Calcium, which is found in our water in the southern United States can really cause havoc if you own a swimming pool. If you’re a swimming pool owner it’s good to have some calcium in the pool (200-400 parts per million) but what happens when it goes above 400ppm? In the southwest, our fill water comes from the Colorado River which carves its way through the Grand Canyon and is loaded with limestone. During this time it picks up calcium and other hardness minerals which makes our water extremely hard. Over time, as the water evaporates in the pool the hardness minerals stay behind and build up. Typically swimming pool owners see the buildup on the liner, water line on the tile and fountains/water features. The calcium which is naked to the human eye is also building up in the plumbing, pumps, and filters. When this number gets extremely high (above 800ppm) it can cause cloudiness in the water and bind up the chemicals in the pool which can lead to a green pool. Calcium literally acts like a sponge and sucks up chlorine.

At this point, the swimming pool owner has several options….

1. Drain the pool which most swimming pool stores will recommend

2. Recycle the swimming pool water

The bottom line is when you drain a pool it can take 3 or more days depending on the size of the pool, it wastes on average 30,000 gallons of water or more and your fill water is already high in calcium. The best option is to recycle the swimming pool water which is an alternative to draining the pool. We’ve developed a mobile filtration system that purifies the swimming pool water by removing the hardness minerals and other contaminants leaving you with the best water possible in your pool (fit to drink). The entire process is done on sight, takes less than 24 hours on most standard size pools, is competitive in price and allows you to conserve 85% of the existing water in the pool. The entire process in self-contained (we run on our own power), quieter than your pool motor and keeps your pool looking great if it’s done every 2-3 years. Studies have shown that our clients chemical usage have gone down, it’s prevented calcium buildup on the water line and overall they love the quality of the water.

This past week we processed a swimming pool that had extremely high calcium levels.

Initial Chemistry –

Total Dissolved Solids – 7,226ppm

Calcium Hardness – 1,200ppm

Cyanuric Acid (CYA) – 50

After filtering this 20,000-gallon pool for 17 hours and conserving 16,000 gallons our client was left with the following end results

Total Dissolved Solids – 390ppm

Calcium Hardness – 120ppm (minimum coming out of the tap in this area is 200 – 300ppm)

CYA – 0ppm

“REMEMBER DON’T DRAIN YOUR POOL, PURIPOOL!!”