Wildfire Ash

[Red]

I live So. California near one of the California wildfires (thank goodness not too close this time). We're close enough that depending on the winds, we've sometimes not seen the sun during the day. I noticed my filter pressure went up about 4 PSI this week. I was wondering what was going on, then I noticed some ash on the deck (not a thick blanket, but there was some). My guess is that some of the ash has been landing on the water and getting sucked into the filter.

My children and friends have been using the pool this week, but I didn't get a chance to get in until last night. I noticed the water wasn't as clear as it had been (it's not very bad, but wasn't like it was before; the water's been quite warm, but very clear). I also was low on chlorine (0.5 FC) yesterday morning, so I added chlorine. I was surprised it was that low. Something must be up.

I don't know what ashes do to the pool water. I'm trying to figure out if I'm battling some other gremlin clouding up the water, or if it's just the wildfire ash and I need to let it filter longer. Would smoke and ash consume chlorine? It doesn't seem to me that they would.

I did an overnight chlorine loss test. Somehow I gained 1.0 FC overnight, and the SWG was off. That puzzles me . Maybe I didn't let the water circulate long enough before getting a sample in the morning? I'll have to try again tonight. Meanwhile, I thought I would see if anyone has thoughts on what's going on.

Here's what the water looked like this morning:
FC: 5.0
CC: 0.5
pH: 7.6
TA: 70
CH: 350
CYA: 45
Temp: 83 F

 

[mknauss]

Always best to leave the pump running overnight when doing a OCLT.

Members from other wildfire areas in the last couple years have not reported any significant chemistry changes due to it. Just filtering.

 

[Red]

Always best to leave the pump running overnight when doing a OCLT.

Members from other wildfire areas in the last couple years have not reported any significant chemistry changes due to it. Just filtering.

Thanks. It's good to hear others haven't reported chemistry issues with wildfires. I'll let it run overnight this time. I let it run overnight if I'm SLAMing, but didn't think to do it for the OCLT.

 

[Richard320]

A lot of use will cloud the water. So will not brushing for too long and then brushing. I've never noticed any abrupt changes to the chemistry due to smoke and ash.