My home test kit is the cheap hth which read 170 TA , but my test strip read 150.so i went to the pool store and they tested, which came up with 108.Dont know why the difference. Im pretty new to pools. The pool store also recommended raising my TA to 125-150, but this site suggests 60-90.any help would be greatly appreciated..
Have decided to go the BBB route
- Thread starter onesape
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Re: BBB for Beginners
tc 3, fc 3, ta 108, th 230, ph 7.6 cya 27.this was the pool stores test results. i have a 10000 gallon agp with a brand new cartridge filter and matrix pump. just opened cover about a week ago filled water and shocked water looks good.
tc 3, fc 3, ta 108, th 230, ph 7.6 cya 27.this was the pool stores test results. i have a 10000 gallon agp with a brand new cartridge filter and matrix pump. just opened cover about a week ago filled water and shocked water looks good.
Re: BBB for Beginners
Welcome to the forum
.
Unless you are having trouble with your pH rising at an annoying rate, I'd leave the TA alone.
We recommend a TA higher than 90 if you are using trichlor tablets for chlorine. It would be good if you could tell us more about your pool and equipment and post a full set of water test results.
ETA: your numbers look good. I suggest you bump your CYA to 40 or 50.
Welcome to the forum
. Unless you are having trouble with your pH rising at an annoying rate, I'd leave the TA alone.
We recommend a TA higher than 90 if you are using trichlor tablets for chlorine. It would be good if you could tell us more about your pool and equipment and post a full set of water test results.
ETA: your numbers look good. I suggest you bump your CYA to 40 or 50.
Re: BBB for Beginners
Thanks for the quick response. The pool is actually my parents who bought a new house last summer which came with the pool. But i pretty much do all the work on it. Last year was the first I time I had ever ran a pool. For the most part it was good all season except when I went on vacation and no one looked after it.. I spent a lot of time and money back in fourth with the local pool store. Luckily this year I came across this forum. Its a 24ft 10,000 gallon above ground pool with a vinyl liner and I think 4 to 4.5 ft depth. This year installed a 1 1/2 HP Hayward Power-Flo Matrix Pump with extreme cartridge filter. The heater is not operational due to a leak in the gas line somewhere underground which at this point is financially not an option to fix. Which is alright because with the solar cover we where able to maintain good temperatures throughout the season. Last year we used the chlorine float tablets for chlorination along with a weekly shock. At one point last year water was crystal clear then cloudy overnight. From what I have read on hear about the trichlor I wonder if that was a problem. The pool store said my chlorine locked up. Anyhow after finding this site I have decided to go the BBB route so any help would be appreciated. This year we opened it up and shocked with 5 bags over 3 nights and the water has looked good after 5 days or so of filtration. Pump just runs 24/7 here. As of today I have pulled the floater and have started to use bleach to chlorinate. The thing is everything I'm told is different. Tfp chart recommends 4-7 fc pool store recommends 10 fc so I guess I dont dont really know which to go off. I dont even know if i should trust what the pool stores computer test says. There tests are designed for use with bioguard products. Every time I go in there recommendations are quite expensive. Like I mentioned in the earlier post I have been testing with strips and the 5 way hth test kit they had at walmart each one seems to have a different result. Well any help you could give me would be a big help.Thanks for your time.
Thanks for the quick response. The pool is actually my parents who bought a new house last summer which came with the pool. But i pretty much do all the work on it. Last year was the first I time I had ever ran a pool. For the most part it was good all season except when I went on vacation and no one looked after it.. I spent a lot of time and money back in fourth with the local pool store. Luckily this year I came across this forum. Its a 24ft 10,000 gallon above ground pool with a vinyl liner and I think 4 to 4.5 ft depth. This year installed a 1 1/2 HP Hayward Power-Flo Matrix Pump with extreme cartridge filter. The heater is not operational due to a leak in the gas line somewhere underground which at this point is financially not an option to fix. Which is alright because with the solar cover we where able to maintain good temperatures throughout the season. Last year we used the chlorine float tablets for chlorination along with a weekly shock. At one point last year water was crystal clear then cloudy overnight. From what I have read on hear about the trichlor I wonder if that was a problem. The pool store said my chlorine locked up. Anyhow after finding this site I have decided to go the BBB route so any help would be appreciated. This year we opened it up and shocked with 5 bags over 3 nights and the water has looked good after 5 days or so of filtration. Pump just runs 24/7 here. As of today I have pulled the floater and have started to use bleach to chlorinate. The thing is everything I'm told is different. Tfp chart recommends 4-7 fc pool store recommends 10 fc so I guess I dont dont really know which to go off. I dont even know if i should trust what the pool stores computer test says. There tests are designed for use with bioguard products. Every time I go in there recommendations are quite expensive. Like I mentioned in the earlier post I have been testing with strips and the 5 way hth test kit they had at walmart each one seems to have a different result. Well any help you could give me would be a big help.Thanks for your time.
The test systems used by many of the bioguard dealers are not very reliable. You will definitely be better off if you get a real test kit of your own. I recommend the TF100 from TFTestKits.net. The Taylor K-2006 is also good.
onescape, you gotta' stay out of the pool store! You cannot follow the pool store advice and TFP advice. I can tell you that if you stay with TFP advice you will save $$$$ and maintenance will be a breeze. We have many knowledgable members willing and able to pass on their wisdom and help pool owners.
Of the 3 tests, (pool store, strips & 5way) you should go with the 5way; however, the best thing to do is get one of the great kits that Jason mentioned. This will put you in control of your pool. The TF100 is the most popular around here because it has fantastic customer service and is a bigger bang for the buck. Link to TFTestKits in my sig.
Post a full set of test results and folks will give comments
Stick with TFP advice and when the pools around you go green this summer, yours will remain a beautiful oasis. That's TFP!
Of the 3 tests, (pool store, strips & 5way) you should go with the 5way; however, the best thing to do is get one of the great kits that Jason mentioned. This will put you in control of your pool. The TF100 is the most popular around here because it has fantastic customer service and is a bigger bang for the buck. Link to TFTestKits in my sig.
Post a full set of test results and folks will give comments
Stick with TFP advice and when the pools around you go green this summer, yours will remain a beautiful oasis. That's TFP!
So just did a sample and came up with 66 degree water TC-5,PH-7.5,TA-160,TH-0,CYA-Some where close to under 30 this is where the test cuts off but black dot was almost gone.
You suggested raising CYA to 40-50 can I achieve this by leaving in the trichlor floater or should I use the acid. If acid, would stabilizer from the pool store be ok or should I buy the liquid acid. Thanks again for your help. I was not expecting these great response times.
You suggested raising CYA to 40-50 can I achieve this by leaving in the trichlor floater or should I use the acid. If acid, would stabilizer from the pool store be ok or should I buy the liquid acid. Thanks again for your help. I was not expecting these great response times.
CYA at 30 is OK and raising it slowly to 40 with Trichlor tabs would be fine too. Keep your FC at 4-5ppm and you should be fine. How does the water look?
The water looks good. Have been having lots of storms and cloudy days lately so haven't seen it sparkle yet but still very clear. Should I be worried about the total hardness
When chlorinating with bleach on a daily basis will I need to shock. And if so, do you shock with liquid or is powder shock better because of the higher percentage.
oops missed the CH...if this is a vinyl pool, it's not a problem. If plaster or fiberglass, it should be raised to around 250ppm. As long as CC is 0.5 or below and the water is clear, there is no need to shock. I prefer to shock with liquid chlorine as it has the least impact on water chemistry.
yes it is a vinyl pool.My test for hardness was 25 ml of test water add 5 drops of hardness indicator swirl and turns red if hardness is present, which it did not. But I got a pool sample tested at pool store last week and it read a hardness of 230. Which is puzzling. I'm just a little worried maybe that my test kit is unreliable since i bought it at walmart. Also my TA tested different from theres too. New to liquid chlorine as well, whats the time frame from applying that to pool to being able to swim. And can i chlorinate with a solar cover on.
After you added the drops, did it change color at all? Pool store results can vary widely and sometimes are completely inaccurate. How old is the walmart test kit?
Yes you can chlorinate with a solar cover on, just keep it below shock level. Investing in a TF100 or Taylor K 2006 would be a good idea
Yes you can chlorinate with a solar cover on, just keep it below shock level. Investing in a TF100 or Taylor K 2006 would be a good idea
It did change color a little bit, turned to a golden color, I still dropped the titrant into it after 30 drops still no color change. The kit I just bought last weekend.