How bad are these numbers?

[jonmar]

Had our water tested today in our 3 week old inground vinyl. 16 X 32 lagoon shaped pool. Is there anything urgent in these numbers:

PH 9.0 I know this is high
TA- 160
CH- 200
FC- 3.0
TC- 3.0
CYA- 25

Salt 3300

 

[PaulR]

Yep, pH is high. Since you reported a salt level, you have a SWG? Generally having CYA in the 70-80 range works best for a SWG, it won't have to work as hard to maintain your FC level. There is some info in Pool School (big button in the upper-right of this page) relevant to SWGs, check it out.

Because a SWG tends to put upward pressure on pH, you'll probably find that you want to lower your TA as well, because high TA also puts upward pressure on pH.
--paulr

 

[dmanb2b]

urgent?...yes, adjust PH to 7.6...otherwise if you are using bleach, you could add a touch of CYA and depending on how stable your PH is you may want to consider lowering your TA, but not urgent. If using a SWG...what paul said and check out pool school...button on upper right hand corner of wbpage

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

They're not good....

You need to lower your PH asap with Muratic Acid, you are at risk for scale. I'd say lower it to 7.2. Read here about Lowering TA.

Also read Water Balance for SWGs, you need to up your CYA.

How does your water look?

Do you have your own test kit yet?

 

[jonmar]

Water is perfectly clear. I do have a SWG, alhough it says the salt is 2900 ppm, not sure which is more accurate, the machine of the test in the store. I have the test strips which I believe are fairly unreliable. I picked up a test kit that requires adding drops of various things to the water in a test tube. Don't think it tests CH or CYA though. I dumped in a bunch of PH down about an hour ago, and left the pump on filter.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Test strips for salt if they are the Aquachek brand, are reliable. Test strips for pool chems are not.

The drop kit - where did you buy it/what brand?

You really need an FAS-DPD chlorine test, and CYA test, which are included in the TF100 or the Taylor K-2006 test kits. You may be able to get by with your kit if you supplement it with these 2 tests - otherwise if the kit you bought is not a reliable one you maybe better off just ordering one of the two kits I mentioned.

 

[jonmar]

The test kit came with the other pool equipment. It is made by Olympic Pool Accessories from Quebec, Canada. There are four tests that it does, PH, Chlorine Residual Test, Acid Demand Test, and TA test. There are five little bottles of various chemicals. Basically you compare the resultant water colors with the chart colors on the test tube. Is there a test kit that actually gives the digital readouts, or is it always left to the 'educated guess' as to which category of color the results fall into?

 

[Guest]

The test kit came with the other pool equipment. It is made by Olympic Pool Accessories from Quebec, Canada. There are four tests that it does, PH, Chlorine Residual Test, Acid Demand Test, and TA test. There are five little bottles of various chemicals. Basically you compare the resultant water colors with the chart colors on the test tube. Is there a test kit that actually gives the digital readouts, or is it always left to the 'educated guess' as to which category of color the results fall into?

The test kit you have is sold under many names (Ace hardware sells the same kit) and it is a piece of junk.
Sorry but it is. It is very difficult and subjective to use. This is why we recommend only three different test kits. If you are in Canada you are going to be limited to one, the Taylor K-2006. Let us know where you are located and we can direct you to the best prices for these kits.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Well, the FAS-DPD chlorine test is a drop based test, but you are counting the number of drops till the solution changes from Pink to clear, so it's not a "comparison" test like you describe. It tests FC up to 50 and I find it very simple to use, I don't use the OTO chlorine test anymore (I can't tell the difference between 2-5 on the comparator tube).

The PH test is probably similar to yours. Digital tests have their problems too and from what I understand not very reliable.

I'm not familiar with your kit but others with more experience will likely chime in.

We only recommend two kits and they are compared here.

Are you in Canada? Apollo Pools is a good source for the Taylor products.

I see Waterbear posted as I was typing.

 

[Guest]

Had our water tested today in our 3 week old inground vinyl. 16 X 32 lagoon shaped pool. Is there anything urgent in these numbers:

PH 9.0 I know this is high
TA- 160
CH- 200
FC- 3.0
TC- 3.0
CYA- 25

Salt 3300

pH is too high, TA is WAY too high and CYA is WAy too low. All three of these parameters are contibuting to the very high pH but they are easy enough to fix!
water-balance-tips-for-a-swg-t3663.html
(the above link is the FULL version of the pool school article.)

 

[jonmar]

I am in Canada about 45 mins north of Toronto. About two hours ago I added about 2 pounds of PH down and aimed all my returns up so that it looks like a river. Took out the test kit and it says chlorine should be between 1-1.5. Mine is at 3 per the pool store. Dark purple on the useless strips. Anyhow, the PH level appears lower, as the results after 5 drops of the red stuff was not dark pink anymore. More of a dull light pink. The TA test: I quit after counting 22 drops. I will pick up some CYA tomorrow. Not sure how to accurately calculate how many gallons I have, but it is a 16 X 32 lagoon, 8 foot deep end and a 3 foot shallow, which is about 1/4 of the whole pool.

 

[jonmar]

Just ordered the TF 100 from the website in the link posted above at tftestkits.net
They ship to Canada for $35.

 

[dmanb2b]

wow...duraleigh must have just opened up for our friends up north ...i just checked the website
on main page
"2. If you live outside the 48 states, [We can ship anywhere in the world except Canada] simply order the kit but stop when you get to the payment section. That's it."

You'll love the kit

 

[JasonLion]

No, TFTestKits.Net doesn't ship to Canada. Try Apollo Pools and the Taylor K-2006.

 

[jonmar]

Well I placed an order and it accepted my Canadian address. Paid with paypal. I just sent an email to them though letting them know that I didn't notice that proviso since the link I used didn't take me to their homepage. Anyone know why they wont ship to Canada?

 

[reebok]

some kind of agreement with taylor (the company that makes the reagents in the kit).

 

[JasonLion]

TFTestKits.net buys their reagents from Taylor. Taylor has an exclusive distribution agreement in Canada with Lowry & Associates in Newmarket, Ontario. Because of that Taylor will not allow any of their other distributors, dealers, or OEMs to sell in Canada. If you are in Canada, you have to buy from Lowry & Associates or one of their dealers. Apollo Pools buys their Taylor products through Lowry & Associates, so they are allowed to sell in Canada.

 

[jonmar]

Went to my PB's store today to buy some CYA and he told me that I should wait another week or so since it is a new pool and it takes time to disperse in the water. Thoughts? Are my chemical problems potentially lowering my CYA? I got my PH down to about 7.8 (used my crappy kit, best guess on the color chart). Did take a dip today since it was finally a nice day here and both myself and wife noted a 'chlorine' smell on our skin. Is this normal for a SWG pool? Oh yeah, how long should it normally take in SWG pool for the PH to go back up?

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Went to my PB's store today to buy some CYA and he told me that I should wait another week or so since it is a new pool and it takes time to disperse in the water. Thoughts? Are my chemical problems potentially lowering my CYA? I got my PH down to about 7.8 (used my crappy kit, best guess on the color chart). Did take a dip today since it was finally a nice day here and both myself and wife noted a 'chlorine' smell on our skin. Is this normal for a SWG pool? Oh yeah, how long should it normally take in SWG pool for the PH to go back up?

When did you add CYA? It does take about a week for it to fully dissolve and register on tests. When did you add and how much did you add?

Chem probs lowering CYA - no.

The chlorine smell is just the chlorine combining with your body's natural oils/sweat etc and forming cc's on your skin. Normal.

PH rise: Kinda depends. Since your TA is high, and your PH was lowered to 7.8, I'd check it again in the a.m., and then use acid to lower it to 7.2. This will also lower the TA a little, which is good. Everytime the PH hits 7.8 lower it to 7.2. Eventually the TA will come into the recommended range and the PH should stabilize. IF you find the rise annoying, there are instructions to "speed up the process" of Lowering TA in Pool School.

 

[jonmar]

Are pool was finished and filled May 30. The CYA was put in that night in the skimmer. I don't know how much, the pool guy just showed it to us in the sock in the skimmer. 3 weeks sounds like plenty of time. Should I add some?