Basic Swimming Pool Maintenance

I have decided to post a very brief pool maintenance guide, this is just a very basic guide on how to properly maintain a pool.

In all pool maintenance there are three equally important things that need to addressed, they are

1) Sanitization (water purification)

2) Water Balance

3) Water filtration

All three of these need to addressed in your regular maintenance of your swimming pool. I'll briefly discuss each one.

Sanitization

Water is sanitized by adding an oxidizing agent to the water, in most cases Chlorine is used for this purpose. The chlorine is added to kill bacteria and prevents algae from growing.
In order for the chlorine to work the best, the following needs to considered.

pH
The pH of the water is critical, if the pH is incorrect the chlorine will be ineffective. Maintain a pH of 7.2 - 7.6 for both chlorine efficiency and bather comfort.

Stabilizer (Cyanuric Acid)
Whether you are using a Salt Water Chlorinator or adding the chlorine manually, the pool need stabilizer to prevent the loss of the chlorine due to sunlight. It is impossible to maintain the chlorine levels if there is no stabilizer and the net effect is that you are waisting your money on chlorine if your water is not stabilized.

Dosing times
we now know that chlorine is affected by sunlight, it stands to reason therefore that the best time to add your chlorine is in the evening after the sun is off the water.
It is also important to understand that we need to maintain a constant level of chlorine and chlorine has a limited lifespan in the water, it therefore follows that we should add small quantities often as opposed to adding a large amount periodically.

Water Balance

The water balance of your pool is equally important and we measure the following in pool water:

Test Correct Level
pH 7.2 - 7.6
Total Alkalinity (TA) 80 - 120 ppm (Plaster) 125 - 150 ppm (fibreglass)
Calcium Hardness 250 ppm
Cyanuric Acid 60ppm
Chlorine Concentration 1.5ppm
Copper 0.0ppm
Iron 0.0ppm

If you look at the average home water test kit you will notice that the test will include pH and Chlorine, and some will include TA, the reason for this is that they are the ones that are prone to change over time in your pool and need constant monitoring, and should therefore form part of your weekly test.

Water Filtration

This is the heart beat of your pool. It is essential that you consider the following:

1) your pool pump needs to run for long enough to turn the water in your pool around twice a day, this is important as sand filter in your pool is a polishing plant and the more times the water passes through the filter, the cleaner it will be.

2) The filter collects dirt and debris from the pool water and will need to be backwashed to remove this collected dirt. You should backwash your filter when the pressure gauge shows an increase of pressure of 0.5bar. If you do not have a pressure gauge, you should install it.

3) The sand in your filter has a limited lifespan. The common misconception is that we replace the sand in the filter because it has become too dirty to filter properly, this is in fact incorrect. The sand is a rough silica sand, that is useful to filter water because of it's rough texture. As water passes over the sand the sand granules are eroded and become smooth. Once this happens the filtration is no-longer efficient and the sand will need to be replaced.
You should replace your Sand every 2 years.

4) Remember to clean the baskets in the weir and the one in pump regularly.

Summary

chlorine, add your chlorine daily in the evening and make sure that there is stabilizer in the water.

Water Balance Test your water regularly and correct things before you see the symptoms like green water etc.

Filtration Run your pump for a minimum of 8 hours a day, backwash when needed and replace your filter sand every two years.

Remeber that at Ridd's Aqua Centre our water testing facilities are available to you for free, bring your sample in whenever you like and we will be more that happy to assist you.

New Pool Start-up Guide

For those of you who have recently refurbished your pool or built a new pool or are planning to build or refurbish a pool, here is a very important start-up guide for any new pool. for any queries please contact us.

An important step-by-step guide to the chemical treatment of new PoolCrete pools.

Day minus 1
1)Before the pool is plastered, a sample of the tap water should be taken to a pool shop who will test for :

*pH (not to be below 7.2)

*the presence of iron or copper in the solution. If metals are present, add metal remover at step 4. It is advisable to add a metal remover even if no metals are found to be present.

*calcium hardness. The ideal is 300 to 400 ppm. Below this, calcium chloride should be added at step 5.

The pool shop will recommend the appropriate products to remedy the quality of the water.

Day 1

2) Plaster Pool as per PoolCrete Data Sheet.

Day 2

3) Commence filling the pool from the deep end. We recommend the use of a deflector on the end of the hosepipe to prevent damage to the surface. Fill the pool in one go to avoid a water-ring from forming. Damp down exposed PoolCrete every hour to prevent premature drying. Protect the plaster from staining (particularly from mud splashes) until the pool is filled.

4) Test the water for calcium hardness. Add metal remover while filling.

5)Once the pool is filled, add calcium chloride in flake form (dissolved in a bucket of water) if required and test again for metals and calcium hardness.

6) Start filter. Do not introduce an automatic cleaner to the pool for 3 weeks. During this period use the pool brush only to remove dust and debris. Vacuum to waste daily. Brush the PoolCrete surface with a soft pool brush and backwash at least once a day.

7) Leave the pH above 7.8. This will aid the curing and hardening process of the PoolCrete. Do not use any acid for the first 3 weeks.

8) Dose only with small quantities of unstablized granular dry chlorine, or unstabilized liquid chlorine during this period.

Day 22

9) After 3 weeks check the pH and add only a quarter cup of hydrochloric acid (per 70,000 litre pool) dissolved in a plastic bucket of the pool water in any single 6 hour period with the filter running. Periodically dose until pH reads between 7.4 and 7.6. It could take over a week before the pH is corrected. Never use sulphuric acid in the pool.

10) Follow the chlorine manufacturer's instructions for dosing from now on.

11) Stabilize the water if desired. Dissolve the stabilizer granules in boiling water before adding to the pool.

12) If a salt water chlorinator is installed, add salt to the water and switch on the chlorinator. Refer to the manufacturer's instructions.

13) The automatic pool cleaner can now be connected.

Important information

Always follow the chemical manufacturers' instructions when adding chemicals to the pool. Chemicals should be added in a controlled way as it is not advisable to overdose with any chemical hoping that the effect will last two weeks rather than one. Overdosing can damage the PoolCrete surface.

Overdosing with acid causes etching of the PoolCrete surface and destroys total alkalinity. Always dilute acid before dosing, and add while the pump is running to ensure an even distribution.

Overdosing with calcium hypochlorite (dry granular chlorine) causes scale build-up and high pH.

Overdosing with trichloroisocyanuric acid (stabilised chlorine) causes a drop in pH and etching of the PoolCrete surface as it neutralizes itself by leeching the calcium from the PoolCrete. Keep chlorine pills or granules well away from the immediate edge of the pool or surface of the PoolCrete. Also keep out of direct jet of aimflow and away from or near the weir.

The use of a gas chlorinator is not recommend. Due to the chemical reactions that take place where the gas is introduced to the water, HCl is formed which causes etching of the PoolCrete surface and results in serious staining.

Copper Stains In a Swimming Pool

I received a phone call from one of our clients this morning, he said that he had an emergency, his pool had turned black overnight.
Some black marks were noticed a few days before and dismissed as black algae forming, the treatment of which is relatively simple, simply add an algaecide containing Didecyl Dimethyl ammonium chloride, in as high a concentration as you can find, (Africhem Algaecide Extra Strength is a good example).

I have added some pictures so you can see the extent of the staining. The pool pictured was white before the stain.

What Caused this Stain?
The stain was caused by the copper in the water, as there was an abundance of rain in the days preceding the stains the pH and water balance was out. This caused the copper to come out of solution. The client added chlorine which oxidized the free copper and the stains resulted.

What were the warning signs?

What normally precedes this kind of severe staining is that the water appears to be turning green, this is actually the start of the copper oxidising.
Think of the copper arm bands that some people wear, there is a green to black stain on the wearers wrist, this is the deposit of copper on the skin. Exactly the same will occur in the water, you can easily tell the difference between a green pool due to algae, because the water will become turbid with algae growth and in the case of copper the water will remain very clear.

What can I do do to prevent it?

Prevention is better than cure. Be aware of what you are adding to your pool water. Look at the active ingredients on the label of the chemical you are about to use. they must not contain any heavy metals such as copper and zinc. these metals do kill algae very well but they also cause these kinds of stains.
If you suspect that the water may have traces of these metals, have the water tested for copper.
Do not add oxidising agents such as Chlorine, Bromine or Peroxide in the presence of copper as this will accelerate the staining.
If you have metals, you can easily treat by adding a metal remover.

What can I do to remove the stains?

I wish I had an easy solution here, but unfortunately the stains are irreversible. Think of the stained streak often found under a dripping hot water tap in your bath or basin, that stain is impossible to remove. So it is in your pool. the only solution is to resurface the pool.
To avoid this unnecessary expense, do not use copper sulphate products!

Is there another way that copper can enter my pool?

Yes, through the source water. It is always a good idea to have your source of water tested before using it to fill a pool, this will not only give an indication of metals present, but also better prepare you for the maintenance of your pool in the long run.

Ar Ridd's Aqua Centre we are more than equipped to help you deal with these problems should they arise. If you suspect anything like this could be a problem for your pool, don't hesitate too long, get it sorted out straight away. Go to www.riddsaqua.co.za to find a dealer or to contact us.

Enjoy what's left of the summer..happy swimming!

Water theme park in Maputo

Ridd's Aqua Centre has been fortunate to be involved in a number of commercial projects through the supply of swimming pool equipment, these jobs include, Emperors Palace, Silverstar Casino and others.

The most recent and ongoing project is a Water Theme Park in Maputo Mozambique. Ridd's Involvement is through the supply of goods to BD Pool services The owner of BD Pool Services, herman vd MAst was kind enough to allow me to accompany him to Maputo this week to take some pictures of the progress of the project. As you will see in the pictures. What struck me is the power of collaboration and the implementing of Ridd's Aqua centre ideals of mutually benificial business.

Here are a few pictures of the site to date, the completeion should be a little later this year.


This is a view of the park from the enrance, looking accross the entertainment area to the bar and water slide areas.

Pentair Water Product Training

It was with great pleasure that we were able to welcome Jerome from Pentair Europe at our Customer product training evening hosted in Nelspruit tonight (4 Feb 2010).

The main focus of the evening was to highlight the awesome abilities of the Intelliflo Pump. The opportunity was taken to demonstrate how quiet and efficient the pump is.
Pentair also introduced the new locally manufactured Chrystal flow high rate sand filter. The demonstration included pressurising the filter to bursting, unbelievably the filter reached an astounding maximum pressure of 11bar before it failed. To put this into perspective, the highest pressure that can be achieved using normal pool pumps is just a little over 2 bar. This means that the filter cannot fail under the severest of opperating conditions.

The guests were also amazed by the lighting effects created in our demo pool, including Magic falls and the Pentail laminer flow.

Come into one of our branches at any time and we will show you what you can do to create a poolscape that will relax you and impress your friends.

Rain, Rain and more rain

January has been a month of rain and consequently our customers have been battling with pool maintenance.

It is a bit of a downward spiral really. As the rain falls the water in the pool is diluted, this causes the stabilizer and Total Alkalinity to fall, this in turn causes a fluctuating pH and a lack of chlorine in the water.

To stop this happening a little preventitive action will go a long way. Simply bring a sample to one of our branches and there we will test TA and pH as well as stabilizer.
If this is done before the problem spirals out of control, you will probably save yourself alot of money and hassle.

A Pool is Born

Ridd's Aqua Centre Nelspruit as well as Ridd's Aqua Westrand have recently installed display pools at the respective branches. The purpose of the pools is to showcase all the new innovations in the swimming pool industry. Differnt colour finishes are displayed along with differnet pool surrounds.
Water feartures such as the new Pentair Magic falls, the Pentair Laminer streams called Magic Stream.
Also installed in the pool is the clean and clear cartride filter that is 30% more efficient than conventional sand filters along with the amazing Intelliflo pump.

First the pool needs a firm immovable base, a reinforced concrete slab is cast for this reason.
as this is an indoor pool the structure is above ground and the brick work is built witha very strong mortor mixture and reinforced every second layer.
The weir ,Intellibrite lite and aimflo are installed, they are sealed into the structure with a Cemcret flexbond slush and then a fiberglass reinforcing is done.

After the constuction is complete we can start to water proof the structure. We did it in this case by using Cemcrete Cemforce and applying a flexbond cement slush.

The next step was to construct a round radius inside the pool, this will allow an Automatic pool cleaner to operate in the pool.
The marblite is the last step, ensuring the correct mix of plaster and water will guarantee no sagging cracks and even curing of the plaster. The colours that you see in this pool are all in the cemcrete range including, White, Sky Blue, Charcoal, Light Royal, sandstone and abbotsford green.
If you have any queries about the construction you can contact us.

Our thanks to the contruction companies that assisted us in the building of these pools, namely BD Pool Services (Westrand) and JVR Construction

Photos of the Nelspruit pool will be up soon, please come back and have a look.
In the meantime, go to our website, www.riddsaqua.co.za and have a look around

A Pump that saves you Money

Much Emphasis is being placed on the consumption of electrical appiances in the home. As we are all aware Escom is going to be increasing the electricity prices by 35% per annum over the next three years. This translates into a huge cost per household.

The product that has recieved the most attention has been hot water geysers and in particular solar energy.
I feel however that not enough emphasis has been placed on the swimming pool. Did you know that the biggest consumer of electricity in the home (Except and air conditioner) is your pool pump, yes thats right.Think about it, your pool pump consumes 1200W of energy to give you an output of 0.75W. The pump runs for about 12 hours a day, that is a whopping 14.4KW/h per day.
You will have heard from many Escom campains to run your pump for a shorter period every day. This is infact not the right thing to do. If you run your pump less, the water is not being turned over enough and the filtration system is unable to do what it is designed to do.

It is for this reason that we at Ridd's Aqua Centre advocate the installation of an Intelliflo pump. This revolutionary peice of equipment effectively saves 90% of this huge running cost by using a variable speed motor. Please go to www.riddsaqua.co.za and have a look at what the intelliflo can do for you.

Grand Opening

Ridd's Aqua Centre Westrand recently relocated to The Village@Horizon, Horizon View.

We started trading there on the 1 December 2009, but had our grand opening on 30 January 2010. The day was a huge success with suppliers displaying new products and plenty of givaways.
In the evening we had a coctail party where a fw lucky customers won pumps, filters and on customers walking away with 25 bags white Cemcrete Pool Plaster.