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Building a pool?
If you have decided to invest in the ultimate luxury – a backyard swimming pool, you may now be daunted by the decisions that follow. Besides budget and construction specifics, a suitable sanitation system should be carefully considered as it will have a direct impact on your water quality, health and swimming experience.
Water sanitation should involve three things; a disinfectant (most commonly chlorine), an oxidiser and a safety residual. Disinfection involves the destruction of bacteria and viruses and oxidation involves the breakdown and removal of organics, oils and nitrogen/ammonia containing compounds found in perspiration and urine. Residual is the amount of free available disinfectant remaining in the water to provide continuous protection.
Chlorine Generators
The most common sanitation system used within Australia for backyard pools is a chlorine generator (chlorinator/salt cell) which produces chlorine using a mixture of salt (added directly to pool water) and water – a process known as Electrolysis. Electricity is passed through this solution of salt and water within the electrolytic cell (layers of titanium alloy plates in pairs that are electrically charged) to produce chlorine. Chlorine is an excellent disinfectant and provides great residual protection however is a weak oxidising agent.
Chlorine Disadvantages
When chlorine reacts with pollutants within your pool water it creates by-products called chloramines. Did you know that it is these chloramines (not free available chlorine) that are the known cause of odours as well as eye, skin and respiratory irritations? So what does that mean? Well it means your pool has two kinds of chlorine, combined chlorine and free available chlorine. Combined chlorine is chlorine that’s already ‘combined’ with and oxidised organic matter. Free available chlorine is the ‘good’ kind of chlorine that’s still available to kill bacteria etc. If levels of combined chlorine reach much above 0.2 ppm it is time to remove it to avoid health problems. How do you get rid of it? Traditionally, chloramines are removed by shocking the water, that’s right, with MORE chlorine. The more you use your pool, the more chlorine you need it’s a never-ending cycle. For this reason, it is not recommended that chlorine be the primary oxidiser in the water.
Ozone/Chlorine Partnership
Ozone (O3) is a naturally occurring oxidiser that protects our planet in the atmosphere and is the ideal oxidisation partner for chlorine. Ozone will not leave a chemical residual within your pool as once it has oxidised pollutants and chloramines (3500 times faster than chlorine), breaks down into simple oxygen leaving your water noticeably softer and crystal clear. Ozone is also remarkable due to the fact that it will effectively destroy chlorine resistant parasites such as Cryptosporidium and Giardia. At the very least this means that you no longer need to worry about your family being exposed to high levels of chlorine as when using Ozone, your chlorine levels can be reduced by up to 80%.
On the financial side of things, not only will ozone help to prolong your equipment life, it will lower your maintenance and operating costs (less salt/chemicals/back washing required). It goes without saying that when building a pool, most people desire a sanitation system that requires fewer chemicals, is easy to use and produces excellent water quality. The combination of chlorine and ozone meets all of these requirements and is an ideal water treatment package for backyard pools.
Water Balancing
The production of chlorine using a chlorine generator can cause water chemistry problems such as a high pH level. As the pH of the water climbs, the chlorine within the water becomes less effective and acid must be added to your water to lower the pH level. Although this sounds simple, if acid is added incorrectly the alkalinity can burn out which leads to difficulties controlling pH, pitting of concrete, stripping of metals and staining. When using ozone to lower chlorine production requirements, pH level management becomes much simpler.
Salt Cell Life
Another bonus of using ozone to lower chlorine production requirements is the added years you will get from your salt cell. The expensive titanium alloy plates will last twice as long saving you a great deal of money over the life of your chlorine generator. Even reverse polarity chlorine generator plates can foul with calcium and organic build up if used heavily.
Ozone Swim Pool Purification Systems
If you want to reduce your chemical needs and reward your family with clean, healthy water then an Ozone Swim Pool Purification System is for you. Ozone Swim Pool Purification Systems have been proudly built right here in Australia for over 10 years using patented technology and are the only product on the market that combine the power of ozone and mineral/salt water chlorination. If you’d like more information about Ozone Swim give the experts a call on 1300 696 631 or visit the website at www.ozoneswim.com.au.