Is It Just Me, Or Can You Simply Eyeball FC After a While

[MarkTX]

Hello,

Been reading on here for 7 months, and we started our new (and first) pool with TFP 3 months ago. Fortunately, we have had no chemistry problems, and we have not been pool-stored. Rather, we have had the clearest pool water I have ever seen. But I test (esp FC) almost daily. Lately, I have noticed that I can kind of discern FC just by looking at the water. Is that the normal case? Or am I imagining it? Because eyeballing is much more convenient. And I think if eyeballing your FC is possible, it would be a strong testament for the TFP method.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

I can eyeball when there is not enough FC or none at all

 

[MarianParoo]

Yup. But with a new pool, I would err on the side of over-testing.

 

[Texas Splash]

Man - you guys are on a whole other level of TFP zen ...."at one with the water" grasshopper. Woo. I still test.

 

[Richard320]

I'm afraid I haven't reached that point yet with the chlorine. But I can tell by the dullness of the reflection off the surface if the pH is too high. Could be that 4-figure CH...

 

[MarianParoo]

To each his own pool. And until you REALLY know YOUR pool: test, test, test. OHMMMM....

 

[pinguy]

I can't even eyeball the OTO chlorine test.

 

[RobbieH]

I can tell the moment I walk outside if something is off. Not just by the appearance but by the smell. When everything is right, my pool has no smell at all. If I smell anything, I know something has gone wrong.

If you are using a LQ, you should be able to get away with weekly testing if you have it tweaked.

 

[jrs_diesel]

By eyeball I can tell if there have been a lot of people in the pool since the water will be slightly cloudy.

By smell, I can't really smell it unless my nose is right near the water, and only then I might catch a slight whiff of chlorine.

Getting to know my chemistry, now that makes it easy. I've gotten to the point of knowing my normal chemical levels (CH, CYA, TA) and water temperature, plus the days weather will give me a good idea of how much liquid chlorine I need to add for that day.

 

[poolnewbies5874]

If it's sunny out, I can tell if it needs chlorine by how shiny and sparkly the water is but I'm not good enough to know how much it needs.... Yet?

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

 

[swreeder70]

Our previous home we had the pool for over 16 years. After about 5 years I could tell almost immediately if something was off. 99% of the time it was CL or PH were low, the water just wouldn't have that sparkle to it . Our new pool, we've only had for 8 months and I'm still learning and testing every day.