Swimming Pool Blog
Tips on Operating, Care, Installation & Maintenance
Balance Your Pool With Our Chemicals Chart
Make sure that you maintain the ideal chemical levels for your pool. Swimming in a clean, balanced pool will ensure that you have the most enjoyable time. Follow the chart below to make sure that you have the right pH, alkalinity, calcium hardness, and stabilizer levels or the right pool chemicals to get them there!
| CHEMICAL | IDEAL LEVEL | TO RAISE | TO LOWER |
| Chlorine
|
2.0 | Shock the pool | Turn chlorinator down |
| pH
|
7.4 Summer
7.8 Winter |
Add soda ash | *Add muriatic acid (diluted) |
| Total Alkalinity
|
80-100 ppm | Add baking soda
(Sodium Bicarbonate) |
**Add muriatic acid |
| Calcium hardness
|
250-500 ppm | Add calcium chloride | Drain pool and refill |
| Stabilizer
|
20-50 ppm | Add… Continue reading |
Let Us Help You Choose The Perfect Salt Chlorine Generator for You!
Salt water chlorinated pools offer many benefits over traditional chemicals. You will notice less irritation to hair, skin, eyes, and lungs with the gentle water of salt chlorine systems. BYCP currently offer two models. The guide below will help you determine which salt chlorine generator is right for you!
- Aqua Rite Generator – The Aqua Rite system is fully automatic. It will work on plastic, vinyl, or fiberglass pools up to 40,000 gallons. It offers dual voltage. The LCD screen will track your chlorine output at the push of a button. You can increase or decrease your chlorine levels easily and there is even a button to automatically “shock” your pool with no added effort. The unit is easily… Continue reading
Cheat Sheet for Ideal Pool Chemical Levels
Pool season is close! Most pool owners know how to chlorinate their pool or treat for algae if needed at opening. Balancing the other key elements in your pool chemistry, such as pH, stabilizer, calcium hardness, and total alkalinity levels, can be more confusing. Here are the instructions that you need to make sure that your pool water is sparkling clear. Testing and correcting your pool water at home has never been easier.
- If your total alkalinity is low, you will need to add sodium bicarbonate to your water to get it to the ideal range of 80-100 ppm. You can find complete sodium bicarbonate dosage instructions here.
- If your total alkalinity is high, you will need to add muriatic… Continue reading
Poop Happens — How Long Before It’s Safe to Swim Again?
We love our kids and pets, but they often find the most curious ways to make more work for the adults in their lives. Take the backyard swimming pool, for example. We spend countless hours every month ensuring that the pool stays clean and safe for our family and friends. We clean the filters, we test the chemical balance in the water and adjust the pool chemicals as needed, we scrub the sides and bottom of the pool regularly to remove dirt and debris, and more. So, when one of our beloved children (furry or otherwise) decides to use the pool as the drop zone for their poop, we understandably freak… Continue reading
New Year’s Resolutions for Pools
Now that 2011 is coming to a close, have you started thinking about what your New Year’s resolutions will be? If you own a backyard swimming pool, will any of those resolutions include a plan to open up your pool sooner in 2012 rather than waiting until the swimming season has long begun?
Part of what makes this kind of resolution successful is to start planning early for opening the pool. Take the time now to check your existing stock of pool chemicals, and keep an eye out for off-season sales so you can nab these necessities at the best prices.
Take a look, too, at your pool equipment to evaluate whether it may be… Continue reading