Chloramines

[fluffy]

Has anyone else had problems with chloramines in their make up pool water? I maintain a 34,500 gal. pool that uses bromine and ozone as the sanitizers.We also use a cat controller for pH and ORP but when I add fresh water my orp drops about a hundred points per 1000 gal. If anyone else as had this problem I would welcome any suggestions.

[RMS]

Has anyone else had problems with chloramines in their make up pool water? I maintain a 34,500 gal. pool that uses bromine and ozone as the sanitizers.We also use a cat controller for pH and ORP but when I add fresh water my orp drops about a hundred points per 1000 gal. If anyone else as had this problem I would welcome any suggestions.

Chloramines are a chemical combination of chlorine and ammonia. It can be really irritating, especially for a pool operator. I'm lucky because here in Oregon, we have pretty good water, as far as tap water goes, Chlorine is 0, Alk. 30, pH 8.0, hardness 30.

The only way I know to get rid of chloramines is to blast them with chlorine or another kind of sanitizer. http://www.clean-pool-and-spa.com/swimming...l-chlorine.html

Have people take showers and use the bathroom before entering the pool. Also, if it's an indoor public pool, be sure you have good ventilation and a good source of fresh air. Never ever turn the exhaust off. If you close the pool at night you may want to put a couple of high powered fans on the deck at the opposite end of the exhaust, blowing towards it. This moves the chloramines across the water to the exhaust.

We started this a few months ago and it has reduced the chloramine level a bit. It's better than shocking and adding tons more chemicals to the water.

http://www.clean-pool-and-spa.com

[billp]

Has anyone else had problems with chloramines in their make up pool water? I maintain a 34,500 gal. pool... but when I add fresh water my orp drops about a hundred points per 1000 gal.

Many water depts now add chloramines to the water supply instead of chlorine. This is because chloramines do not produce the "Disinfection Byproducts" that chlorine does and which the EPA is trying to eliminate. Plus chloramines disinfect adequately when they have plenty of time as they do in a water supply system. In my neighborhood they use about 1 ppm chloramine. So when you add makeup water you are adding chloramines to the pool, and I am sure you know what that does. If you are adding 1,000 gallons at a time that is about 1.5" of water. So here are my suggestions:

1. Add your makeup water at closing time so the system has all night to zap the chloramines.

2. Make sure your bromine and ozone levels are adequate.

3. Use a timer to add smaller amounts of water more often during the day so the amount of chloramine added at any one time is smaller and has less effect.

4. Add the water through the circulation system instead of directly into the pool so it can be treated before entering the pool.

5. Or pretreat the fill water before adding it.

One or a combination of those may just do the trick.