High Calcium Hardness and CYA In Dallas Pools
In the Dallas area, we deal with excessively high levels of Calcium Hardness in our swimming pools. This happens because our fill/tap water is hard. The water coming out of our tap is loaded with calcium, magnesium and other hardness minerals that will scale your water tile line, interior finish, filtration equipment, decorative water features, and salt systems. This happens because as your water evaporates, the hardness minerals will remain in solution and gradually build up in concentration. When this occurs the scaling will occur which leads to problems for both residential and commercial swimming pool owners. Typically, the following are some of the problems:
- Scaling on your water tile line
- Staining of the interior finish
- Increased chemical usage
- Your water will feel old
- A decreased lifespan of all filtration equipment and interior finish
Swimming pools take a beating. Hard water will cause a lot of damage to them if you don’t monitor your Calcium Hardness, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), and Cyanuric Acid (CYA) levels regularly. As a general rule of thumb, most pool professionals including us will recommend a water change every two years! Why? We recommend every two years to prevent a lot of the issues described above from happening and to keep your pool looking great!
At Weber Pools, we offer Reverse Osmosis (RO) mobile filtration as an alternative to pool draining. This service is mobile and comes to your home or commercial property and recycles the water onsite. Since we use RO filtration we are able to lower these major problems while conserving 85% of the existing water in the swimming pool which means no exposed interior finish and no downtime!
Just this past week we recycled a 17,000-gallon swimming pool that was struggling with high hardness and Cyanuric Acid (CYA). The following is the initial water chemistry:
Calcium Hardness – 700ppm
Total Dissolved Solids – 46t42ppm
CYA – 300+ (high levels of CYA will bind up chlorine and prevent it from working correctly)
After filtering this swimming pool for 14 hours we were able to lower the above levels to the following:
Calcium Hardness – 160ppm
Total Dissolved Solids – 632ppm
Cyanuric Acid – 40ppm
High levels of Calcium Hardness in your swimming pool can cause scaling and high levels of CYA can prevent chlorine from working efficiently. When that happens your pool can turn cloudy and algae will grow. Keeping a balanced water chemistry is extremely important and using our RO filtration to lower your hardness minerals can make it so much easier.
To learn more about this service and how we can help you, contact us today!
Taking Care Of Your Pool In Cooler Weather
In the Dallas area, fall is in the air which means you need to start prepping your swimming pool for cooler weather. We feel this is important information because with cooler temperatures gives you the opportunity to save the greenbacks also! When it comes to taking care of your swimming pool we want to enforce the fact that how you take care of your pool should matter whether you are doing it yourself or have hired a weekly service company. For many, when fall and winter time comes around dropping a chlorine tab in the floater is about all they do but if you want to prolong the lifespan of your investment we want to share a few tips on how you can prep your swimming pool for cooler temperatures.
The biggest difference is going to be in chlorine usage and how long you run your filtration equipment for. When the temperatures cool down you can get away with 1-2 parts per million (ppm) chlorine compared to 3-5ppm during the summer and you can definitely decrease your filter run times by a couple of hours. Due to the fact that the temperatures in the water are cooler and algae don’t like cold water, you won’t need as much sanitation to keep your pool looking blue and clear. During the coldest times of the winter season, you can definitely lower your chlorine levels to 1ppm because algae prefer warm water.
As for the remainder of weekly tasks for your swimming pool, those shouldn’t change. The following are a list of tasks that should occur on a weekly basis:
- Brush the steps, benches and interior finish of the swimming pool to prevent staining and scaling at least once a week and after storms.
- Remove all debris from the swimming pool to prevent staining and chemistry changes weekly and after storms
- Monitor pH to prevent scaling or the water becoming too acidic which can destroy equipment
- Remove debris from skimmer basket and pump basket to maintain adequate water flow into your filtration equipment.
- Vacuum the pool as necessary
- Monitor Calcium Hardness (CH) levels
- Check your water chemistry weekly and adjust as necessary.
In the Dallas area, our tap water is moderately hard and loaded with calcium, magnesium and other hardness minerals. As pool water evaporates these hardness minerals remain in solution and gradually build up in concentration. As calcium levels rise it will scale the tile, interior finish, filtration equipment, spillways, salt chlorinators, and your plumbing. As a general rule of thumb when CH levels are above 600ppm you will want to change out the water in your swimming pool. At Weber Pools, we recommend using Reverse Osmosis (RO) filtration to lower Calcium Hardness, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Cyanuric Acid (CYA), phosphates, salts, and waterborne diseases.
In the end, keeping your calcium low, your water chemistry within normal limits and your pool clean will go a long way in keeping your costs down. If you should have any questions in regards to Reverse Osmosis (RO) filtration or scheduling an appointment, please contact us today!
How To Deal With Algae In Your Swimming Pool
Three Types of Algae Found In Swimming Pools and How to Treat It
As an owner of a residential or commercial swimming pool dealing with algae especially when the water is warm is not uncommon. As summer drags on and the warm water remains in a swimming pool there are a variety of reasons why algae might grow in your swimming pool. Some of the most common reasons why are the following:
- Not enough chlorine or whatever sanitation you use
- High levels of phosphates
- Unbalanced water chemistry
- Not filtering your pool water long enough
- High Cyanuric Acid (CYA) levels
Types of Algae in Swimming Pools
Before you can start removing the algae it is going to be extremely important to determine what type of algae you are dealing with. In swimming pool water, you will either find green, black, or mustard algae. Green is the most common and black is the most challenging to remove.
- Green Algae – This is the most common algae found in pool water, green algae will typically show up on the walls of your pool or along the surface of the water in large, floating clumps
- Black Algae – This is the most difficult type of algae to remove. Black algae like to form on the interior finish of your pool and deeply root itself in the cracks and crevices. If you have a Pebble Tec swimming pool, black algae love those even more.
- Mustard Algae – mustard algae is a form of green algae that is highly resistant to chlorine and has a brownish-yellow color. This type of algae is slick and slimy, which can help you distinguish it from dirt, which will have more of a coarse feeling. This form of algae collects on pool stairs, ladders, and near lights.
How To Remove Algae
If you have identified that algae are in your swimming pool you will need to make sure you balance your water chemistry. This means making sure your pH is between 7.2 and 7.6, that you raise your chlorine levels, and you keep it clean. If you don’t already have one you will need to purchase steel algae brush to help break up the algae. Remember, black algae are extremely difficult, so you will need to typically brush 3-4 times a day or more. We recommend tripling up on your normal amount of shock levels and run your pump longer to help filter. In the end, when you finish brushing chances are you will need to brush more. In some cases, you will need to also check your phosphate levels because if they are high no matter how much chlorine you have in the pool algae will grow.
If you should have any questions about algae and how to remove it, we highly recommend calling us before you start buying all sorts of other chemicals that the industry recommends.
Benefits of A DE Filter and How To Backwash Them
How To Add DE To A Pool
As a swimming pool owner do you know what type of filter you have? The most common filter found in swimming pools is sand because it is relatively easy to maintain but Diatomaceous Earth (DE) or cartridge can also be found too. In the industry, if you talk to most people they will say DE Filters are the hardest to deal with but at Weber Pools, we feel strongly about them and want to teach you how to backwash them, give you a step by step process on what to do, the benefits of using them, and what pools they are best used on. First and foremost, backwashing is the act of cleaning your filter after it’s collected dirt and debris from your pool. It works by sending pool water backward through your filter and out the waste or drain.
Benefits of Owning A DE Filter
- Great for pools with lots of vegetation
- Cleans the largest surface area
- Filters down to the smallest micron when compared to sand and cartridge
5 Steps To Backwashing Your DE Filter
- First and most importantly, turn off your filtration system and put your filter in the proper backwash position
- Turn on your filtration system and run it for approximately 2 minutes through a backwash hose or PVC pipe that directs the water away from the pool and into a designated area. Ideally, you will want to run the backwash until the water becomes clear.
- Put backwash valve back into normal filtration mode for roughly 30 seconds and then repeat step #2 again for about a minute or until the water is clear.
- Turn the system off and then turn backwash valve back to regular filtration mode
- Turn your system back on and add DE Powder through the skimmer as quickly as possible. It is extremely important for the filter grids to be coated with DE so you must have enough DE on hand. Please note, if you don’t add enough DE to the grids, dirt will attach itself to the grids and not backwash off. This can cause your filter to short cycle or ruin the grids.
How Much DE To Add To your Filter
First, you will need to determine the size of your DE Filter which you can usually locate on the side of the filter. Next, we highly recommend buying a DE Scoop to help measure the amount. If you don’t have a DE Scoop a metal coffee can would be a possible option. Since DE is measured in pounds we ultimately recommend buying a one pound DE Scoop for accuracy.
- 36 sq ft. filter – 4.5 pounds (4.5 scoops)
- 48 sq ft. filter – 6 pounds (6 scoops)
- 60 sq ft. filter – 7.5 pounds (7.5 scoops)
Please note, typically all new filters will have gauges that recommend when it is time to backwash the filter. Typically when you start you will want to manually change the gauge to remind you to clean when it is approximately 10psi above starting the starting point.
If you happen to own a DE Filter and aren’t sure when it’s time to backwash or take it apart and clean it, please contact the best pool service in Dallas!
Dealing With High CYA Levels In Your Pool
By far one of the most important chemicals for your swimming pool is chlorine. You must have the proper levels in your residential or commercial swimming pool to keep it clear and free of algae. With that said, the most common chemical used to prevent chlorine loss in swimming pools in Cyanuric Acid (CYA). Sometimes in the industry, you will hear it called conditioner or stabilizer. During our long, hot, muggy summer months the sun’s ultraviolet rays destroy free chlorine but having the adequate amount of conditioner in the swimming pool will prevent this. Knowing that we hope this post helps to explain why CYA is necessary but also what happens when it gets higher than what is considered normal levels which many swimming pool owners deal with if they use chlorine tablets.
If Cyanuric Acid is used properly it can reduce the cost of maintaining a swimming pool because it prevents chlorine loss and reduces the amount of chlorine needed to properly sanitize a swimming pool. With that being said, you are now probably wondering what are considered normal amounts of CYA and what is considered too high? Typically, the ideal amount of CYA is between 30-50 parts per million (ppm) but depending on how much direct sunlight the swimming pool gets, that number could be a little higher. Whereas, when the CYA levels rise above 100ppm, that can cause a fair amount of other problems too. The biggest issue when CYA levels rise above 100ppm is the effectiveness of chlorine because the higher levels tend to bind up the chlorine making it harder to kill algae and other bacteria.
How To Lower CYA Levels in Your Swimming Pool
In the Dallas area, you can lower CYA levels by performing a drain and refill or using The Puripool Process. At Weber Pools, we highly recommend The Puripool Process because not only can we lower CYA but we can also lower Calcium Hardness, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), salts, and so much more! Just this past week we filtered an18,000-gallon swimming pool with high levels of CYA. They were struggling with algae blooms and with CYA levels that high they needed to do something with their water.
Initial Chemistry
Calcium Hardness – 670ppm
Total Dissolved Solids – 3692ppm
CYA – 200ppm (extremely high)
After filtering this swimming pool for 14 hours with our Reverse Osmosis (RO) mobile filtration trailer we were able to lower their water chemistry to the following:
Calcium Hardness – 150
Total Dissolved Solids – 810ppm
CYA – 40ppm
By conserving 85% of the existing water and filtering their pool water with RO membranes we were able to give them excellent water quality where chlorine will work more effectively. If you should have any questions about our service, please don’t hesitate to contact us!
Cryptosporidium and Swimming Pool Water
Swimming is fun, it’s relaxing, it’s a way to cool off, and it’s great for exercise but did you know it can also be risky? According to the Center of Disease Control (CDC), “493 recreational waterborne disease outbreaks were reported from 2000 to 2014 — causing at least 27,219 illnesses and eight deaths. A third of those outbreaks were traced to hotel swimming pools or hot tubs and this number is on the rise.” When it comes to waterborne diseases the number one most popular disease is Cryptosporidium (also known as “Crypto”), It is a parasite tough enough to survive even in properly maintained pools.
To further this point,
“Crypto causes 58 percent of outbreaks where a germ was identified linked to pools, hot tubs, and water playgrounds and 89 percent of the illnesses. Crypto spreads in pools when someone sick with the parasite has diarrhea in the water and other swimmers swallow that contaminated water. Swimmers and parents of young swimmers play an essential role in preventing Crypto outbreaks. Swallowing just a mouthful of water with Crypto in it can make otherwise healthy kids and adults sick for weeks with watery diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, and vomiting.”
If you frequent commercial swimming pools where this is most common the following are ways that you can help prevent it.
- Don’t swim in the pool if anyone is sick or has diarrhea
- Ask about water quality issues and the last time the water was checked
- Don’t swallow the water
- Shower before entering the pool
- Take children on frequent bathroom breaks
How To Remove Cryptosporidium From Pool Water?
In the industry, one of the most popular ways to treat cryptosporidium is by Hyperchlorination. The following are the steps necessary to do this:
- Close the public pool
- Raise the free chlorine to at least 20 parts per million (ppm) for 24-30 hours
- Keep the filtration working during hyperchlorination
- Backwash the filter after completion of hyperchlorination
- Allow swimmers to return to the water after time has been reached and water chemistry returns to normal levels
Even though this is the most popular method, Weber Pools offers The Puripool Process which is a mobile filtration system that uses Reverse Osmosis (RO) filtration. RO has the ability to remove crypto and prevents the need to hyperchlorinate. RO filtration will also lower Calcium Hardness, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Cyanuric Acid (CYA), and so much more. We feel that using our mobile filtration system not only removes crypto but also gives your bathers the best water quality to swim in. If you are curious to know more about how we can help or how we can keep your water chemistry with industry standards, contact us today!
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