When we talk about scaling in the pool industry, most of the time the offender that comes to mind is calcium. We all know that high calcium levels can lead to scale depositing on the pool surface, fixtures, in the plumbing, and inside equipment like heaters and salt chlorine generators.

What if calcium isn’t the only factor? What if the calcium hardness of fill water has always been high but scaling was never an issue until recently? Could something else be causing, or at least contributing to, the problem?

The answer is yes.

For decades it has been a well-known fact in the drinking water treatment industry that excessive phosphates will actually form phosphate scale. When phosphate levels go beyond the “critical concentration level”, scale forms. This “critical concentration” level is variable based on chemistry, but for most pools that maintain the chemistry within the NSPF guidelines, that critical load point is somewhere between 2000-4000ppb.

Most pools today have phosphates. In fact, very few do not. This is due to multiple factors, including residual phosphates from municipal water supplies, swimmers, and even some pool treatment chemicals that utilize orthophosphates as an ingredient. The ambient level varies from facility to facility, but with the advent of newer digital phosphate meters, we are finding many clients have phosphates beyond 2000 ppb. Some even have phosphates nearing the 10,000 ppb mark. Phosphate load is influenced by the type of swimmers in the pool, by source water, and by locally available pool treatment chemicals.

When the operators of these pools perform maintenance and attempt to clean the scale from heat exchangers, salt chlorination cells, or off of pool/deck surfaces and equipment, what they find is that the scale is incredibly difficult to remove. The reason is that the phosphates combined with calcium to form a stronger than average scale deposit. The scale that forms is not as responsive to typical acid washes, and hardens more than calcium scale alone will, typically requiring scraping off the pool/deck with a chisel or a similar tool and multiple diluted acid washes (do not use concentrated acid) for the chlorination cell, since scraping the plates will cause irreparable damage and should be avoided at all times. It also is not soluble in cold water like calcium scale is. If this sounds familiar at all, you may have a bigger problem on your hands than you thought.

High phosphates are not an insurmountable problem, but they do require attention. There are some simple steps that can be taken to prevent calcium phosphate scale from forming in the first place:

1.       Remove the phosphates before they become a problem – To do this you’ll need a high strength phosphate remover.  These chemicals should be used on a daily or weekly cycle to help maintain phosphates at as low a level as possible, even while more are introduced to the pool.

2.       Reduce the ability of the calcium and phosphates to “plate out” – To do this, you can utilize special chemicals with polymers that help to keep the phosphates and calcium in suspension. This will help reduce scaling but will also contribute to higher ambient phosphate levels as they are “trapped” in the water. This is really only recommended for facilities where phosphates are measured above 6000ppb and where treating for phosphates is difficult to schedule or maintain.

3.       Keep your water in balance, and customize your balance to your pool – When balancing your pool it is recommended to start with the NSPF guidelines and then incorporate the LSI (Langlier Saturation Index) to keep the water in line. For pools with high calcium, you’ll want to adjust your alkalinity and pH levels down a bit to keep your pool out of the “scaling” zone (higher than +0.3). If you have high calcium and high phosphates, pushing your LSI slightly towards the corrosive end (-0.3 being the limit) can help prevent scaling.

Calcium scale and phosphate scale are definitely situations that should concern you, but going into it with some knowledge of how to deal with the issue should allow you to keep your equipment in top shape and your pool crystal clear.

To mitigate the stress that can come with the season, I have a few suggestions and items to check so opening day goes smoothly for all involved.

•    Check inventory. Do you have all the balance chemicals (i.e. sodium bicarbonate, calcium chloride, etc.) to get the pool up and running for opening day? If you have a chlorine generator, do you have enough salt on hand to bring the pool up to the proper salinity? Do you have enough testing reagents and are they fresh? What about specialty chemicals for removing phosphates, keeping the filters clean, and ensuring the water remains crystal clear?

•    Check for winter damage. Is there any damage to the plumbing? How does the electrical wiring look? Are the heaters operational? What about the surface of the pool itself, does the lining or tile need to be cleaned?

•    Has water been flowing through the pump room and your equipment? If so, thoroughly inspect equipment and clean if necessary. This includes filters, pumps and pump baskets, and chlorine equipment. If not, make sure you check for air bubbles as flow is restored to dry equipment. Bleed the filters and watch the pumps for cavitation.

•    Check flow meters. Are they working?

•    Clean the pH and ORP probes and flow cell filter.

•    Have you hired any new staff that will be taking care of the pool? Now is the best time to get them the training they will need. There is still time before summer to enroll staff in a Certified Pool Operator™ course. Find one near you at www.nspf.org.

•    How old are the probes? Know the lifespan of your sensors and consider replacing old ones.

•    Are the Chemistry Controllers programmed for summer? Due to the sunnier weather, hotter temperatures, and masses of people flocking to your pool, chlorine demand is a real issue and Chemistry Controllers need to be programmed to suite.

•    Clean or repaint. Take the time to clean the deck and deck equipment, such as chairs and benches. How do the locker rooms look?

•    Restock the first aid kit and inventory the safety equipment.

•    Inspect drain covers. Verify that all drain covers are VGBA and ADA compliant and in proper working order.

This list is just a sample of what may be required to prepare your pool for the summer season. An in-depth checklist can also be found in your CPO® handbook. Be sure to add to or adjust these lists to suit your specific situation.

Though summer brings on additional responsibilities, most of the stress can be reduced by preparing ahead of time. As Benjamin Franklin once said “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

JCC Westside re-opened in 2009 after a makeover to the aquatics center.

The new state of the art facility houses two Salt Pure® pools, one lap swimming pool and one multi-use therapy pool.

Throughout the year the Aquatic Center is used for lap swimming, swim lessons, water aerobics, swim team, birthday parties for children, and much more.

The Lap Pool is outfitted with a 3XLCG system as well as a 2XLCG system

The Therapy Pool is outfitted with a XLCG system

Click Here to view the JCC Westside Case study by Jackie

Dorado Beach – a Ritz Carlton Reserve, opened in December 2012.

The property originally belonged to Laurance S. Rockefeller, and is build on his original eco-friendly luxury resort, expanding the original design to accommodate modern amenities.

The resort is located in Dorado Beach, Puerto Rico and sprawls across 50 acres.

Every one of the 115 rooms are within a few steps from the ocean, and offer complete seclusion for a relaxing tropical getaway.

The Salt Pure® systems were selected for the pools and spas in order to maintain the eco-friendly design of the resort, the Salt Pure® systems in use are in the:

Hotel Arrival

Pool

System: 3XLCG

 Water Feature 1

System: XSCG

 Water Feature 2

System: XSCG

Lilly Pond

System: EUV329

BEACH CLUB

Pool

System: LV13

SPA

Men’s Cold Pool

System: XSCG

Women’s Cold Pool

System: XSCG

Men’s Warm Pool

System: 2XMCG

Women’s Warm Pool

System: 2XMCG

Lily Pond

System: EUV329

Opened in December 2012, Olivet Nazarene University’s new Student Life and Recreation Center(“SLRC”) was designed from the start with energy saving features in mind.

The SLRC has been recognized and honored by the local energy provider for its sustainability and efficiency.  Designed by Buchar, Mitchell, Bajt Architects Inc in conjunction with Elara Engineering, the new facility features an advanced geothermal heating and cooling system, a heat recovery ventilation system in the field house, and an outdoor based dehumidification system for the aquatic center, among the other cutting edge systems.

The TMI Salt Pure® systems mesh perfectly with these systems and with the ideals of efficiency and sustainability. By reducing the number of hazardous chemicals onsite, producing natural chlorine out of simple salt water, and reducing their reliance on trucked in chemicals, the SLRC has a reduced impact on the environment.

The mission of the SLRC is to promote community life, student relationships, health, fitness and fun.

The new 168,000 sq ft. Student Life and Recreation Center is a multi-use facility with a 200 meter running track, a climbing wall and the Aquatic Center with;

a 346,000 gallon, 10 lane competition pool with a constant depth of 2 meters

a 50,000 gallon resistance pool

And a 2,200 gallon 10 seat whirlpool

One of our Tech Support Representatives pulled up a picture of the defective component and wrote a simple step by step set of procedural instructions with pictures demonstrating how to remove and replace the part, and at the same time we shipped a replacement overnight.

The following day we reconnected with Gordon and ensured that he had the part and the instructions. He did, and based on the detailed information we had sent him, told us that he was comfortable tackling the repair. We offered to be on the line with him while he went through the procedure, but he assured us that, based on what we had sent him, he was good to go it alone. Within a few hours we received an email from a very happy customer telling us that the fix went well and that he was now even more comfortable working on our unit in the future – with us in a support position, of course!

An important component of ongoing pool operation is training, both on equipment and operational procedures. Historically the operator would contact their service company, or the manufacturer, so that a person knowledgeable with the equipment’s function could schedule a time to be on site to provide the training. The operator would of course be charged per hour on site and, usually, travel time, especially in these days of $4.00 a gallon gasoline. This is the “Service” model.

The Support model would provide a Virtual Training – or VT as we have coined it in my company – remotely via a computer connection. We have offered VT’s for over a decade now, and have saved our clients a considerable amount of money and ourselves thousands of travel time hours.

So is the old fashion Service out of date? Is it a dinosaur, or can the two co-exist and each fill a niche?

Our company position is that there is absolutely a part for each to play. The service technician plays an important role in keeping the mechanical room of a commercial pool running, but, at the same time, the time has come for them to relinquish absolute control over all aspects of equipment operation. Support has arrived !

Initially though, chemistry controller technology was hit and miss.

The first pH sensors weren’t always “stable,” making pH harder to manage than modern variant. This resulted in a lot of time spent trying to get the controller reading the same as hand readings and increased pool operator frustration.

Even worse, the first attempts at ORP & PPM sensors fell flat on their face. A little bit of bad grounding, TDS a bit too high, a butterfly in china flapping its wings… all these things seemed to throw the probes out of calibration, requiring more time in front of the controller and more frustration.

It was no wonder, then, that hand measurements and manual chemical additions remained standard and chlorine delivery service was at an all-time high.

Fast forward a bit to 2013 and the picture is very different indeed. They are now very reliable, stable, and chock- full of options.  Capabilities include control of various pieces of pump room equipment, remote access from anywhere in the world, real time measurements of everything from pH and temperature to chlorine levels and line pressures. Because they log immense amounts of data can often create tracking graphs, they have become essential in determining chemistry balance trends and preempting them.

Controllers today can be so advanced that you really need to go into it like you do buying a car: determine what you want it to do, decide what functionality it MUST have, and then decide on what you are really willing to spend. Once  you have those three questions answered you can start your search for your controller.

There are plenty of options in the market to fit all needs and budgets, here are a few items I generally recommend considering when you are looking at a controller:

• Do you need your chlorine automated? Or just pH?
• Do you need multiple pump control? (i.e. pH, chlorine, and backup chlorine)
• Do you need to be able to monitor the controller remotely?
• Do you have multiple pools/spas?
• Do you need flexibility to control other equipment? (i.e. chlorine generators, UV, Heaters, non-sanitation chemical pumps, backwash valves, etc.)
• Do you know who you are buying from? (if not, ask their clients how good at supporting controllers they are)

The key thing is to purchase from a company who not only sells the equipment, but actually uses and supports it! If they just hang it on the wall and leave it to you to figure out, you simply won’t get the same results, and will likely be frustrated with your equipment.

If you take your time and research your options thoroughly, you’re much more likely to end up with a controller that will satisfy your operational needs for years to come

Do you need to have a Certified Pool Operator® working on your pool? In many states, the legal answer is yes. If you’re not sure if your state requires all pools to be staffed with Certified Pool Operators®, you may be able to find your state (or county) codes here at the National Swimming Pool Foundation® website.

So if you’re in a state where there is no legal requirement, why should you take the extra step to hire a CPO®, or send an existing employee to CPO® training? Simply put, having your pool maintained by an educated professional is the smart thing to do. Did you visit the code page I linked to above? Did you notice that not only does NSPF link to each states code requirements but that in some cases they link to individual county codes? Currently in the United States, there are over 80 separate local codes that govern the maintenance and operation of our pools. While there is a movement towards a national set of guidelines (CDC Model Health Aquatic Code), it is your responsibility to know your local regulations and make sure your pool is in compliance. Most CPO® courses will cover the most important regulations as they apply to your area and will encourage familiarity with all local codes, as well as will encourage the CPO® student to see the state inspector as an ally. Wouldn’t you rather know that you’re prepared for the next surprise inspection, rather than worry that you’ll pass it?

Beyond knowing your local codes, a CPO® has the knowledge to understand and enforce them. A CPO® often has an understanding of a wide variety of systems pertaining to aquatic facilities. They have been trained in the safe handling and storage of common pool chemicals, understand safety procedures in regards to facility maintenance and up keep, know what to look for when it comes to facility wear and tear, and have been educated on the safe and proper management of an aquatic environment.

Finally, and most importantly, a CPO® understands water. Water is far more complex than most people give it credit for. Full of minerals like calcium, copper and salt, and teaming with live creatures such as bacteria, water is not nearly as benign as it appears. Water craves balance. Unbalanced water can do amazing, and devastating, things. Look at the Grand Canyon. Yep, a little water did that. Ok, a lot of water did that. But the same really can apply to your pool.  Is there too much calcium in your pool water? Your water will kindly deposit that calcium in your pipes, on your tile, and in your heaters. Not enough? Your water will simply suck the calcium that it needs right out of your plaster walls. Pool water also craves a balance in the measured pH, alkalinity and sanitizer levels. Too much of one, not enough of the others and you’re headed for a dangerous situation.

Consider how many adults, and perhaps children, use your aquatic facilities on a daily basis and think about how expensive your pump room equipment is. Do you really want to leave that pool in the hands of the untrained janitorial staff? Or the fresh out of high school lifeguards? Or perhaps the fitness trainers? I’ve seen pools managed by all of these well-meaning, but entirely unsuited persons. Generally these people try their best to operate equipment they don’t understand, while still working at their other responsibilities. The pool simply isn’t their main focus and inevitably suffers for it, be it via equipment failure or water quality issues. In most cases, hiring or training a Certified Pool Operator® would have been the smarter, and more economic, way to go.

A Certified Pool Operator® is a bit like an insurance policy against unnecessary pool closures and costly equipment replacements. With a CPO® maintaining proper water balance, you’re less likely to replace a corroded or calcified heater every few years. You’re less likely to face inspection violations. Instead, you’re more likely to have a safe, inviting environment where bathers want to be. So, do you need a CPO®?

Designed from the start with energy saving features in mind, the SLRC has been recognized and honored by the local energy provider for its sustainability and efficiency.  Designed by Buchar, Mitchell, Bajt Architects Inc in conjunction with Elara Engineering, the facility features an advanced geothermal heating and cooling system, a heat recovery ventilation in the field house, and an outdoor based dehumidification system for the aquatic center, among other cutting edge systems. The TMI Salt Pure systems mesh perfectly with these ideals by reducing the number of hazardous chemicals onsite, producing natural chlorine out of simple salt water, and reducing their reliance on trucked in chemicals.

The aquatic center contains a 10 lane competition pool with a constant depth of 2 meters, a resistance pool, and a 10 seat whirlpool, all designed and engineered by Richard Scott with Aquatic Excellence. The Salt Pure® competition pool is an exciting addition to the ONU campus, since it allows the introduction of men’s and women’s intercollegiate competitive swimming. Both teams have recently completed impressive first seasons.

The 168,000 sq. ft. SLRC opened at 12:12am on 12/12/2012 to a crowd of more than 1,500 students, faculty and staff. Olivet Nazarene University has stated that the Student Life and Recreation Center was designed to promote community life, student relationships, health, fitness and fun. TMI is proud that we can be a part of such a forward thinking, progressive institution.

The pH of the pool is affected by nearly everything that is introduced to the water. The chlorine that is continually being pumped in to the water has an especially strong impact.  Depending on the type of chlorine being used, the pH of the water will begin to drift up or down. The balance between effective sanitation and bather comfort is found in the pH range of 7.2 to 7.8. In order to achieve this balance, some form of pH control is required. Otherwise the constant addition of chlorine will drive the pH of the water to extremes.

Traditionally pH has been controlled by hand. To start, the pool maintenance person first measures the water’s pH. Let’s say for this example that the pH is too high and needs to be reduced. He or she diligently calculates out the amount of acid to add, mixes the acid first with water so that it doesn’t depress the Total Alkalinity, and adds the mixture to the water. Is the job done? Not necessarily. Let’s look at what has just happened.

As soon as the acid mixture was added to the water the pH dropped like a stone. Once it bottomed out (probably at a lower level than was desired) the pH immediately began its journey back to the place that it was before the Acid addition. A couple hours later the pH is measured again, again found to be high and the process is repeated over and over like a roller coaster. Not only does this process make work for the maintenance personnel, it also affects the balance of the other critical chemical components of the water and makes the water less comfortable for bathers.

The solution to this roller coaster ride is a good chemistry controller.  Controllers have come a long way in the past few years, to the point where the entire pump room can be automated if desired. Commercial pools do not have to make a large investment into a full pH/ORP controller, although I advise all commercial bodies of water to consider this approach. pH only controllers are also available. With either option, a chemistry controller is mounted in, or near, the pump room and a pH sensor is installed in direct contact with the pool water. The sensor measures the pH of the water and relays the information to the controller, which monitors the reading. When the pH of the water creeps out of range, the controller activates an acid or base feed, depending on what is necessary, in timed bursts. This constant on/off method allows for instant correction of a pH shift, which therefore results in an evenly maintained pH reading throughout the entire day. Not only does pH automation drastically reduce the amount of time that maintenance personal must spend balancing the water daily, it also makes pH balance a safer activity, increases the overall chemical stability of the water, and makes the pool a consistently more pleasant place to swim.

Are you still managing your pH by hand? If so, don’t you think it’s time that your facility looks into pH automation? It is definitely one of the most important upgrades you can make.