Painted Concrete vs Tile - Chemical Balance

[lagrena]

I have found a great difference in the chemical balance of my swimming pool paint vs tile. My 8 year old concrete swimming pool was repainted two years ago. Following the repaint I had tremendous problems with chemical balance, from day one PH was within requirements however chlorine was normal for just a few days and then dropped requiring constant re-balancing of the pool. This continued throughout the entire swimming season.
In addition to the chemical imbalance the pool paint job was far from acceptable as the manufactures instructions allowed for prime, two coats of finish in one day which resulted in black spots where the prime and paint did not properly adhere to the concrete.
This brought us to the point of considering tiling the pool which was done this spring. Once the job was finished and the pool filled it took one day to get the pool in balance with a little PH -. Now as the pool season is well along we notice that our chemical use is 50% -60% less that with a painted pool and the chemical balance is right on with only adding a few low dissolve chlorine tablets every 7 days.
So I question if the paint could have been contributory to the chemical balance problems and has anyone else experienced similar issues.

 

[AftonJeeper]

I haven't read of anyone having issues keeping their chemicals balanced with a painted pool, mostly they complain about how bad the pool looks. Glad you got it looking the way you like and that it is easier to maintain.

If you would like to learn more about maintaining your pool making even easier there are lots of great articles in pool school linked at the top of the page. One thing I think you should know is that those tablets are adding stabilizer (or CYA) to your pool. If that level gets too high it will become really hard to keep proper chlorine levels in the pool. More to read about Recommended pool chemicals and how to chlorinate your pool.

If you have any more questions please let us know, we are all here to help.

 

[olivermercer]

Using a powder instead of the tablets is much better for your CYA levels. I've been told that adding chlorine every few days is normal. Even if no one is swimming, the sun and other things will lower the chlorine. If you put too much chlorine in your pool to avoid having to add more sooner than later, it will wear down your equipment faster.