G
Guest
debrann said:Hi! We shocked to 35 last night and then again this morning. Our test results right now (5 hours
after shocking) are as follows:
FC 20
CC 1.5
PH 7.2
TA 110
CYA almost 30 (we guessed at 25)
We took sample to pool company and here are their results (we ran our tests as soon as we got back
from the pool company):
Ammonia 0
FC 2.4
CC 7.6
PH 7.1
TA 0
CH 173
CY 8
Copper 0.3 (the copper was 0 on the July 18. We put EZ Pool in one more time on the 19th)
Iron 0
TDS 1610 (the TDS was 800 on July 18. It has been climbing over the last 2 weeks. We put EZ Pool in one more time on the 19th)
Ignore TDS, it is not really a valid measurement. It's not the total dissolved solids that are important but the levels of the different ionic species. IF your TDS is mostly salt it has no effect on the pool, howver if it is cyanurates and calcium and sulfates then you need to drain and refill to get them down if they are too high. It is normal for TDS to increase in a pool over time. Monitor your individual parameters like CYA and CH and if one of those is too high then deal with it by water replacement.
They are using the LaMotte Waterlink system with little vials that are put into a machine and read, correct? I have the LaMotte certification on this system so I can answer some of the points below for youl
Here is what they told us at the pool company.
1. There is so much chlorine that it has bleached out the water and the copper reading
isn't a true reading. Looking at previous test results, they feel the copper is really
at a normal level. He knew we had put a sequestrant in about 10 days ago. He said
with all the chlorine, there were no sequestrants remaining.
The DPD test has bleached out so they are correct about the chlorine. Your FAS-DPD test is more accuracte, believe it for both FC and CC!
As far as the copper, they are right that the high chlorine has probably destroyed much of the sequestrant you put in so you now have a much truer copper reading. Remember, all sequestrant does is temporarily 'deactivate' the copper so it does not cause problems. The sequestrant breaks down over time due to chlorine and sunlight. Your copper is at the low end for algae control (.3- .6 ppm) and high enough to stain or turn hair green. It means that you have to add seqestrant on a regular basis and be very careful NOT to let your pH rise above about 7.8 EVER. I suspect that your actual copper level is a bit higher than .3 ppm. High FC levels will not interfere with the copper test.
2. He said the TA probably wasn't true, again because there was so much chlorine in it.
The TA has bleached out because of the high chlorine so the thest is worthless. In fact, this test will only work if the chlorine is below 3 ppm according to LaMotte tech support! Your titration test for TA will be accurate, however. You might need to add 1-2 extra drops of the first reagent (chlorine neutralizer) and the color might go from blue to pale yellow instead of green to red but the results are still valid. Once again, believe your test!
As far as the CH and CYA tests, I never liked the CH test in this system. It will read low when the CH is near the upper limit of the meter. I have seen many cases where this system said the CH was around 350 ppm but when titrated it was well over 600 ppm! It is a known limitation of the test.
The CYA test is usually on the money but they have had many bad batches of CYA reagent that read low. I know this because I have had to return several to LaMotte over the past few years for replacement. Same with the TA reagents vial. They have had quality control issues. Once again believe your test results!
3. He tested the ammonia and it was 0.
THAT is good news. How did he test the ammonia? Strips or liquid reagents?
We feel comfortable with their ammonia and PH readings, but we don't feel comfortable with
the rest of their readings. We feel like our readings are right on. We can't test for the copper, so
we don't know what to think about it. All of our previous copper tests there had been .09 or below.
The only reason we put the sequestrant in was because the pool company said to. They came out and looked at the water. They thought it looked like the water was a metals color. The color did
not come out with the sequestrant. After shocking 2 or 3 times (only to 10), the water became clear
and has been clear ever since.
Again, the pool looks absolutely perfect, clear, sparkling. The water temp. is 81.
If draining is the only way out, let us know and we will start today.
Thanks again for all the help. We really appreciate it!
Thanks!
Debbie