH value below 7.2, the water is in a corrosive (acidic) condition and you will need to add a base to bring the pH into a more basic range to prevent corrosion. Conversely, if the pH is above 7.8, we are in a scaling (basic) condition and must add an acid to bring down the pH to prevent the formation of scale.

An Example of improper control of pH

 in a pool / Singapore - Acidic

Pool Water Balance

Free Chlorine

Keeping the water clean, Bacteria and pathogen-free, with sufficient disinfection is the key to getting the best out of your swimming pool. But this task isn't as simple as dropping in a few pool chemicals and calling it a day. Adding the right amount of chlorine is sometimes a tough balancing act, but it is absolutely necessary to maintaining a healthy pool.

First of all, if a lot of organic materials have built up in the pool, normal doses of chlorine is not going to resolve the problem. You will have to shock the water, which involves adding heavy amounts of chlorine for a short amount of time to fully destroy all bacteria and organic matter in the pool. If it has been a while since the pool has been shocked or it was just filled, shock it first so that the chlorine can do its job. Keep in mind that you should wait at least 8 hours before going into the pool after using a chlorine-based shock. To maintain a good healthy pool, pool owners should shock their pool once every 1-2 weeks.

Pool Water Balance

An Example of insufficient and inconsistent control of

 Chlorine in a pool / Singapore