bubbles in water

Hi:
We have an above ground (vinyl) pool, about 80,000L, with a sand filter. The water temp has been quite high for over 7 days now, holding around 88 - 90 F. Chlorine has been in the recommended range, but I'm wondering if I should bring it up to 3ppm in the hot weather?

Lately, I've noticed in the water a lot of tiny tiny bubbles and if you look into the reflection of the sun, you can see a slight fizzle on the surface.

The water is still clear from outside looking in, but if you're under water with goggles, you can see a lot of tiny tiny bubbles in the water.

I know we have a bit of an air leak from our solar heater, but no where close to the volume of bubbles in the water. Could it be something else?

It doesn't take a big leak to create lots of bubbles. Do you have a swcg? They create bubbles as they operate, too. You mentioned bringing your chlorine up to 3 ppm-- what is your CYA level?

I'm unfamiliar with swcg (what does that stand for) and CYA?

One of the drain valves at the very top of the solar heater wasn't fully sealed. I managed to close that off yesterday, and for sure it was sucking in air from there. Perhaps it takes a few days for the bubbles to fully go away?

Is there an easy way to check lines for air leaks? None of the lines have water droplets but it doesn't mean they're not sucking in air?

Thanks for your help.

SWCG = Salt Water Chlorine Generator; CYA = cyanuric acid (chlorine sunlight stabilizer)

If you find an easy and practical way to locate suction leaks, PATENT IT quick! You're gonna get rich!

No, we don't use a SWCG - we use liquid chlorine and stabilized chlorine pucks once in a while.

Last time we checked, stabilizer was within range. Bubbles seem to be much less today, we also let the temperature drop a little, the pool seems to act up more when the water is 88+F for more than a week.

Thanks for suggestions :)

But "within range" doesn't really mean anything. My fear is that your Cl is too low for your CYA level, and it won't take long for algae to develop under those conditions.

Janet

Hi Janet, sorry for the late reply.

I figured out the problem and we've been enjoying the water, I completely forgot to reply...

CYA is 30, and FC was 3-4. The prob wasn't the chemicals. It was actually right at the pump. The pipe fitting that screws into the pump needed to be tightened, I could see a continuous stream of little bubbles being sucked into the pump window, and it was filling the sand filter with air (so much that I could bleed out air from the sand-filter for 30-45 seconds every day before water came out...) All that air was being pushed into the pool water.

Anyway, I tightened the fitting and inspected the glue at all the pipes leading INTO the pump for any tiny possible air leaks. Now, no air in pump window, and no air in pool :) :)

Water looks like sparkly glass, too bad it's rained for 3 days non-stop......

Quick Question- after shocking the pool (liquid chlorine in the range of 10 ppm), what is the acceptable range of chlorine is it safe to put the solar blanket back on the water without doing damage to the blanket?

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Originally Posted by cds13

Quick Question- after shocking the pool (liquid chlorine in the range of 10 ppm), what is the acceptable range of chlorine is it safe to put the solar blanket back on the water without doing damage to the blanket?

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It's more a matter of letting the chlorine finish, than it is FC levels alone. It's not FC that damages the cover; it's the volatile (can turn to a gaseous form) CC's that result was the high FC breaks down various 'goo' in the water. There are 2 reasons for keeping the cover off:
1. FC + UV (sunlight) are MUCH better at breaking stuff down, than FC alone.
2. The gases that form need to be released so (a) they are gone from your pool and (b) they don't accumulate under your cover and cause damage.