Hi from Australia

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johnmw1

johnmw1

0
Oct 7, 2015
86
Adelaide, Australia
Hi there,

Would like to know about pool testing kits and what are considered to be the best?

Have recently moved into a new house which has a pool and being the newbie I am, seem to be running around in circles trying to get the pool up to scratch after recently uncovering it from our winter.

I have a generic 4 in 1 pool tester which could or could not be terribly accurate, but my real issue is that I'm colorblind and have had great issues with trying to match colors to the corresponding colors on the color chart.

Took a water sample to a pool shop yesterday to be told my PH is too high and to add acid, which I did last night. Also told that there is no Chlorine in the pool, so today I have disassembled and cleaned my SWG in acid solution to clean the elements etc and ramped it up to maximum output for chlorine production, so hopefully tomorrow when I take another reading things will have improved.

Also have a Hayward Ultra pool vac which is not working even though I have taken it apart checked all the moving parts etc but still not doing as it should and just seems to float a few inches of the bottom?

That's enough questions to begin with. :confused:

Cheers,
John
 
HI! We have you covered. It might be a little harder for you but you can get one of the two test kits. Look in my siggy and you will find the link to where they are compared.

I can't help with the cleaner sorry :(

Kim
 
Hi John and welcome. :wave: I have the TF-100 and can attest to it's value both in quality (Taylor reagents) and price (larger-packed quantities). I would also recommend asking for the "speed stir" so you can mix like a pro. A must for any pool owner to keep you out of the pool store. Welcome, and enjoy your day.
 
Hi Texas,
Thanks for the welcome.
You and Kym have both recommended the TF-100, can this also do the salt test? What or how do you use the speed stir? Hopefully I can source the TF here in Oz as I really need to know what is going on with my water.
Cheers,
John
 
The TF-100 does everything else you need except salt. But the TF-100 site HERE does sell a Taylor salt-specific test kit. The speed stir is a small device that mixes the solutions in the vile for you just like at a pool store. It's great. It makes testing very easy and efficient. Let us know if you have any more questions.
 
You're probably not going to be able to get a TF-100 in Australia. Are you able to get a Taylor K-2006 (either direct from Taylor or through Amazon)?

You should be looking for a test kit that uses Taylor reagents or something similar.

Parameter........Test Chemistry
FC/CC ............ FAS-DPD Reagents
pH ..…................ Phenol red
TA ..................... Blended indicator (green/red)
CH...................... EDTA/Eriochrome Black
CYA................... Melamine turbidometric test
Salt ................... Argentometric

Those are the basic parameters you need to test and what type of test chemistry is used.


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OK, I'm now home from work and taken some more water readings with my very limited little test kit.

CL/BR = 0.6/1.3 (seems my SWG is still not producing enough Chlorine)?
PH = 8.2
Acid Demand to Lower PH =350mL
Total Alkalinity = 140mg/L which to what I have read is about right amount for a FG pool?

What are these figures telling you?

Cheers,
John
 
Hi John. What you will find here is that we are generally more concerned with the pH than the TA. By that I mean if your pH tends to keep rising, you may need to let your TA come down a bit as well to help hold the pH down. They work together somewhat. As for your FC (Free Chlorine), we don't know what it should be right now "exactly" because we don't know your CYA (stabilizer) level - those two work together as well. But if you look at the Chlorine/CYA chart link below, you'll see the minimum CYA for a SWG pool is 70, so then your ideal FC should be 5 ... maybe keep it at about 6 if needed. Right now you are very low. You also need the higher CYA to protect that FC from the hot sun. Once you get your hands on one of the right test kits, you'll see how nice it is to test these things from home. Hope that helps.
 
Not to get too personal but in what color grouping do you have trouble? There are ways around it, using stuff I've learned with inspection cameras and lighting. There are tricks you can try with colored backgrounds that highlight contrasting grays instead actual colors.
 
Ale_Brewer said:
I ship American goodies to my Aussie friends all the time. I'd be happy to help you get your hands on a TF-100 but it's not going to help much if you're colorblind!
Click to expand...

How much color blindness are we talking about here? Full-on, can't-see-a-color type blindness (which is a very rare condition) or just color-insensitivity which may or may not be a problem.


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Hi Kim,

Sorry I spelt your name wrong last time around, my bosses name is KYM and it's just habit. :confused:

Also thanks for those links which I have bookmarked already.

Doing lots of old post searching to see where to source the TF-100 but to no avail as yet. CYA is still unknown at this point as I don't have a test for it, I shall drop into a pool shop on the way to work today.


Cheers,
John
 
pabeader said:
Not to get too personal but in what color grouping do you have trouble? There are ways around it, using stuff I've learned with inspection cameras and lighting. There are tricks you can try with colored backgrounds that highlight contrasting grays instead actual colors.
Click to expand...

Hi Bob,

My color blindness is not severe, just bad enough that when trying to compare colors that change ever so slightly from one group to the next I find incredibly difficult to see any difference. I can see individual colors, but have failed every colorblind test I have ever done. My way around this is getting the wife to compare colors for me. :D I had contemplated a digital test contraption but figure the cost is just too far out there to even consider it seriously.

Cheers,
John
 
Texas Splash said:
Hi John. What you will find here is that we are generally more concerned with the pH than the TA. By that I mean if your pH tends to keep rising, you may need to let your TA come down a bit as well to help hold the pH down. They work together somewhat. As for your FC (Free Chlorine), we don't know what it should be right now "exactly" because we don't know your CYA (stabilizer) level - those two work together as well. But if you look at the Chlorine/CYA chart link below, you'll see the minimum CYA for a SWG pool is 70, so then your ideal FC should be 5 ... maybe keep it at about 6 if needed. Right now you are very low. You also need the higher CYA to protect that FC from the hot sun. Once you get your hands on one of the right test kits, you'll see how nice it is to test these things from home. Hope that helps.
Click to expand...

Hi Texas,

I have no stabilizer in the pool as yet because up until yesterday I didn't know this was a requirement. Notice I do have some in the shed and will have to read a few more instructions to know what to do with it. It's the end of the school holidays here and I have the kids in and out of the pool at the moment. Is this stuff harmful and best put in at night, or I can add it anytime and not have the kids complaining about sore eyes or anything? I shall see if I can buy an individual test for CYA today on the way to work.

Cheers,
John
 
No harm from CYA. More chance of harm because of not having it in there. Put about half the amout that pool math calls for, in a sock and hang it in front of a return. Squeeze it once in a while to help it dissolve.


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