The Ideal Water Balance For Your Pool Heat Pump

As a swimming pool owner, you know chemicals, oils, debris, and even constant swimming can cause the pool water to be ever-changing. This state can affect the health of both pool and swimmers alike. So, you need to check and balance chemical levels of your pool water, whether it is residential or commercial.

What is pool water balance?

Water balance means keeping four essential pool water chemicals levels (pH, total alkalinity, calcium hardness, and chlorine) in balance. If they are not in their ideal balance levels, they can affect your pool sanitiser quality, your families’ health and your pool heat pump. The ideal levels of the four test are mentioned below:

pH:2 to 7.6
Alkalinity: 100 to 150 ppm
Calcium hardness: 175 to 300 ppm
Chlorine: 1 to 3 ppm

Regardless of whether you have fibreglass, concrete, or vinyl liner pools, you need to maintain and balance the water correctly. This can make your swimming pool enjoyable and healthy and prevent any costly breakdowns to your pool heating and equipment. Let’s take a closer look at the ideal water balance ranges for different types of pools:

Proper chemical ranges for your fibreglass pools:

Chlorine Residual –0 to 3.0 ppm (1.5 ppm is ideal)
PH –2 to 7.6 (Ideal 7.4 to 7.6)
Total alkalinity – 80 to 120 ppm
Calcium Hardness – 200 to 400 ppm
Cyanuric Acid (chlorine stabiliser) – 30 to 60 ppm

Proper chemical range for concrete pools:

pH:2 to 7.5 ppm (concrete pools)
Chlorine: 2 to 3 ppm
Alkalinity: 80 to 100 ppm
Calcium Hardness: 200 – 250 ppm (concrete pools)

Proper chemical range for liner pools:

Calcium hardness: 150-250 ppm
pH:2 – 7.6
Total alkalinity: 80-120 parts per million (ppm)
Chlorine:0-2.0 range

It’s very important to keep your water balanced especially when you have a pool heat pump or any type of pool heater heating your pool. Don’t just rely on your little test kit, take it to the pool shop and get the water professionally tested. This is recommended to do on a monthly basis. With imbalanced pool water, it can lead to unsanitary water, stains, odor and corrosion. Chemical imbalance can cause damage to the heater and this is not related to the manufacture’s workmanship warranty, and they will not provide warranty repairs/service if your heater needs repairs due to imbalanced pool/spa water. So, chemical balances are necessary to cover your warranty also. If you find it hard to keep your water balanced then be sure to get in touch with a highly experienced pool professional.

Here are some reasons why you should get your pool tested and balanced by an expert:

They ensure that your pool’s water quality is safe and adequately adjusted to swim in

With proper pool water chemistry, they ensure chemicals work more effectively, last longer and save you money

They diagnose issues before they turn into expensive problems

They know which and how much chemicals to use to make your pool’s sanitiser quality high

Hopefully, you now you have a better understanding of what the ideal pool water balance requirements for your pool and your pool heat pumps are and why professional help is essential to test and balance your pool water.

Want more information on the Ideal water balance for your pool heat pump? Get in touch with Pool Heat Pumps Perth. With sound knowledge and friendly service, our professionals will ensure that you have a healthy, sparkling, and proper water balanced swimming pool that’s safe for you, your family and the pools heating equipment.