
9
WATER CHEMISTRY TERMS
YOU SHOULD KNOW
Before jumping into Water Maintenance, here
are some terms to help you.
1. PARTS PER MILLION (PPM):
This is a form of measurement used in most
pool or cold tub chemical readings. Best
described as any one million like items of equal
size and make up, next to one unlike item, but
of equal size. This would be one part
per million.
2. TOTAL ALKALINITY (TA):
Measures substances in your water such as
hydroxides, carbonates, and bicarbonates.
When at the proper levels, these elements
keep your water from clouding and growing
bacteria, as well as prevent the inner workings
of your Chilly GOAT™ from deteriorating or
forming scale. TA also helps to stabilize pH.
The higher the TA level (when it is within the
recommended range), the less likely the pH
is to change. With low alkalinity, the pH will
fluctuate and be harder to control. With high
alkalinity, it becomes extremely dicult to
change the pH.
3. PH OR POTENTIAL HYDROGEN:
This indicates the acidity or basicity of the
water. The goal is to have a neutral, stable pH
to prevent cold tub damage and unhealthy
conditions. Low pH levels can corrode metals,
etch or stain fiberglass or acrylic, cause
unsanitary conditions that irritate the eyes or
skin, and derail the total alkalinity of the water.
High pH can cause cloudy water, eye or skin
irritation, scale formation and poor chlorine or
bromine eciency. Note that the chemicals
you are using to sanitize and clean your cold
tub can also lower or raise the pH level in
the water. There are many variables involved
preventing high pH in your cold tub.
4. SHOCKING:
By shocking the water in your cold tub, you
remove organic compounds from the water, kill
bacteria, remove chloramines, and reactivate
the bromides in the Chilly GOAT for cleaner
water. You should shock your water once a
week, after heavy bather use or any time free
chlorine levels test lower than total chlorine
levels. To do this, either add oxidizer/non-
chlorine shock to burn o the chloramines or
add extra chlorine to raise the chlorine level.
Oxidizer/non-chlorine shock acts by releasing
oxygen in the water, which serves a similar
function as chlorine. An advantage to using
this type of shock is that the water is safe
to enter after 15 minutes of the application
and excessive sanitizer (chlorine) levels do
not occur. However, an oxidizer/non-chlorine
shock doesn’t disinfect the water for bacteria.
If you use chlorine to shock, you must wait
until the total chlorine reading is at a level safe
to reenter the water.
5. SEQUESTERING:
This can be defined as the ability to form a
chemical complex which remains in solution,
despite the presence of a precipitating agent
(i.e. calcium and metals). If the minerals and
metals in water are not sequestered, they can
cause a reaction, turning the water brown,
red, orange, or green depending on the
minerals and metals present in your water.
It is important to add a sequestering agent
when adding water to your Chilly GOAT and
even on a regular basis (if bottle instructions
recommend doing so). Common names for
sequestering chemicals are: Minquest, Stain
and Scale Control, Metal-X, Spa Defender, Spa
Metal Gone, etc.
6. FILTRATION:
Filters are necessary to remove particles of
dust, dirt, algae, etc., that are continuously
entering the water. If the Chilly GOAT is not
operated long enough each day for the filter
to do a proper job, this puts a burden on the
chemicals, causing extra expense. Filtration
time will depend on the water capacity, pump,
and filter size and, of course, bather load. Spare
filter cartridges should be kept on hand to
make it easy to frequently clean the cartridge
without the need for a long shut down. This
will also allow the cartridge to dry out between
usages, which can double the life span of
the filter. Replace the cartridge when the
pleats begin to deteriorate. Cartridge cleaning
should be done a minimum of once a month.
More often with a heavy bather load. See
Cleaning Your Filter Elements in the Regular
Maintenance section.