Raising Levels Before a Storm?

[byteme]

Greetings!

We are expected to receive storms over the next couple of days that could dump anywhere from 2 to 5 inches of rain.

That much rain will certainly affect the PH and probably the FC. (Rain always drops the PH in the pool a little.) Is it acceptable to raise the chlorine and the PH in anticipation?

I keep the FC at 8 and the PH and 7.5 so I was thinking of boosting the FC to 10 or 11 and the PH to 7.8 before the storms come.

Thanks!

 

[woodyp]

I always jack up the chlorine a couple of points before "something wicked this way comes." I check and adjust PH afterwards. Mine usually rises due to aeration of rain breaking the surface.

 

[byteme]

Thanks!

I've boosted the FC to 11. If it looks like we're going to get more than an inch or so, I can test the FC while it's raining, (so long as there's no lightning, of course!), and add more bleach if necessary. I'll wait until the rain is over (probably Saturday morning) before doing anything with the PH.

Would one consider me obsessed if I were out taking water samples and adding bleach in the pouring rain! :lol:

 

[kyle11]

Out of curiosity why raise the FC level? Is this necessary with a SWG?

 

[Charlie_R]

Out of curiosity why raise the FC level? Is this necessary with a SWG?

Two things I can think of offhand --

Think about how raindrops form. Water droplets form on dust in the air, and combine until they are large and heavy enough to fall as rain. What is on those dust particles besides water?

It is better to prevent an algae outbreak than treat it after. A bump up of FC levels prior to a storm works to kill any odd bio-substance that falls into your pool with the rain.

How many gallons of water does it take to raise your pool 1"? That represents a corresponding dilution of any chemicals in your pool, upsetting the balance.

With a SWCG, you can easily adjust the setting before the storm hits, as long as you run your pump during the storm, you have accomplished the same thing as adding FC before it hits.

Personal experience this last month:

Pool was about 3" down from where I normally keep it. Storms came through, and dropped enough water to overflow the pool. This had a measurable impact on pool balance, changing the pH, as well as diluting the available chlorine in the pool. After the storm is the only time this season I have had a measurable CC, which normally would indicate the FC took care of something that dropped into the pool with the rain.

 

[tmnt25]

That's interesting, I get a lot of rain here and it seems to raise my ph....

 

[duraleigh]

How many gallons of water does it take to raise your pool 1"? That represents a corresponding dilution of any chemicals in your pool, upsetting the balance.

Agreed. However, with most pools averaging somewhere between 40 and 60 inches, a 1" rain is about a 2% - 3% dilution....not enough to worry about.