Thanks to all who have answered my questions from other posts. This site has been a great resource, I am definitley becoming a supporter! I got my K-2006 kit last night and before even saying hi to the wife after getting home from work (oops!) I opened it and started reading through the instructions. I'm a new pool owner and have had the pool open for a month using the test strips until now (which were actually pretty accurate compared to the results below). I was using pucks as my only source of chlorine and I probably didnt have enough in there so the water started getting cloudy, so I shocked it last weekend. My water is very clear and has been since the shock. So here are the results and some questions:
FC - 4 (it was 1 on the initial test, so I added 1.5 gallons of 6% bleach to get it up a bit)
CC - 0.5
PH - 7.4
TA - 80
CH - 200
CYA - 0???
I tested the FC this morning and it was a 3.5, so combined with the low CC and clear water, I think it is sufficiently shocked.
Q1: I was not expecting the 0 CYA reading. I am pretty sure I did it right, but the mixed solution was really clear and I had no problems seeing the dot. I added a 5lb bag of CYA a week after opening the pool (but while I was still shocking) and the pool store said it should last a couple of years. I have been losing a lot of chlorine, so I guess I know why. Are there any common mistakes people make with they CYA test that I should know about? What desired reading should I shoot for (my pool is in the sun all day).
Q2: How much FC do you normally lose a day (assuming appropriate CYA levels) and what level of FC would you like to stay above daily? I would think I can add those two numbers together to detrmine what to raise my FC to each night.
Q3: I have a chlorinator that I have the pucks in now. Can I take them out, put the dial to 0 or off and leave it like that the rest of the year?
Thanks again for all your help.
FC - 4 (it was 1 on the initial test, so I added 1.5 gallons of 6% bleach to get it up a bit)
CC - 0.5
PH - 7.4
TA - 80
CH - 200
CYA - 0???
I tested the FC this morning and it was a 3.5, so combined with the low CC and clear water, I think it is sufficiently shocked.
Q1: I was not expecting the 0 CYA reading. I am pretty sure I did it right, but the mixed solution was really clear and I had no problems seeing the dot. I added a 5lb bag of CYA a week after opening the pool (but while I was still shocking) and the pool store said it should last a couple of years. I have been losing a lot of chlorine, so I guess I know why. Are there any common mistakes people make with they CYA test that I should know about? What desired reading should I shoot for (my pool is in the sun all day).
Q2: How much FC do you normally lose a day (assuming appropriate CYA levels) and what level of FC would you like to stay above daily? I would think I can add those two numbers together to detrmine what to raise my FC to each night.
Q3: I have a chlorinator that I have the pucks in now. Can I take them out, put the dial to 0 or off and leave it like that the rest of the year?
Thanks again for all your help.