Water Testing
Maintaining your pool or spa investment has never been easier, with our FREE water testing that we offer in-store at Poolside Wangaratta, ensuring that it always stays sparkling clean for you to enjoy now and into the future.
Water testing is the first step in ensuring your pool or spa is perfectly balanced. A balanced pool is crucial in protecting your equipment, and your family, against itchy skin and eyes, and enables your sanitiser and other chemicals to work as effectively as possible.
We use BioGuard® technology to provide a fast and accurate diagnosis of the condition of your pool or spa water on the spot, and can then let you know what BioGuard®products and chemicals you need to help ensure that your water is balanced at all times. The best part? With our large range of products in store, it’s easier than ever to test your water, purchase the products you need and get home quickly to keep your investment in tip-top condition!
Bring a water sample, in a clean bottle, to our Wangaratta based store for testing as soon as possible after taking the sample. Leaving samples for too long after collecting may alter the results.
To ensure there’s enough sanitiser in the water
If the santiser levels drop, bacteria will thrive and your water will quickly become unsafe. After testing, if you’ve found the levels have dropped, add a dose of sanitiser to keep your water healthy.
It will keep your water comfortable
Unbalanced water can irritate your eyes, dry out your hair and make your skin itchy. Balanced water means your experience will be comfortable and enjoyable.
Maintaining balanced water will increase the life of your equipment
Pools and spas are an investment, so you want to take the right steps to ensure you’re looking after it. Corrosive water will lead to rusting of metal equipment and plastic becoming brittle. Likewise, scale formation will reduce the efficiency of your equipment, make them to work harder and significantly reducing its lifespan. If your water remains balanced, these issues will be avoided and your investment will last a long time.
It will save you money in the long run
Balanced water will keep your equipment in good condition and help prevent expensive repairs. The cost of maintaining your pool or spa is much cheaper than fixing costly problems like algae outbreaks and cloudy water.
And remember, don’t always think that clear water is healthy water! Water that looks clear can sometimes have serious problems, and without testing it, there’s no way of properly knowing.
Total Alkalinity
Test total alkalinity (TA) first because a correct level will maintain you pH levels. Note, different pool surfaces require different TA levels.
– Concrete / tiled / pebblecrete: 80 to 125ppm (ppm = parts per million).
– Other surfaces (e.g. fibreglass / vinyl): 125ppm to 150ppm.
Chlorine (Sanitiser)
1.5ppm to 3.0ppm.
pH
pH is measured on a scale from 1 (acidic like lemon juice) to 13 (alkaline like cloudy, soapy water). Ideal range 7.4 to 7.6.
Calcium Hardness
Note, different pool surfaces require different Calcium Hardness levels.
– Concrete / tiled / pebblecrete: 200ppm to 275ppm.
– Other surfaces (e.g. fibreglass / vinyl): 175ppm to 225ppm.
Cyanuric Acid
30ppm to 50ppm.
Total Alkalinity (TA)
TA is the measure of buffering minerals present in the water, these minerals are critical to prevent the pH from shifting or bouncing.
pH
pH is a measure of the acidity of the water and is considrered the most critical element of water balance.
- If the pH level in your water is too low, the water is acidic, causing corrosion, itchiness, sore eyes, over active chlorine and potential equipment damage.
- A spike in the pH level indicates your water has become alkaline and may start to cloud. Cloudy water leads to a build-up of scale and corrosion of your pool equipment.
- You can low pH levels by adding BioGuard Lo’N’Slo(TM) and raise them by adding BioGuard Balance Pak(R) 200.
Chlorine
Chlorine is a sanitiser that keeps your pool free of harmful bacteria. If the chlorine level in your pool has dropped, your bacteria levels will spike. We recommend using BioGuard Smarter Sticks(R) for stablised sanitation to control bacteria. Unlike traditional chlorine sticks, Smarter Sticks contains SilkGuard, a unique additive that attaches itself to hard water components and metal surfaces, protecting against corrosion and staining. If your chlorine levels need a quick boost, we recommend BioGuard Power Chlor(R) – it’s easy to use with no need to pre-dissolve, and also improves filter efficiency.
Calcium Hardness
Calcium Hardness is the measurement of how much calcium is present in the water. It’s necessary in your pool, otherwise the water will leach calcium from your pool walls, equipment and even fingernails! Low calcium levels in your pool water can cause corrosion in your pool equipment, and high levels can create scale. To prevent this corrosion, we recommend using BioGuard Balance Pak(R) 300 to increase calcium hardness. If you have high calcium levels, we recommend BioGuard Scale Inhibitor(TM) which prevents excess calcium from forming scale.
Cyanuric Acid
The role of cyanuric acid is to protect your chlorine from being broken down by the sun (50% of chlorine is lost to sunlight in just 20 minutes!). Cyanuric acid helps keep your chlorine from breaking down, ensuring your water is sanitised and safe for longer. If your levels are low, we recommend using BioGuard Stabiliser(TM).
While it can seem like a drag, regular water testing is so important in keeping your pool safe and health for swimming. And don’t forget that your water balance is significantly affected by rain, so make sure you test your water after any downpours.