First Test Results

[Carter20]

Hello,

We've had our new pool for two weeks now and have had three tests done. After our latest test (today) the pool store said everything looked fine and only said to get the PH lower, but the FC and TC seemed high to me so I wanted to get any thoughts. Also, there was a line so I couldn't get into too deep a conversation at the store. Here are the three sets of results:

June 10 ...... June 1 ...... May 29th

FC - 8.34 ........ 1.27 ........ .07
CC - .66 ...... 1.68 ...... .33
TC - 9 ...... .41 ....... .4
pH - 8.1 ...... 8 ...... 8.4
TA - 134.2 ...... 93.9 ...... 48.8
CH - 172 ...... 100 ...... 95
CYA - 16 ...... 47 ...... 4
Salt - 3600 ...... 3400 ...... 3400


We've had rain over the past three days so I've run the chlorinator at a higher setting (4 out of 5) and run the pump an average of 12 hours. Also, there hasn't been much sun over the past week and the solar blanket was on the whole time.

Just wondering:

1) Has my FC increased due to running the SWG at a higher setting and for longer? Any thoughts on what the "normal" running setting should be out of 5?
2) My CYA got into the low end of the acceptable range on June 1st but dropped at the most recent test. At opening, I was told to put in 10 pucks, two at a time, and I've gone through 4 and about to put the next two in, is this why its low?
3) My combined chlorine seems high at .66 but will this be taken care of by the much higher FC?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts or advice!

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!!

Well, you test results are a perfect example of why we always say to order one of the Recommended Test Kits and not trust pool store results.

The one that sticks out is the CYA ... there is no way it went from 4 up to 47 and then down to 16.
You should really add the stabilizer separately as adding the CYA using pucks is a slow process.

I would not change anything in the water until you test it for yourself using a good test kit.

 

[Carter20]

Thanks for the quick reply Jason, appreciate it. I've already checked out the test kit link and will be ordering the recommended one shortly. Just wondering why pool store test results are so bad? Wouldn't stores typically have good equipment and expertise in testing?

 

[Richard320]

Welcome!

Hey - do you go to the same store as ndimtchev? His results are all over the place, too!
inconsistency-in-readings-t61728.html

You'll have to ask the pool store if it's ineptitude or fraud.

 

[jblizzle]

You mean the teenager that is working a summer job for minimum wage?

Sure they may have ridiculously expensive electronic test readers, but if they are not calibrated and kept clean, then the results suffer. Some of them even just read the colors off of test strips, which we have repeatedly seen as not worth the paper they are on ... just not accurate enough and results vary with age and the amount of time exposed to water.

 

[Carter20]

lol, I hear you guys.

Just for education purposes, lets say the most recent results are accurate - what course of action would you recommend along with lowering the PH?

 

[Richard320]

lol, I hear you guys.

Just for education purposes, lets say the most recent results are accurate - what course of action would you recommend along with lowering the PH?

Why would the most recent be the most accurate?

pH has been consistently high, FC has gone low.

Lower pH, raise FC.

 

[jblizzle]

I think Richard read your table backwards since the most recent are on the left.

If the water is clear, and we ignore the CC > 1.0 (which would indicate a reason for the shock process):

Raise the CYA up to 70-80ppm for the SWG (this will contribute to lowering the pH as well)
lower the pH
lower the SWG output and/or pump run time to lower the FC

pool-school/recommended_levels
pool-school/water_balance_saltwater_generator