robl45 said:
I am planning on getting a better test kit as I said, but I need to make sure I get one that I will be able to use. I am looking at the colorq system right now. It looks easy enough to use for me. Some of the other tesk kits require so much time and effort that I know I won't end up using it. I had a cheap test kit from walmart or somewhere, it actually ended up cracking but I only used for the PH and chlorine tests as the other tests were so convoluted that when I tried them they didn't work at all for me.
That and the fact that money is very tight at the monent isn't helping either.
perhaps I can help you. I use both LaMotte and Taylor water testing at work and I can tell you the Taylor is easier to use but takes slightly longer. There are some known problems with LaMotte's colormetric testing that they are reluctant to discuss such as the fact that their CH test is very limited in the range it can accurately test and that the CYA test is very tricky to get accurate results. CYA testing is a bit tricky at best but with practice becomes very easy. It also normally only really needs to be done once a month (once your water is balanced). Chlorine testing is much easier using Taylor's FAS-DPD test and it does not suffer from the problem of bleachout that the LaMotte (AND Taylor) DPD tests do plus it will allow you to test much higher chlorine levels without having to dilute your sample (Important when shocking or killing algae!) The test is foolproof and even colorblind people can do this test since it involves titrating until the color changes from bright pink to colorless and the change is dramatic.
There also are limits to the LaMotte TA test because it is colormetric and NOT a titration. If you have only used a cheap testkit from walmart (most likely an Aquachem, which is no longer available) then both the TA tests and CH tests were next to impossible because the color changes were very difficult to read. A GOOD testkit like the TF100 or the K-2006 is night and day from the cheap kit you had. Most cheap test kits have a color change of blue to yellow for the TA tests and the colors are so pale that it is hard to see this color change take place. Taylor (and the TF100) have a color change from bright green to bright red. Pretty much impossible not to see this change take place. The test for CH is basically the same in all titration tests but some cheap kits use a 2 reagent test which is actually a test for total hardness and not calcium hardness (same as the teststrips). This is really a useless test for pool use!
Bottom line is this, pools require maintenance and water testing is part of that maintenance. If you are going to take care of your own pool it's just something that you have to do. If you don't want to do it then pay someone to take care of your pool and i wish you luck. There are more bad pool maintenance people around than good ones! Have you ever asked yourself why the Taylor (and TF100) testkits get recommended time and again on just about every pool forum and board on the net? It's their ease of use, reliable results, and low cost! Think how much your pool cost you then think how much you are spending on wasted chemicals because you are just guessing at your water balance. NOW does about $80 for a good test kit sound like a lot of money? It's probably a lot cheaper than one trip to the pool store can be, especially if you listen to the pool store guy who just tested your water! (I know a bit about this since I DO work in a pool store.)
Taking care of your own pool is NOT rocket science but it does involve a bit of work. Not a whole lot. In fact, once you get things under control it really only takes about 5 minues a day...that's just over half an hour a week....to keep your water in top shape. Remember, once your water is balanced and stable you really only need to test chlorine and pH daily (or every few days), TA weekly, and CH and CYA biweeky to montly--depending on whether you have a filter you backwash or not and how often you backwash if you do. For daily chlorine checks you can use an OTO total chlorine test or you can use strips. This is one place that they are useful but don't put too much faith in the numbers, you just want to know if there is chlorine in the water or not. If not then break out the big kit and see where you are.
IMHO pH should always be checked with a drop based kit and a good one. If you take one look at the pH comparater in any Taylor kit (or the TF100) and then look at the pH comparator in any cheapie kit you will immediately see what I mean, including the not so cheap kits from Guardian which I believe are no longer available either because they are owned by the same parent company as Aquachem(Chemtura, who seem more interested in selling you as many different chems as possible instead of accurately testing your water as evidenced from their imfamous ALEX water testing system at Bioguard dealers, another Chemtura company, which is well known for overdosing on chems, but I am off on a tangent!)
Bottom line is this,The best overall testkit for ease of use, cost effectiveness, and accuracy for the home user is really the Taylor K-2006 (or TF100 Testkit, which is based on the Taylor reagents and compartors.) There are more expensive kits but they are either not as accurate 0r are limited in testing range (ColorQ) or have a level of precision not really needed for home use, or field use for that matter (midget comparators from Taylor or LaMotte). There are cheaper kits but the reagents and comparators just aren't as easy to use (color changes are not distinct and some suffer from interferneces from chlorine levels that are not really that high, expecially some cheapie pH reagents!)
The tests are not hard to do properly. They come with instructions that are very clear and once you've done a test one time you see how easy it really is to do. I personally have tried many test kits that are out there including various strips and several different electronic testers. I use either a Taylor K-2006 or a TF100 (I own both, along with a lot of other kits that just are gathering dust) when I test my own pool (and actually prefer them to the $1000 LaMotte colorimeter we have at work!) Why? Because they work, are easy to do, and provide accurate information with enough precision to make water balancing easy.
You admitted that you have never used a good testkit. You ignore all the advice to get one and made some feeble excuses as to why you don't want one. You are probably wasting more money on chems you don't need or are wasting right now since you don't have a clue to your water balance!
There is really no way to help you until you het a decent test kit. The colorq is ok but it has some limitations and I would recommend it as a secondary kit for quick checks but not something that would be useful for high chlorine levels or if you have high CH (in reality, much above 300 ppm). I would still have a good drop based kit on hand for full water testing. We have a $1000 LaMotte colormeter at work and, because of the limitations of some of LaMotte's colormetric tests (and this unit has a much wider testing range than the colorq) I still use Taylor titrations for TA, CH, and ofen CYA since they provide more accurate results.