ABC’s of Pool Water Chemistry
There are five chemical levels that every pool owner needs to keep track of:
Recommended Levels
These levels are designed for outdoor residential pools chlorinating with bleach or a SWG, and will need adjustments when used in other situations. Liquid chlorine is the same as bleach, and cal-hypo users can also use the bleach recommendations as long as you monitor your CH level.
Chlorine / CYA Chart
Perhaps a cornerstone element of TFPC is understanding the relationship between the chlorine in your pool and the stabilizer you put in to protect the chlorine from the sun. Generally, the more stabilizer, the more chlorine you need to maintain its effectiveness. The charts below show the recommended relationship for outdoor residential pools. Non-SWCG Pools CYA (Stabilizer) Minimum FC Target FC SLAM FC 20* 2 3-5 10 30 2 4-6 12 40 3 5-7 16 50 4 6-8 20 60 5 7-9 24 70* 5 8-10 28 80* 6 9-11 31 90* 7 10-12 35 …
Recommended Pool Chemicals
FC – Free Chlorine FC can be raised in many different ways. We recommend using either bleach, liquid chlorine, or a SWG. SLAMing the pool should always be done with bleach/liquid chlorine, since a SWG can not raise the FC level quickly enough. See How to Chlorinate Your Pool for a list of the pros and cons of all of the available choices.
Non-Recommended Pool Chemicals
Over time TFP has seen its fair share of products that were sold to Pool Owners that unfortunately aren’t all they’re marketed as. Below is a brief description of many of these products and the issues we’ve seen from each.
Basic Pool Care Schedule
Daily Look at the water, notice the clarity and color. Test the chlorine level and adjust if needed. Test the pH and adjust if needed. Examine the skimmer(s) and clean if needed. Use a leaf rake to remove any surface debris.
Pool Circulation Systems
The circulation system of a pool plays a major role in cleaning, sanitizing and heating the water. Above ground or inground, temporary or permanent, simple or fancy, all pools have a circulation system and they are all remarkably similar. Water is pulled from the pool via one or more skimmers and sometimes one or more main drains by an electric pump. The pump provides pressure to push the water through a filter, and other water treatment or heating devices, then back into the pool via one or more returns.
SLAM – Shock Level and Maintain
SLAMing your pool is the best way to eliminate algae, sanitize your pool and get your water crystal clear. If you have algae, or the CC level is above 0.5, or the free chlorine (FC) level is zero, you should SLAM the pool. You cannot do this overnight…it often takes several days to see it completed…no shortcuts. If you are maintaining proper FC levels there is no need to SLAM (or shock) weekly, or on any other regular schedule.
Perform the Overnight FC Loss Test (OCLT)
The purpose of the overnight FC test (OCLT) is to determine if you have living algae, or other organic contaminates, in your water. If you do, you need to SLAM, or continue SLAMing, the pool. This test is most useful to confirm that the SLAMing process is complete, and can also be useful if you are unsure if there is a problem or not.
Mustard Algae
Mustard algae is a particularly persistent kind of algae, that appears to go away when you SLAM the pool normally, only to reappear as soon as you come back down to normal chlorine levels. It tends to grow in clumps on surfaces at normal chlorine levels, and varies from a true “mustard” yellow to green with hints of yellow. It can also grow free floating in the water if the chlorine level is low enough.