Pulling my hair out...

[Butterfly]

First question - how "not visible" should the dot be? No dot at all? Obscured but can see black? Any help here is helpful.

Here's a visual: http://www.taylortechnologies.com/Chemi ... ntentID=44

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Joyce took care of the CYA question, with that great link that shows the CYA test.

As for the PH....trust your drop tests. Be sure you are in the shade or inside and have a white background for the test, and (wink wink Joyce, you are not wearing a hot pink tank!) The strips are woefully inaccurate, I wouldn't trust them. Sidenote, for a year the test strips said my CYA was in Normal range and it was over 100.

I can't help you with the SWG I'm sorry, I'm still learning about them myself!!!

 

[JasonLion]

The salt test strips are +-10%, so your readings are very reasonable. The salt level might well have gone up by 300. The test strips won't reliably measure small changes like that.

The SWG will be fine with the salt level +-500 from it's ideal level, likely a wider range than that depending on the brand.

Using a SWG does not change the salt level. Splash out, backwashing, and water replacement change the salt level. Over time you can expect the salt level to fall, just not because of the SWG. Because of that it is usually a good idea to aim for a salt level a little higher than the ideal level for the SWG.

Your salt level was very likely well above zero when you started. Starting salt levels around 1,000 are quite common.

 

[Butterfly]

Second question: What does a pink PH mean? High or low? We had a lot of rain, which I assumed would lower the PH.

See if this helps, it helped me! pH color chart by waterbear:

6.8 and below yellow
7.0 yellow with a bit of orange
7.2-7.3 orange
7.4-7.5 red-orange
7.6-7.7 red
7.8-8.0 "pinkish" or "cool" red but not quite purple
8.2 and above purple

Having a good test kit will put you in control of your water and is the BEST investment we made in our pool! I recommend the TF Test kit sold by duraleigh (Dave) one of TFP's members. His product and his customer service are excellent! Link on home page and in my sig.

Let us know how things are going and good luck.

 

[mvrisch]

OK, so its been a while, but here are the new numbers, verified by the pool store:

FC 2.26
TC 2.29
ALK 121
PH 8.1 (ouch - probably from the refill, right?)
CYA 73
CH 168
Saturation .59
Clear, no Algae

So, my plan is to add 3lbs of PH Down, and up my SWG to 30% (it's been running at 20%).

Any other ideas? The water seemed a bit bitter but not really salty - is that the high PH?

 

[ktdave]

CYA (black dot test) shows at about 60. The strip shows a little more maroon than that, which implies a higher CYA. Do not trust strips, trust the "black dot"

First question - how "not visible" should the dot be? No dot at all? Obscured but can see black? Any help here is helpful.

No dot at all

PH (phenol red) shows a pinkish color, which I read to be somewhere between 7.2 and 7.6. However, the strip seemed to imply 7.8 or higher with an much more orange color. Again don't trust strips

Second question: What does a pink PH mean? High or low? We had a lot of rain, which I assumed would lower the PH.

Salt read 5.0-5.1 on the strip (2750 PPM or so). I added 50lb bag, and now it reads a clear 5.6 (3380). Here's the strangeness - if my pool is the dimensions above, it is about 21000 gallons, which means that 50lbs should up salt by 300, not 600. There is no way (I don't think) that this is a 10,000 gallon pool.

Third question: Why is my salt going up so much with so little? This is not the first time - I initially added 550lbs, and it took my salt to 4300, which was much higher than it should have. Do I just have extra potent salt?

Fourth question: My target salt is 3500. I'm afraid to add more as it will likely put me over. Does the SWG lower the salt lever when it is in operation (it is off now), such that I should add more, or should I just leave the salt at 3400 and be done?
leave at 3400

I will likely go to a pool store to get everything retested, but your tips on the above so I can read my own test results accurately would be helpful.

My free chlorine was insanely high (16) and remains high after the drain. I suspect it is the high CYA that did it, as the SWG was only on 30%. I am going to leave it off a couple days, re-test, and then go to 10%.

I suggest you get a good test kit (see TF Test kit in my signature) to get a good handle on your pool chemistry.