Water is known for its “universal solvent” property. That is, depending on the circumstances can dissolve “almost” all materials, with more or less time in between.
Water can be both corrosive and incrustations and when this happens we speak of unbalanced water, while water that does not cause these problems is called balanced water.
The signs of water corrosion are the colorations produced by the dissolution or change of state of the metals dissolved in the water, which can eventually become deposited as spots on the surface of the pool or keep the water completely colored.
If the metal is Iron, color to brown or green depending on its valence. While copper colors blue, green, gray or black also depending on the valence and where it is deposited.
On the other hand, the incrustating water does exactly the opposite, tends to deposit or precipitate calcium carbonate (among others), causing depositions on the surface of the pools, saturating filters, pipes, accessories, etc.
To understand this effect, one must imagine that water tries to find a balance or neutrality, in which it dissolves the soluble to find that balance, or “spits out” the excess in the form of inlays when it is “saturated”.
The water balance is carried out by controlling the parameters that determine the water balance:
- pH: is the measure of how acidic or basic the water is. Think back to high school science class, you may remember a numbered scale from 0 to 14 (see the chart shows below), with 7 being perfectly neutral, 0 being extremely acidic and 14 being extremely basic. The ideal swimming pool water pH range is 7.4-7.6.
- Total Alkalinity: This refers to the capacity of the pool water to resist a change in pH. The key goal of alkalinity is to help manage or control the pH of the pool. When a substance that can affect the pH is added to the pool water, the total alkalinity reacted to neutralize and maintain the pH in the desired range. The total alkalinity does not determine the pH, but acts to help maintain the pH in the desired range.
- Calcium hardness refers to the amount of minerals, in this case calcium, which is present in the water. The ideal range for Calcium hardness is 200 – 400 ppm. To raise the Calcium hardness you will want to use Calcium Chloride. If you are experiencing high Calcium Hardness levels you will have to either drain the pool completely or partially.
- Temperature: The pool water temperature should be maintained between 72 degrees Fahrenheit (22° C) and 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29°C), except for special purpose therapy pools or spa pools. The air temperature for an indoor swimming pool should be maintained from 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1° C) to 5 degrees Fahrenheit (3° C) above the pool water temperature.
- Total dissolved solids (TDS): are normally the least worrisome factor.TDS is the sum of all materials dissolved in the water and normally runs in the range of 250 ppm and higher. There is much discussion over what levels are considered too high, but there is no real lower limit. TDS is comprised of many different chemical compounds, which means that the issue of how much is too much actually depends more on what they consist of than how much there is. In general, when the TDS exceeds approximately 1500 ppm, problems may begin to occur.
To carried out your pool water balance not hesitate to contact Urban Pool Services, our Broward County and Miami Dade pool cleaning and repair services has erned the reputation in our area for integrity, excellence, and service that meets the highest standards in our industry.
