Hi All. OK, don't hate me because I'm pretty naive right now. I'm here to learn! Last year we bought a house with an Auto Pilot SWG pool and fought it all year, breaking constantly and the only service person lives 3 hrs away. I did a lot of research about different systems over the winter then this year took out the SWG and put in place all that you see in my signature (UV, Ozone, Mineralizer). I am committed to having very low chlorine levels as I have young kids who swim a couple times a week so limiting toxicity exposure is my primary concern. I am also now committed to learning how to maintain this pool myself. I've been using test strips at home and weekly water checks at my local pool store (and reading about the testers you guys sell but haven't bought it yet).
I balance my pool every Friday (today), here are my levels today BEFORE balancing:
FC: 0.0ppm
TC: 0.0ppm
CC: 0.0ppm
pH 8.0 (I added 2lbs phDown after this test)
Hardness: 175ppm
Alkalinity: 112ppm
Cyanuric Acid: 38ppm
Copper: 0ppm
Iron: 0ppm
Borate: 64ppm
Water clarity: just the slightest bit white cloudy, my husband wouldn't even notice it but I do because I'm obsessing over learning about pool care. I have non-chlorine shock that I intend to use after my PH comes down in a few hours. Since installing the new system I have found that my PH does creep up and the white cloudiness has been my only other concern. Creeping PH was always the issue when we had the SWG too. Incidentally, I've also been using bacteria tests periodically just to take an extra measure.
About the tests: I want to buy one but I'm confused why the ones sold here are $80 versus the $10 they go for on Amazon. Do you guys add stuff to them to enhance their value? I tried to read everything I could find, apologies if I missed the obvious.
I'd love to learn anything you care to share! Thanks so much for making this useful information available.
I balance my pool every Friday (today), here are my levels today BEFORE balancing:
FC: 0.0ppm
TC: 0.0ppm
CC: 0.0ppm
pH 8.0 (I added 2lbs phDown after this test)
Hardness: 175ppm
Alkalinity: 112ppm
Cyanuric Acid: 38ppm
Copper: 0ppm
Iron: 0ppm
Borate: 64ppm
Water clarity: just the slightest bit white cloudy, my husband wouldn't even notice it but I do because I'm obsessing over learning about pool care. I have non-chlorine shock that I intend to use after my PH comes down in a few hours. Since installing the new system I have found that my PH does creep up and the white cloudiness has been my only other concern. Creeping PH was always the issue when we had the SWG too. Incidentally, I've also been using bacteria tests periodically just to take an extra measure.
About the tests: I want to buy one but I'm confused why the ones sold here are $80 versus the $10 they go for on Amazon. Do you guys add stuff to them to enhance their value? I tried to read everything I could find, apologies if I missed the obvious.
I'd love to learn anything you care to share! Thanks so much for making this useful information available.