Loss of Water because of Rain

[Sharkygirl]

So I have a new plaster pool. I have been struggling to keep my chemistry in check. Mainly Salt, Calcium, Cyanuric Acid. So I thought that perhaps I had a leak. But then it occured to me that we have been having lots of rain. There is an overflow drain for the pool. So when it rains a lot, the pool looses water as it is being replaced by rain water. Here is my question. How often should I be needing to add salt, Calcium, and Cya? I know the only way they leave the water is by water loss. So I'm curious if anyone else notices they need to be adding them when there is a lot of rain.

 

[Katodude]

So the answer is yes you will lose those chemicals due to south Florida heavy rains. Testing will tell you how much you’ve lost and how much you need to put back.

 

[Sharkygirl]

So the answer is yes you will lose those chemicals due to south Florida heavy rains. Testing will tell you how much you’ve lost and how much you need to put back.

I'm aware. I should rephrase my question, how much is common to have to replace. I think I will do a bucket test to be sure I'm not loosing water due to a leak vs. rain water run off. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Katodude]

Is your water dropping below the overflow drain? I am assuming your humidity is still pretty high and it not cooling off too much at night yet. If so evaporation should not be very much.

 

[CreedenceTapes]

So I have a new plaster pool. I have been struggling to keep my chemistry in check. Mainly Salt, Calcium, Cyanuric Acid. So I thought that perhaps I had a leak. But then it occured to me that we have been having lots of rain. There is an overflow drain for the pool. So when it rains a lot, the pool looses water as it is being replaced by rain water. Here is my question. How often should I be needing to add salt, Calcium, and Cya? I know the only way they leave the water is by water loss. So I'm curious if anyone else notices they need to be adding them when there is a lot of rain.

Just so you know, CYA does cook off in the sunlight, it just does so way slower than trichlor puts it in there. I'm not far from Sarasota and my pool gets a lot of sun. I lose at least 15 ppm per month of CYA in the summer months.

 

[Sharkygirl]

Just so you know, CYA does cook off in the sunlight, it just does so way slower than trichlor puts it in there. I'm not far from Sarasota and my pool gets a lot of sun. I lose at least 15 ppm per month of CYA in the summer months.

Hi, I don't use Trichlor. I have a salt water pool and the cya is added separately. I'm thinking it's simply enough water loss as we have had a lot of rain. I will keep an eye on it and report back if there is further loss. FYI, we just went through a hurricane and I didn't hardly loose any salt or cya. So for that I am stumped.

 

[Sharkygirl]

Is your water dropping below the overflow drain? I am assuming your humidity is still pretty high and it not cooling off too much at night yet. If so evaporation should not be very much.

What do you mean dropping below the overflow drain? I have an autofill, so the pool water level is always where it needs to be. However, you bring up a very good point. I will have to check the elevation of that overflow and how it compares to the pool elevation. It's not near the pool, it's by the equipment. I know, strange set up, but it's worth my investigating a bit. Thanks for chiming in.

 

[CreedenceTapes]

Hi, I don't use Trichlor. I have a salt water pool and the cya is added separately. I'm thinking it's simply enough water loss as we have had a lot of rain. I will keep an eye on it and report back if there is further loss. FYI, we just went through a hurricane and I didn't hardly loose any salt or cya. So for that I am stumped.

We didn't get all that much rain where I am, but the surge was awesome — in the original sense of the word. Watching a river rip down a street that is not flood prone will hold your attention awhile.

I was just mentioning the CYA to let you know that it's not really in the same category as the salt and calcium. CYA will actually degrade over time in the sunlight, proportionate to the intensity and hours of exposure. Salt and calcium will pretty much only leave if water leaves.

The bottom line is, I wouldn't use CYA loss as a leak indicator unless your pool doesn't get much sun exposure. Because at our latitude, direct sunlight definitely has a measurable effect on CYA over the course of a summer month.

 

[Whynotme]

What do you mean dropping below the overflow drain? I have an autofill, so the pool water level is always where it needs to be. However, you bring up a very good point. I will have to check the elevation of that overflow and how it compares to the pool elevation. It's not near the pool, it's by the equipment. I know, strange set up, but it's worth my investigating a bit. Thanks for chiming in.

Couldn't you turn off the autofill to see if it drops below the overflow drain? If it does, you have a leak. How much you commonly need to add due to rain dilution will only be known after complete drop kit testing of all the parameters. No way anyone here can say how much is normal, because there is no normal.

 

[AUSpool]

What do you mean dropping below the overflow drain? I have an autofill, so the pool water level is always where it needs to be. However, you bring up a very good point. I will have to check the elevation of that overflow and how it compares to the pool elevation. It's not near the pool, it's by the equipment. I know, strange set up, but it's worth my investigating a bit. Thanks for chiming in.

Not that strange, mine is with my equipment. There are two parts to the auto fill, an overflow and a fresh water top up valve. There should be a difference between both so you not tipping fresh tap water down the overflow. You should have a shut off valve for tap water but check the overflow first.

Mine looks like this. But have a look at this for the different types. AutoFill - Further Reading