Remember: Maintaining water balance is critical to ensuring the effective action of your pool chemicals.

You must be familiar with the way your pool or spa works before adding any swimming pool chemical Good water circulation and filtration are essential to achieving a safe and clear bathing environment.

The first step in treatment is to ensure good water balance, which will create the right conditions for bather comfort, chemical efficiency and equipment protection. There are three major factors affecting water balance, they are pH, total alkalinity and calcium hardness

Calcium hardness

Hardness depends on the levels of calcium salt in your water. This depends on where you live Low calcium hardness can cause damage to your pool materials. Hard water (water high in calcium) can lead to limescale foriming in your pipes and equipment
Calcium Hardness Guide Measures
•    Ideal calcium hardness levels are between 100 – 200 ppm (mg/l).
•    When the measurement is below 75 ppm (mg/l), apply Hardness Plus
•    When the level exceeds 200 ppm (mg/l), use Scale Inhibitor.

pH

pH can range from 1 to 14 where 1 is very acid and 14 very alkaline Make sure you keep your water within the 7.2-7.6 range which, being mildly alkaline, will protect equipment from corrosion and give the ideal conditions for the swimmers enjoying the pool or spa and also ensures  maximum sanitiser efficiency.
•    Ideal pH level for spas is between 7.2 – 7.6.
•    If the measurement is below use pH Plus
•    When the measurement exceeds 7.6 use pH Minus
Note
pH can be difficult to manage in spas because the system water turns over quickly, is highly agitated and is at higher temperature than swimming pool systems. [All these factors

pH rises can be caused by this which causes chlorine products such as chlorine tablets to lose effectiveness. Much higher doses of chlorine sanitisers such as will then be required. avoid this problem by using Bromine. Bromine works effectively over a wider pH range than chlorine Unlike chlorine, bromine keeps working in a spa for longer and so helps you minimise your spa chemicaluse

Total Alkalinity

Total Alkalinity (TA) acts as a buffer to prevent pH change. The water pH varies drastically when Total Alkalinity levels are very low
High levels of TA will not only affect water clarity, but also make pH adjustments extremely difficult.
•    optimum Total Alkalinity is 100 ppm (mg/l) When it drops below 80mg/l remedy it with Alkalinity Plus
•    When Total Alkalinity is above 140mg/l remedy it with pH Minus to reduce it
You should definitely check your water balance on a regular basis as it is the basis for your other chemical treatments

Use Test strips to measure your water balance, they are very easy to use