Pool Chemical Levels And Chemical Charts
Hello Class, as a well-known pool chemistry conference has called on me to deliver a keynote address, I will be unable to lecture today.
However, todays class has not been canceled! I have prepared the following pool chemistry charts as a study and reference resource.
Please review these pool chemical charts and be prepared to use them in a lab exercise planned for next week, and who knows, perhaps a pop-quiz!?!
The Case For Continuous Readings
- Greater accuracy compared to test strips
- Continuous testing with instantaneous results
- Readings can be forwarded to a system that can collect data or set off an alarm notification
- Eliminates the need for an operator to perform a visual analysis, thus limiting the possibility of human error and subjective reading.
Swimming Pool Water Balance Problems
Failing to test your water can lead to a host of problems. From skin rashes caused by excessive chlorination, to cloudy water caused by high pH or alkaline levels, to low alkalinity causing your pH levels to fluctuate or bounce unpredictably, to low calcium hardness corroding your valuable pool equipment, there are numerous issues that you can avoid simply by testing and adjusting your water. All it takes is a pack of pool strips, a few pool balancing chemicals like muriatic acid, and maybe a little help from your pool dealer.
Want to dig deeper into water chemistry? Learn more about why correct pool chemistry is important, then contact your local Latham dealer for assistance. With thousands of premium quality, American-made pools and pool products to choose from, Latham is ready to meet all of your indoor, outdoor, inground, vinyl and fiberglass pool needs.
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Test Pool Water Chemistry Using Pool Test Strips
Pool testing strips can quickly measure pH, alkaline, and chlorine levels. You can also purchase specialty pool strips to measure total dissolved solids , salt or other substances. Heres how to use them:
Test Pool Water Chemistry Using Digital Pool Testers
You can connect digital pool testers to smartphones or other devices, which offer convenience and detail. However, electronic testers tend to be more costly and often, less accurate than alternatives like kits and strips. Since digital testers vary widely in their quality and design, be sure to follow the app or devices instructions.
Still have questions about how to test your pool water? Just contact a Latham dealer, and well handle the testing for you! You can even bring your sample to us for testing. Our expert technicians will explain exactly what you should add, remove, increase or decrease to achieve the perfect swimming pool water chemistry.
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Gallons In A Cubic Foot
There are 7.48 gallons of water in a cubic foot. Multiplying the surface area and average depth gives the total number of cubic feet in the pool. Multiplying the total number of cubic feet by 7.48 the number of gallons in a cubic foot, gives the total number of gallons in the pool.
* 7.48 = Pool Gallons
Pool Chemicals: The Key To A Clean Pool
You could fill your pool with fresh, clean water, and then skim and vacuum it every day, and the water would still get dirty. Leaves, twigs, and other debris fall into your pool. Bugs take their last swims in it. Birds fly overhead and bomb it.
And every time someone swims, they leave behind body oils, hair, dead skin, shampoo, soap, everything we humans put on our bodies and slough off on a daily basis.
The only thing keeping those contaminants from turning your pool into a black lagoon is sanitizer, probably the most important pool chemical youll ever use.
And in order for the sanitizer to work, other water attributes must be balanced: pH, alkalinity, and calcium hardness.
Finally, youll add pool chemicals to treat algae, to clear your pool, and to prevent staining, if you have hard water.
All of these factors work together to create balanced pool chemistry so you can swim in peace, so knowing what to use and how is crucial.
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Closing Thoughts: Which Pool Chemicals Do You Need And How Much
Heres a quick recap of which pool chemicals you need to run your pool, and how much:
- Chlorine Tablets
- How much: 2 tablets for every 10,000 gallons, per week
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What Do Swimming Pool Chemicals Do
- Adding chlorine to your pool reduces the risks of spreading waterborne illness, from minor infections and stomach upsets to more serious issues caused by bacterial growth.
- Chlorine also helps stop the buildup of algae and other water contaminants, helping to ensure a pleasant swim all through the summer.
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What Are The Types Of Chlorinating Agents
There are two main types of chlorinating agents:
- inorganic chlorinating agents such as calcium hypochlorite, lithium hypochlorite, sodium hypochlorite, and
- organic chlorinating agents such as trichloroisocyanuric acid, potassium dichloroisocyanurate, sodium dichlorocyanurate .
Organic and inorganic chlorinating agents are not compatible with each other. Many incidents occur when the same scoop or pail is used for both products without cleaning them or when adding one product after the other or in the pool chlorinator. Mixing or cross-contamination of these products can form an explosive mixture.
Where Should You Store Pool Chemicals
Many pool cleaning products contain chemicals that can be hazardous or even deadly if stored improperly. As the Environmental Protection Agency points out, various pool chemicals can potentially be highly reactive and capable of generating high temperatures, as well as releasing toxic vapors if improperly handled or stored.
Avoid fumes, fires, chemical reactions, and other hazards by following the storage instructions on each cleaner carefully. The ideal storage space should be well ventilated, clearly organized, free of leaks or spills, and protected from excessive heat or sunlight.
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Other Pool Chemicals And Supplies
- pH Balancers: Increase or decrease your pools pH levels as needed.
- Alkalinity Increaser: Help your pool resist changes to pH levels.
- Algae Removers: Work in tandem with chlorine to help prevent a variety of algae outbreaks, including mustard, black or green algae.
- Test Strips: Necessary for testing pools for things like chlorine, pH and alkalinity levels.
Need help? Call 1-866-290-5334
How To Add Chemicals Safely
- Always read and follow the chemicals instructions to ensure safe use of chemicals.
- Wear appropriate protective equipment and clothing including gloves, footwear and eyewear.
- Handle chemicals in a well-ventilated area.
- Use separate, clean metal or plastic measuring cups for each chemical to transfer or measure chemicals. Never use wood scoops.
- Protect chemicals from moisture and watersuch as a cup of water or coffee. Even putting the wet scoop back in the pail may cause a reaction.
- When applicable, always dilute chemicals by adding to water, never the other way around unless the containers label instructs you to do so.
- Do not mix different chemicals together.
- Do not put spilled chemicals back into their containers.
- Do not smoke when handling chemicals.
- Do not expose to heat or flames.
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Why Measuring Chemicals Is So Important
There are many reasons why measuring chemicals is an important behavior. In this article, we will focus on the two main ones: the pool chemistry itself, and your wallet.
Adding chemicals correctly to a swimming pool requires knowing a few things:
- The correct volume of the pool
- The current water chemistry of the swimming pool, and its LSI balance value.
- The correct dose of the chemical you need to add
- How to actually add the chemical to water correctly
The one thing missing from that list of bullet points is the focus of this article. Measuring. Once you know the pool volume and the current chemistry of the pool, you can use a reference chart to find an accurate dose for the chemical you need to add to the water.
Measuring that specific amount of chemical is perhaps the most self-explanatory practice, yet it is widely ignored. Instead, pool owners and operators tend to ‘eyeball it’ or guess. And sure, with something like liquid chlorine, a few extra ounces won’t make a huge difference in a backyard pool. But a few extra ounces of muriatic acid can. And many people are unaware of how significant the difference is.
Then, like every dry/granular chemical, it needs to be pre-dissolved in a bucket of water prior to being added to the pool.
Avoid Overcorrections
Here is our video on how to properly add acid to a swimming pool:
Pool Flocculant Or Clarifier
As I mentioned earlier, flocculant can be used to decrease calcium levels in your pool when youve noticed the water getting a bit cloudy. Flocculant and clarifier are very similar chemicals but they work very differently.
So, when your pool gets cloudy, flocculant and clarifier are going to clear things up.
Flocculant is a chemical that treats the cause of cloudy pool water. It could be excess calcium, particles of dust , or bits of floating algae that are mucking up your beautiful pool.
When you pour flocculant into your pool, the chemical works by breaking the surface tension of the water, causing the particles to clump together and sink to the bottom. After that, you can simply vacuum the bottom of the pool, ridding yourself of cloudiness once and for all.
Clarifier also clears up cloudy pool water but works in a different way. While flocculant is a clarifier, clarifier is not a flocculant. Adding clarifier to your pool is a stop-gap measure for when you need your pool clear in a hurry.
It quickly binds tiny particles together, allowing your pool filter to pick them up when they may have been too small in the first place. When your pump is running, the filter is more likely to grab onto the larger clumps of matter than it would have without it.
As you can see, flocculant actually treats the cause of cloud water while clarifier just treats the symptoms. Both are good products to keep on hand and have their uses, depending on the situation youre dealing with.
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What Is The Best Way To Test Pool Water
No single method is right or the best its simply a matter of finding what works for you. Many pool owners prefer the speed and simplicity of test strips, while others prefer using test kits, which do not need to be replaced as frequently.
Experts often recommend test strips for beginners, because they provide reliable results with minimal effort and cost. As you gain experience and become more comfortable with the water testing process, youll likely develop a preference of your own. In the meantime, the pool service experts at Latham are here to help answer all of your questions!
Pool Chemistry In A Nutshell
The only way to keep your swimming pool water clean and clear is to keep your chemistry balanced. Period.
If your chemistry is off, it doesnt matter how aggressively you filter or how hard you scrub and vacuum your pool, the water will eventually turn.
The foundation of pool chemistry is about creating the right conditions for sanitation, which includes:
- pH Level: How acidic or alkaline the water is, which is influenced by the substances in the water itself. The scale goes from 1 to 14 , with 7 being neutral.
- Total Alkalinity: It keeps your pH stable. You can almost think of alkalinity as adding a layer of armor to your pH, absorbing fluctuations caused by external factors like rain, debris, or body oils.
- Calcium Hardness: How much calcium is present in the water. Its simple the more calcium you have in your pool, the harder your water is.
Having each of these properly balanced isnt enough to keep your pool water crystal clear, but again, it will help you create the perfect environment for effective pool sanitation.
Pool sanitation includes:
Thats a basic overview of whats involved when it comes to pool chemistry, but now lets take a deeper look at each of these factors.
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How To Use A Liquid Test Kit
Pool Total Alkalinity Chart
Use this pool Alkalinity dosage chart to determine the correct amount of pool alkalinity adjustment chemical to add for a desired change in total alkalinity levels. Alkalinity buffers pH, too little Alkalinity makes pH erratic, and too much makes pH resistant to change. Use pH Reducer to lower Alkalinity and Alkalinity Increaser to raise the level.
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Youre A Pool Chemistry Wiz
Hey, no one ever said having a pool would be easy. But it also doesnt have to be difficult. Knowledge and the right pool chemicals make all the difference in the world.
Dont let your pool intimidate you. Youre supposed to manage it, not the other way around. Just remember that no one expects you to know everything overnight. Even more important than having the right tools is knowing where to find the right information. And youve already done that, so youre on your way!
Happy Swimming!
Dry Chemicals: Pounds To Cups
RalphD12 said:Hi there. The dry chemicals I use are common for most: baking soda, CYA/stabilizer, and a ph up, and ph down. Pool Math app makes addition recommendations based on pounds, but Im looking to measure in cups. Anyone know of a good resource to do this conversion- Im sure its a little different for all 4 as they have different mass.
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Testing your pool is a regular part of pool ownership. Its essential to maintaining water that is crystal clear and algae free. Its also important to maintain a good balance of chemicals in your pool because improper water chemistry can cause damage to your pool and equipment. Beyond that, imbalanced water can cause eye irritation and hair discoloration. Yikes. To get an accurate reading, you’ll need a test kit, a test strip, or a water sample for a pool professional.
Why Should I Be Careful When Using And Storing These Products
Swimming pool products can also be oxidizers, and corrosive to tissue or metals. In all cases, read and understand the Safety Data Sheets , all product information literature and product labels for procedures to follow for safe use and in case of spills or splashes.
Oxidizing products have the ability to react chemically to oxidize combustible materials. To be an “oxidizer”, the product itself provides oxygen which combines chemically with another material in a way that increases the chance of a fire or explosion. This reaction may be spontaneous at either room temperature or may occur with slight heating. Thus, oxidizing products can be severe fire and explosion hazards.
For more information about oxidizing hazardous products and how to work with them safely, please see the OSH Answers How to Work Safely with Hazardous Products using the âFlame over circleâ Pictogram.
Some pool products can also be corrosive to metals, or cause skin, eye or respiratory irritation. The effects on tissues and metals depends on what the product is and how concentrated it is. They can begin to cause damage as soon as they touch the skin, eyes, respiratory tract, digestive tract, or the metal.
For more information about how to work safely with hazardous products that may cause health effects, please see OSH Answers How to Work Safely with Hazardous Products using the âHealth Hazardâ Pictogram, and How to Work Safely with Hazardous Products using the âExclamation Markâ Pictogram.
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Increasing Or Decreasing Ph Value
The chemicals that are advised to be used for hand-dosing of pH correctant are sodium bisulphate powder in order to reduce the pH value and sodium carbonate in order to increase the pH value. Hand-dosing pH correctants is more problematic. This is because it is difficult to calculate the amount of correctant to add in order to bring about the desired change in the pH value of the pool water due to the pH buffering effect of the total alkalinity levels of the pool water. The more buffered the water , the more of a given pH correctant you would need to add in order to get to the desired pH value.
Whatever pH correctant is being hand-dosed, refer to the manufacturers instructions, which should be on the label on the side of the chemical container. Bear in mind that the recommended amounts may need to adjusted, based on your own experience.
