Here are a few hits & tips to get you started with your pool!

• The best time to test the water is in the evening, before adding chemicals and again first thing in the morning to ensure it is suitable for the days bathing.

• If the swimming pool is used heavily then water tests should be carried out at least three times a day.

• The ideal pH level for pool water is pH 7.5

• Strong sunlight can reduce the amount of Chlorine in a swimming pool, therefore, monitor levels closely during hot sunny spells.

• Pool water should generally appear clear blue in colour, any variations, such as cloudiness, may be caused by bacterial or algae growth, suspended matter or other contamination which must not be ignored.

• Check water at the return flow of water to the pool and add any chemicals at this point as well to ensure effective mixing with filtered water.

• Regularly clean the pool surfaces including the waterline to ensure that build up of sun-oils, body fats, algae, airborne pollution and other dirt is not left to build up.

• Pool surround paving slabs should be cleaned with a strong Chlorine solution, brushed away from the pool.

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Chemical Storage

• Minimise the different types of chemicals you store.

• Don't buy more than you will consume in a season. Some of the more hazardous pool chemicals don't keep well.

• Keep wet hands and dirty scoops out of your chemicals. Contamination is often a cause of problems.

• Don't store pool chemicals where other materials can fall into them.

• NEVER mix swimming pool chemicals of any type! When adding chemicals to your pool allow one to disappear before adding another.

• All forms of acids react dangerously with all forms of chlorine or bromine. NEVER mix Chlorine compounds that look or smell alike may not be the same: you have to know the actual chemical. Allowing even small amounts of different chlorine sanitisers to touch each other can be REALLY dangerous. In particular, trichlor and calcium hypochlorite can react dangerously on contact with each other. Once they're dissolved in the pool, though, they get along fine.

• Use gloves and glasses.

• Make sure chemicals are locked away from small children.

• Always label containers

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Weight and volume measurement of water

All are approximate figures and are for guidance only

• One gallon weighs 10 pounds.
• One cubic foot weighs 62.7 pounds.
• One cubic foot of water contains 6.25 gallons.
• One cubic meter of water contains 220 gallons.

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Estimating pool capacity

• Rectangular pool: length x width x average depth x 6.25 = gallons of water
• Round pool: 3.143 x radius x radius x average depth x 6.25 = gallons of water
• Oval pool: length x width x average depth x 6.25 = gallons of water

The above calculations are for measurements in feet, if metric multiply the end result by 220 to get the correct gallons of water.

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Daily Pool Operation

• Test pH & Free Chlorine levels using a test kit. Ensure pH is within the 7.2 - 7.6 range.

• The pool filter should run at least 8 to 10 hours per day (24 hours per day is best). Set your pool timer or remember to run the pool manually if you don't have a timer. If you are not running your pool 24 hours per day, it is best to have it running during the daylight hours (instead of night).

• Make sure your skimmer baskets are empty and clear of leaves or other debris.

Chlorine must be added to the pool daily in one of the following ways…
• Best method is to place 3" slow dissolving chlorine tablets in the skimmers once per week (4-6 tablets are normal for 16x32 pool).

• Next best method is to use an automatic chlorinator. Make sure the unit is full and that the dial is set to a level that gives you a good daily chlorine reading depending on how long you run your system.

• Next best method is to use a chlorine floater with slow dissolving tabs inside it. Keep floater in pool at all times and refill it weekly.

• Next best method is to manually add either granular chlorine or quick tabs to pool skimmer every day.

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Weekly Pool Maintenance

• Completely backwash filter

• Check return flow of water to the pool. Add chemicals at this point to ensure effective mixing with filtered water return.

• Test & adjust water for Chlorine, pH and Alkalinity.

• Add Chlorine to pool (see "Daily Pool Operation" section).

• Vacuum pool floor and walls.

• Shock pool and add algaecide.

• It's a good idea to do this on a Friday evening ready for heavy weekend usage.

• Empty skimmer baskets.

• Check pool ladder and board/slide fittings are secure.

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Filtration

There are several types of filters available for swimming pool water. Sand and gravel, diatomaceous earth, anthracite, and cartridge types are the filter mediums most commonly employed. Regardless of the medium used, the basic principles are the same.

This consists of passing water through tiny passageways. Particles larger than these passages are trapped and thereby separated from the main body of the water. This process continues until all of these passageways are blocked. The filter must then be cleaned and the cycle repeated.

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Vacuuming

A filter is designed to remove sediment and suspended matter from the main body of water, however, some dirt will inevitably settle to the bottom of the pool during periods when the filter is not in operation. The only way for this sediment to be removed is through vacuuming.

The swimming pool vacuum operates in a similar manner to the common household unit except it draws water through the vacuum head instead of air. There are two ways in which this may be accomplished. One method employs a jet of water supplied by a garden hose to power the suction which draws the dirt into the head to be trapped in a cloth bag. The other method uses the suction power supplied by the filter which draws the sediment and dirt from the pool floor for removal through the filter. When there is a considerable amount of sediment to be removed the filter valves should be adjusted so that the vacuumed water will bypass the filter and run to waste.

It is recommended that the pool be vacuumed about once weekly, the exact schedule to be determined from the pool owners experience.

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Surface Skimming

Hair, lint, leaves and insects which enter the pool and remain floating on the surface can be easily removed with surface skimmers. There are two types of surface skimmers-hand and automatic. The hand skimmer is simply a plastic screen or net attached to a long pole and should be used to remove the larger floating objects such as leaves and grass.

The automatic surface skimmer is a device which is attached to the filtering system. During the filtering process, part of the surface water is drawn through the skimmer and into the filter, carrying with it dust, small insects, and other fine debris before these can settle to the pool floor.

The pool should be skimmed frequently since most dirt enters the water through the surface.

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Calcium Hypochlorite (Sanitier)

An off white granule chlorine granules or tablet.
• It contains 65% available chlorine and when dissolved in water it leaves some solids.

• It is slightly alkaline so it will increase the pH.

• It should be dosed into a skimmer or the solution can be added through a small dosing pump.

• 75 grams adds approximately 1 part per million of free chlorine to 10,000 gallons of water.

• The level of free chlorine should be maintained at between 1 and 2 parts per million. This is measured with a chlorine (DPD 1) test kit.

• When used in an outdoor pool the sunlight breaks up some of the free chlorine. So in sunny weather it may be difficult to maintain the correct level of chlorine.

• It is also used as a shock treatment to rid the pool of algae or to burn off unpleasant chlorine by products (chloramines).

(Sanitiers: This group of chemicals is the most important in treating your pool. Their job is to quickly kill any bacteria or viruses that get into the water so that they cannot multiply and cause infections in swimmers. Most of them contain chlorine.)

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Stabilised Chlorine (Sanitier)

• In order to stop chlorine being broken down by sunlight it is combined with a stabiliser - cyanuric acid.

• Cyanuric acid can be added separately or more commonly it is supplied as stabilised chlorine granules or tablets.

• The problem with all stabilised chlorine products is that as well as stopping the sunlight breaking down the chlorine they also make the chlorine less effective. Therefore it is important not to get too much cyanuric acid in the water.

• The cyanuric acid level can be tested with a test kit. The only way of getting rid of cyanuric acid is by dumping water.

• There are two forms of stabilised chlorine

• Stabilised Chlorine Tablets (sodium dichloroisocyanurate) - This is a white tablet which adds chlorine to the water just like any other sanitiser but it also adds stabiliser at the same time. It has a pH close to neutral (7) so that it will have little effect on the pH of the pool water. It is added by dissolving the required quantity in warm water. 60 grams will add 1 part per million chlorine to each 45 cubic metres (10,000 gallons) of pool water.

• Stabilised Chlorine (Trichloro isocyanuric acid) - This is normally supplied as a 200 gram tablet which adds chlorine to the water just like any other sanitiser but it also adds stabiliser at the same time. It is acidic so it will reduce the pH of the pool water making it necessary to add an alkalinity builder to the water to prevent corrosion or the attack of concrete or tile grout. The tablets are slow dissolving. They are usually put in the skimmer to dissolve over several days. One 200 gram tablet will add approximately 4 parts per million of chlorine to each 45 cubic metres (10,000 gallons) of pool water, this might seem a lot in a small pool but remember, it is dissolving slowly

• Hint: Add Chlorine in the evening instead of the morning, as this can halve your chemical costs. Why? At night, chlorine is used up doing useful work in your pool, like oxidizing all the sweat and sun-tan lotion from your pool party. During the day, it is mostly wasted -- lost to the UV in the sunlight. Depending on stabilizer levels, and sunshine, you can lose half the chlorine in the pool in as little as 30 minutes! Even when your swimming pool is stabilized, you can lose half the sanitizer in 4 hours. But, at night, all of the chlorine used is doing something useful to your pool water!

(Sanitiers: This group of chemicals is the most important in treating your pool. Their job is to quickly kill any bacteria or viruses that get into the water so that they cannot multiply and cause infections in swimmers. Most of them contain chlorine.)

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Bromination (Sanitier)

• Some pools are fitted with circulation feeders called brominators.

• These use a sanitiser called bromo-chloro-dimethyl hydantoin (BCDMH).

• BCDMH is supplied in the form of white tablets which are loaded into the brominator and the pool water is pumped over them.

• BCDMH should not be added directly to the pool or through the skimmers.

• The level of active bromine in the pool is tested with a bromine test kit and the brominator is adjusted to give a bromine level between 2 and 4 ppm. The pH level can be allowed to rise to between 7.8 and 8.0 so very little pH minus is required.

• As the chlorine and bromine in BCDMH are used up the amount of the DMH part of the chemical in the pool increases. Excessive DMH affects the disinfection efficiency so the level must not be allowed to get too high. The concentration should not exceed 200 ppm.

• Apart from the higher free bromine and pH levels all the other pool parameters such as alkalinity and calcium hardness are the same as in chlorinated pools.

(Sanitiers: This group of chemicals is the most important in treating your pool. Their job is to quickly kill any bacteria or viruses that get into the water so that they cannot multiply and cause infections in swimmers. Most of them contain chlorine.)

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pH Correction

All chlorine based sanitisers become less effective at killing bacteria and viruses as the pH rises (becomes more alkaline).

• To keep the chlorine working it is recommended that the pH is kept below 7.6.

• However if pool water becomes less alkaline it also gets more corrosive and less comfortable to swim in.

• Also, if pH drops below 7.2 it will start to attack some liners.

• Therefore, the pH is recommended to be above 7.2. So the normal range that a pool water should be kept at is 7.2 to 7.6 (ideally 7.4 to 7.6).

• On most pools the pH will tend to rise so pH minus (sodium bisulphate) is added. The exception to this is if trichloro isocyanuric acid is being used in which case the pH will go down and an alkalinity builder will be required.

• The pH is tested using pH test kit which uses phenol red tablets in a comparitor tube

• It is difficult to predict how much acid will be required to reduce the pH to a precise level as it depends on what else the water contains.

• For instance a soft water will require less acid to adjust the pH than a hard water.

• We suggest adding 500 grams for every 45 cubic metres (10,000 gallons) and then re testing after 12 hours and redosing if necessary. You will soon become familiar with the amount your particular water requires.

• To dose dissolve in warm water in a clean plastic container and distribute evenly around the pool with the filter operating.


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Granular flocculant (aluminium sulphate) (Flocculants)

• Forms a gel on top of your pool filter enabling the filter to remove finer particles. It is very simple to use.

• Backwash the filter. Place 60 grams of aluminium sulphate for each 45 cubic metres (10,000 gallons) of pool water in the skimmer or strainer basket.

• The pool filter should be run continuously for at least 48 hours and only back washed during this time if the pressure rises to the level recommended for backwashing.

• In the event of backwashing repeat dose.

• Aluminium sulphate should not be used with diatomaceous earth or cartridge filters.

(Flocculants : Substances which improve the efficiency of your sand filter. They release a coagulant to help filter sand remove fine particles which could pass through the filter and make the water cloudy. The most commonly used flocculant is aluminium sulphate.)

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Sparkle Water Clarifier Liquid Flocculant (Aliphatic Polyamine) (Flocculants)

• Flocculates the fine particles in the water making them stick together in clumps so that they can be filtered out.

• If your pool goes cloudy it can be added directly to the pool to clear overnight.

• It can be used in conjunction with, or instead of, aluminium sulphate.

• To clear cloudy water add 250 mls per 45 cubic metres (10,000 gallons).

• Dilute in a plastic bucket and distribute evenly around the pool with the filter operating.

• For routine use add 60 mls per 45 cubic metres (10,000 gallons) weekly.

(Flocculants : Substances which improve the efficiency of your sand filter. They release a coagulant to help filter sand remove fine particles which could pass through the filter and make the water cloudy. The most commonly used flocculant is aluminium sulphate.)

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Alkalinity Builder (Sodium Bicarbonate) (Balanced Water)

• In areas where the tap water is soft, or if stabilised chlorine tablets (trichloro isocyanuric acid) are used it will be necessary to add alkalinity to the water.

• Adding alkalinity builder will slowly increase the pH of the pool water.

• Water with little alkalinity is corrosive to pool pumps, heat exchangers, concrete and tile grout.

• The alkalinity should be kept above 120 ppm.

• In hard water areas it will already be over this level.

• Alkalinity builder is added direct to the pool.

• It will sink to the bottom but will quickly dissolve if brushed.

• 1 kilogram of alkalinity builder will increase alkalinity by approximately 12 ppm in 45 cubic metres (10,000 gallons) of pool water.

(Balanced Water : Water which is not corrosive and will not scale up your pool heater is said to be balanced.)

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Calcium Builder (Calcium Chloride) (Balanced Water)

• If you have a tiled pool and are in a soft water area (an area where you kettle doesn’t fur up) it is important that you keep sufficient calcium in the pool water.

• Hard water will naturally contain enough calcium.. If there is insufficient calcium in the water of a tiled pool the water will tend to dissolve the calcium in the grout making it soft. Eventually the grout will disappear leaving sharp edges which can cut the feet of bathers.

• In a tiled pool the calcium hardness should be kept above 200 parts per million.

• The calcium hardness can be increased by adding calcium chloride or by using calcium hypochlorite as your sanitiser.

• Spent calcium hypochlorite ends up as calcium chloride.

(Balanced Water : Water which is not corrosive and will not scale up your pool heater is said to be balanced.)

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Cloudy water. (Water appears murky or turbid due to suspended matter)

Causes:
• Algae
• Too high a hardness level
• Too frequent backwashing
• Inefficient filter
• Plugged or channelled filter
• Precipitating calcium compounds
• Improper pH
• Improper total alkalinity
• Too high a total dissolved solids content

Remedies:
• Inspect filtration system
• Adjust you pH and total alkalinity to proper levels, as well as the free available chlorine
• Maintain a consistent 1.0 - 1.5 ppm free chlorine level

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Algae or green murky water

Algae. Green, cloudy water or dark green or black spots on pool walls. Algae is not only unsightly, but it makes surfaces slippery. Algae can clog pumps and filters, and may harbour bacteria.

Causes:
• Insufficient free-chlorine residual
• Not following routine pool maintenance, including testing and sanitising.

Remedies:
• Super-chlorinate
• Check pH and adjust, if necessary, to comfort zone: pH 7.2 - 7.8
• Brush spots with pool brush to remove clinging algae
• Maintain a minimum chlorine residual of 1.0 to 1.5 PPM

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Eye burns and chlorine-like odours.

Causes:
• Improper pH
• Combined chlorine

Remedies:
• Super-chlorinate
• Adjust pH to proper 7.2 - 7.8 range
• Maintain proper levels of pH, total alkalinity, and free chlorine residual

Scale deposits

Scale. White, grey, or brownish deposits on pool surface or heater coils.

Causes:
• Calcium carbonate deposits caused by excessively hard water
• Accumulation of dissolved solids

Remedies:
• Adjust pH to 7.2 - 7.8
• Adjust total alkalinity
• Check with your us about acid washing your pool

Supplies
• Take the supplies/chemicals out of storage and replace those that have exceeded the expiration date.

Uncover
• Remove the cover, and then clean it.
• Allow it to dry (to prevent mildew) before folding and storing it for the summer.

Equipment
• Reinstall or reassemble the pump, filter, and other removed items.

Deck
• Reinstall ladders, diving board, and other deck fittings.
• If used at closing time, most of the petroleum jelly used to coat exposed metal fittings will have weathered off. Use a dry terry cloth towel to wipe off the remainder if necessary.

Plumbing
• Remove the plugs and replace return outlet fittings.

Refilling the Pool
• Bring the water level up to normal.

Electrical
• Restore circuit breakers, switches, and time clock trippers to normal operating positions.

Cleaning
• Restart the circulation equipment and clean the pool.

Chemistry
• Balance the water chemistry and check the levels frequently during the first few days until they stabilise.
• Run the circulation system 24 hours straight for three days or until the water has cleared completely.
• Depending on how dirty the pool became over the winter, the filter must be backwashed frequently during this period.

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DO:
Read the safety instructions on each chemical pack

Store all chemicals safely in a cool and dark place in the original and sealed containers, out of reach of children

Wear protective clothing when handling chemicals

Add chemicals to the water, not vice versa and follow pack instructions to the letter

Dispose of any spillages as directed on the label - but don't use a vacuum cleaner

Take urgent action if chemicals come in contact with skin. Flush liberally with clean, fresh water for at least 15 minutes. If irritation occurs or chemicals are swallowed or come into contact with eyes, call a doctor immediately

Keep chemicals away from lawns, shrubs or trees

Teach water safety to all swimmers, especially children

Supervise all swimming in the pool and learn to swim and life-save

Tell guests the pool depth (or have it clearly marked) before they dive

Keep safety aids around the pool

Take care with pets, especially when using a pool cover

Fence in or fit a lockable gate to outdoor pools. Where this is not possible, use a firmly anchored, suspended pool cover

Remove steps from above ground pools after swimming

Arrange insurance cover for the pool and its use

DON'T:
Mix chicals. Always follow pack instructions

Let chemicals become contaminated with rubbish such as wood shavings, paper or cotton. The strong oxidising power of Chlorine donors in particular makes this hazardous

Use glass objects around the pool

Inhale or splash chemical liquids & avoid handling tablets or granules with wet hands

Smoke near pool chemicals

Swim immediately after a meal or when feeling tired or unwell

Discharge pool water containing chemicals into water courses, septic tanks or streams, but only into a foul sewer. Where this is not possible, consult your water supply company


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