Taylor K-2006: CC test, R-0871, pink to colorless, then back to pink

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foobar

0
Feb 12, 2016
11
Brisbane, Australia
Hi,

I've been a lurker on this website/forum for a few weeks now, due to having problems with a green pool. Followed lots of tips + advice on here to get my pool water clear again. It's taken a few weeks, using a rubbish dip-test kit while waiting for my Taylor K-2006 to be imported from the US! I've basically been replacing water due to a high CYA reading (150ppm) and adding random amounts of liquid chlorine. I now have my Taylor K-2006 test kit! (FAS-DPD)

I have a question about the CC test. When I add the R-0871 reagent, after I added the first drop the sample turned colorless after a little swirl, indicating CC 0.5. After about 10 seconds, the sample turned slightly pink. So i added another drop and it turned colorless again (2 drops = 1.0 CC). Then another 10 seconds went by and it went slightly pink again. I got CC 2.0 then stopped.

Should I wait until the sample stays colorless for longer? How long should I wait?

The pool is still a little mirky, and has a green tinge to it. I can see the bottom, but not 100% clearly.

Current stats:

CYA: 60
FC: 17
CC: 0.5? 2.0? More? Not sure
pH: 7.6
TA: 120
CH: 150

Going to re-test first thing tomorrow a.m., to see if the FC/CC has changed.

I realise that I need a FC level of 24 to keep SLAMing - but couldn't manage to get to the store to get more chlorine today.
 
Welcome foobar!

You've obviously done you research and it's good to see you've got the right test kit.

What you've described with the colour change back to pink is normal so you only count the drops to get it clear then that is your reading.

I am sort of assuming you've read up on how to SLAM the pool. One of the most things you need to do is to MAINTAIN your SLAM level for your CYA of 60 as much as possible. You may have to do it every 1 or couple of hours at first between additions and testing.

Good luck and let us know if you have any further questions.
 
Welcome to TFP! wave: Jezza is correct. Go with the initial color change. The solution will always begin to change when you just let it sit, so don't do that. Aside from that, keep that FC up at the correct level for your CYA and follow all the instructions on the SLAM page and you'll see that water clear. Good luck and keep us posted. Have a great day.
 
You are on the right track to getting a clear pool AND keeping it there now that you have a good test kit.

Like Jezza said you stop counting when the water goes clear. Do not worry when (notice I did not say if) it turns back to pink.

Keep the FC at the SLAM level or just slightly above if you are going to be away from the pool for a while. The more your Maintain the FC the faster you will get it clear. The last part is the hardest as it seems to take forever! Taking pictures of your steps looking down into the pool will help you and us see the progress and lets you know it IS working!

Kim
 
Thanks all!

I did another FC/CC test this morning at 7am. The sun had been at a small corner of the pool for about 20 minutes, best guess.

FC had dropped to 15.5 (was 17 last night)
CC remains at 0.5
Pool still slightly cloudy/green tinge.

I'll get more liquid chlorine tonight after work and keep FC maintained at 24 or more :)

Pics to follow.
 
I tested the pool again tonight (after sun-down). FC dropped to 10.5. Kids had been in pool for an hour. Can FC drop by 5 over the course of about 13 hours through the day?

I've just added 12.5L of liquid chlorine. Pool size is roughly 50,000L. That should raise the FC to 40 (well over the shock level of 24)
 
First things first please--------some housekeeping--------please go to setting (upper right hand), go to "edit signature" (left hand side) and add your pool info in your siggy-pump, filter, test kit, pool size, etc. THANKS!

Kids=stuff add to pool if you know what I mean so yeah you could lose that much to the kids and the sun.

We tend to put our FC just under the SLAM level for our CYA when we know we will have some else over to swim, adult or child, to be on the safe side.

Kim
 
Normal FC consumption should be about 2-3ppm in an Australian summer-perhaps a little more when you've got extra hot weather which may be happening at the moment and then throw in a few kids!

But I would think that you are still losing a lot of chlorine to algae which is why ideally you should try and test as much as possible between the testing and additions, maintaining 24FC.

Having your fantastic new test kit allows you to try and get your chemical additions conducted accurately. Overdosing your pool with chlorine is wasteful of your chlorine as the sun will consume it at higher levels quicker. (FC loss is percentage based not an actual number- i.e. if you lose 50% of chlorine at your CYA level at 40 you drop 20 FC whereas at 20 you drop 10FC). In other words you are adding litres of chlorine unnecessarily which ultimately costs you $$$$$. The other downside is that it is not ideal to swim in your pool at that high a level over your SLAM FC of 24.
So the moral of the story is try to shoot slightly over your SLAM FC of 24 without going way over.

Just wondering if you have familiarised yourself with the Poolmath tab at the top of the TFP website?
 
Thanks, all. The water is finally clear!

Latest readings:

CYA: 45 (this has dropped 15 over the past 3 days, but i've had to top up water a bit so it's diluted pool water a bit - also i'm not sure on the accuracy of my first CYA test of 60 - my eyesight is pretty good and I can see the black dot for ages!).
FC: 18
CC: 0.5
pH: 7.7
TA: 120
CH: 130
Salt: 3800

The SWG is only outputting at 10%, won't go up any higher. The manual recommends salt at levels between 4500 to 5500 so will get some more salt added in!
 
I have a method we call "the bar glance" LOL

All you want to do is glance down at the tube then glance away. If you stare long enough you will see the dot (or get caught staring if you are out with someone hehe).

If you see the dot when you glance then add some more of the CYA mixture to the tube. Glance again, add as needed. When you do not see the dot when you glance call it good. IF it is between two numbers call it the higher number.

Kim (I hate the CYA test so had to come with this to keep myself from going crazy!)
 

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The CYA test is tricky but you will get better at it. Kim has given you a good idea on how to read it so you don't lose your mind. I like to use the averaging method where you take a reading then tip the solution back into the squeezie bottle and repeat say 3-5 times then take the average. Then round it up to the nearest 10. CYA error reading is about +\-15.

When you say your SWG gives a reading of 10% does it give off a low salt reading error message or ssomething similar? How are you testing for your salt levels? Are you still in SLAM mode?
 
Jezza said:
When you say your SWG gives a reading of 10% does it give off a low salt reading error message or ssomething similar? How are you testing for your salt levels? Are you still in SLAM mode?
Click to expand...

The SWG has 10x green LEDs. Each one lit = 10% output. Only the 1st one lights up. If i turn it up more than a really low setting, another (yellow) LED flashes meaning "low salt".

I'm testing my salt levels with a strip that I put in a little water, then I watch some white peak rise and then read when some yellow bar at the top turns black (sorry, rubbish description! I'm at work at the mo though).

I have just stopped SLAMing.
 
Jezza said:
Don't worry about the test strips but follow what your SWG tells you. Obviously you need to add more salt as you mentioned earlier. I would suggest sticking with the SLAM if you can.
Click to expand...

I've added another 125Kg of pool salt. According to test strips, salt has raised from 3800 to 6100, which is about right for the size of the pool.

SWG LEDs are flickering between 10% to 20% (EDIT: it's back to just 10% now). At this rate i'll need to put enough salt in and it'll be like sea water (30000?). Obviously i'm not going to do that. 6100 is already slightly over the SWG manufacturers recommended level.

I'm in a rental property so all the equipment belongs to the landlord, so I don't really want to be spending more than necessary to keep the pool clean.
 
Ok- sounds like you have passed the 3 criteria to stop your SLAM. (I am assuming you meant CC instead of FC <1 though). Although how is your FC holding up at the moment?

Something doesn't sound right with your SWG- have you checked the SWG cell for calcium build up? What's your deal with the landlord regarding the upkeep of the pool?
 
Jezza said:
Ok- sounds like you have passed the 3 criteria to stop your SLAM. (I am assuming you meant CC instead of FC <1 though). Although how is your FC holding up at the moment?
Click to expand...

Ah yeah, I meant CC instead of FC. Updated my post.

Jezza said:
Something doesn't sound right with your SWG- have you checked the SWG cell for calcium build up? What's your deal with the landlord regarding the upkeep of the pool?
Click to expand...

I've not checked for calcium build up. Think it might be worth a quick look when I get chance. The deal with the landlord is that I return the pool in the state that I found it, when leaving. I'll have to check the agreement in more detail.

I went in the pool today and I can taste the salt in it.

Will check the SWG :)
 
Yes I would make that your 1st point of call- it may not have been cleaned for a long time especially if it is a rental. Are you familiar with how to clean the calcium off the cell? Also just wondering if you could let us know how your FC is holding up- if your SWG is running at a low level you may need to use some liquid chlorine to keep the FC up at the right levels and avoid the algae monster again.

Also wondering if the landlord is able to give you some information about when the cell was last replaced- most only last about 5 years.
 
I recall some post on this forum about cleaning the SWG - i'll look it up.

The FC has been dropping a little. I'm currently testing FC/CC every couple of days, on average, and adding some more liquid chlorine if I think it needs it. Can't rely on the SWG at present.

The FC drop doesn't help with the sun on the pool everyday, and kids wanting to go in it everyday too :p

I'll spend the next week doing daily testing and trying to maintain a specific level of FC and other chems!
 

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