Automatic regulation of PH in Hydrogen Peroxide pool

I have inherited the management of a UV filtered Hydrogen Peroxide pool..... yes I know I know!
The previous pool manager 'expert' told me the PH doser needs a drum of PH Minus. I questioned this politely and got a rather abrupt telling off and sort it yourself type reply.
I then went to site to double check and lo and behold it's a drum of PH Plus.
I know HP is acidic so expected it to be PH Plus but I am now worried sick about doing the wrong thing.
Can anyone confirm one way or the other before I make a mess
Thanks in advance
Peter
 
What test kits for pool water chemistry do you have available to you?

I would not do anything blind without the ability to test the water chemistry and track the results of your actions.

@JoyfulNoise
 
Well at least for your question about pH the pH drop test is reliable.

Have you tested the pH of the pool?
 
Yes it agrees with sensor reading.
It's not a question about a specific adjustment more the trend of the HP pools PH to go up or down. I assume down because its acidic hence the drum of PH+ currently in use to maintain PH around 7.0- 7.2 (7.2 being the set point)
 
Hydrogen peroxide naturally decays into oxygen gas and water. So that is pH neutral. However, when peroxide reacts with bather waste and organics, it is typical for those reactions to form a hydrogen ion (H+) as one of the products. Therefore, peroxide tends to lower the pH of water over time which is why you need the pH+ chemical.

Is the pH increaser granular solids or a liquid? Can you tell from the drum what chemical it is? You could also add a very tiny quantity of the pH adjusting chemical to distilled water and see which way the pH test reads.

I very much advise you to switch over to chlorine as soon as you can. Peroxide is a lousy sanitizer as it is typically too slow to kill pathogens. It will oxidize bather waste but it will not be able to keep up with biological fouling unless the levels are kept uncomfortably high. It's really a very poor substitute for chlorine but, being in the EU, you are subject to a lot their regulations which tend to dissuade the use of chlorine ( ... for no good scientific reason ... but that's a different argument to have).
 
Oh dont worry about the change over to chlorine as soon as I get rid of this expensive weak HP we go the bleach route. I go 3 times a week and have to scrub off a little vivid greenery in circulation bad areas and skimmer mouths every visit. Will double check the drum and test its contets as you suggest.
Thanks for the explanation/ confirmation. I will go very carefully and perhaps even up the HP a little from what you have said.
 
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Sorry again yes its liquid with a label that says PH Plus but the previous guy says different?

Is the label in English or French?

Can you post pics of the labels on the drum?
 
Ok. If possible just put some pH indicator (if you have it) in a test vial of distilled water. Should read around 7.0. Then add a tiny droplet of the pH adjuster. The indicator dye will go one way or the other.
 
Yes totally agree about the chemical in the drum IF that is the case I will have to wait and see.
ORP testing no sorry no idea.
I was told to leave filter on 24/7 - change the UV filter bulb next year and keep the HP between zero and the first colour change on the test strips (sorry I dont know the figure because I am not there but definately well below 100ppm)
No actual figures given to me
I was told that UV kills all the nasty stuff pathogens? but does not kill algae (which is unsightly but not harmful) that is why we add HP but at a much lesser amount than normally required because of the UV.
I deferred to his greater knowledge and experience but am growing increasingly concerned about pool sharks - they seem to have no boundaries.
 
I was told that UV kills all the nasty stuff pathogens?


  • Volume treated/turnover rates - because of the low internal volume of the treatment tank and the fact that water is flowing through it at a considerable rate, a long treatment time is necessary. Assuming a pool pump operates at 50GPM and the internal volume of the UV tank is 15 gals, the water only resides inside the unit for about 18 secs. Because of these volume differences, the operating instructions specify the use of large turnover rates of pool water to ensure that as much of the pool volume as possible gets treated. This means one must run their pumps longer and at lower speeds to improve the efficiency of the UV treatment. Also, without overstating the obvious, only planktonic pathogens (free floating algae and bacteria) are treated by these methods.
  • No Residual Disinfection - I think this states the obvious, but once water exits the UV system, there is no "residual" disinfection. Any pathogen that might have made it through the tank without being inactivated is now free to go on it's way.
 
Sorry I understand a small percentage of that. Can someone say how many ppm of HP would be acceptable with UV running 24/7. Probably the higher the better to get rid of some of this ***** product. And yes I understand it is defendant in UV lamp working and it's hard to know if it's good or bad.
How do people get sold these hugely expensive systems that do kor work?
I am still told to add algicide weekly and shock 3 times during season. That's what idiots do IMHO!!!???
 

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