While the starting numbers for this pool were not excessively high, there were two main problems the customer was struggling with:
- recurring algae bloom on one wall
- a white, cloudy discoloration in the pool water when Diclor (a common type of CYA stabilized chlorine) was added
This cloudy water was caused by a calcium fallout reaction. To fix this, we needed to remove the excess calcium with reverse osmosis pool water purification. The goal was to get both the calcium levels and the phosphate levels (algae food) back in the correct ranges with R.O.
Since this pool chemical levels in this water weren’t terribly out of balance to start with, R.O. was able to bring the chemical levels down to about as pure as pool water could possibly get.
As a point of reference, the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) ended at 540 ppm. Anything under 500 ppm is pure enough to be drinking water, so this pool was about as close to that as possible. The customer could drink this water if they wanted to. I gave it a taste - it was pretty good!
We lowered the cyanic acid (CYA) level by 100% and removed almost every toxin, micro contaminant and excess chemical in the pool water. (This all is helping prevent algae blooms and the calcium fallout reaction.)
Our reverse osmosis purification process was so effective in stripping the water molecules of all excess elements that I actually had to add some calcium back into the pool.
The calcium level had become too low by the time the R.O. unit had finished running and, had I left it that way, it would have been become somewhat "aggressive water". This means that the water would have sought natural equilbrium and would have tried to remove calcuim from any surface it could. That is what "aggressive water" refers to. In this state, it can eat through metals, concrete surfaces, metal fixtures and heat exchangers, even vinyl and plastic over time.
At California Pool Co., we want customers to have a remarkably soft swim - softer than they’ve ever had before! Balancing the chemicals post-purification allows us to fine tune any aspects that R.O. has “over-purified” so-to-say. This helps us get the pool chemical levels just right to create that perfect swim for the customer.
With Reverse Omosis, we fixed the algae blooms and the cloudy water in this pool, all while bringing the pool to drinking water standards.