confusin test results - low calcium hardness, high phosphates

[skrichard]

Here are my results as of 6/66/22:
FC 6.19 (had .5 Chlorine Friday, added 2 gal)
TC 6.1 ( " )
pH 7.8 (redirected return jets down instead of Up, added 1 c acid)
TA 80* (leslie test says adjusted die to CYA on ALK)
Cal Hardness 122 (leslies recommended Hardness Plus - do I really need this???)
CYA 95 (only using liq chlorine)
Iron .1
Copper .2
Phosphates 289 ( phosphates on Friday afternoon were 95 ! WTF happened to make this go up???)
TDS 800

Vinyl liner, 23,000 gal, cartridge filters, gas heater, I use skimmer socks and net for flying tree tqigs several times a day and clean the skimmer daily.

What do I need to keep eye on or do?
Water is clear now but was cloudy Friday which is when I did TFP 100 test and 0 chlorine - see above added 2 gal chlorine.

 

[IceShadow]

Welcome!

I'm gonna give the standard answer we give for this - what you should do is stop relying on a pool store for your testing. Who knows how well the workers are trained, how often they calibrate their equipment, how diligent they are about their testing methods, etc. Instead, use your TF-100 and post those test results so we can help out based on those.

It's hard for us to give any advice based on store-based testing. What happens if we tell you to add some "hardness plus" (also known as calcium chloride, which you can get in pure form from hardware stores as ice melt and save some money for the pool-chemical-markup), only to find out that your CH was actually high and their test was just wrong? Then you're draining water and cursing us out for bad advice.

Leslie's will also be giving you advice based on outdated understanding of water chemistry from decades ago, and that advice won't mesh with how we handle pool chemicals and levels here. So you'll need to decide if you're going to have them do the tests and buy what they want you to get, or if you're going to do your own testing and follow the methodology we use here. I can tell you which worked for me

 

[skrichard]

Welcome!

I'm gonna give the standard answer we give for this - what you should do is stop relying on a pool store for your testing. Who knows how well the workers are trained, how often they calibrate their equipment, how diligent they are about their testing methods, etc. Instead, use your TF-100 and post those test results so we can help out based on those.

It's hard for us to give any advice based on store-based testing. What happens if we tell you to add some "hardness plus" (also known as calcium chloride, which you can get in pure form from hardware stores as ice melt and save some money for the pool-chemical-markup), only to find out that your CH was actually high and their test was just wrong? Then you're draining water and cursing us out for bad advice.

Leslie's will also be giving you advice based on outdated understanding of water chemistry from decades ago, and that advice won't mesh with how we handle pool chemicals and levels here. So you'll need to decide if you're going to have them do the tests and buy what they want you to get, or if you're going to do your own testing and follow the methodology we use here. I can tell you which worked for me

I will test with my TFP-100 kit when I get off my calls later and post here.

 

[jedigrover]

Take your own tests and don't fret about phosphates.
Dead algae doesn't care how much food is in the water.

 

[skrichard]

Take your own tests and don't fret about phosphates.
Dead algae doesn't care how much food is in the water.

Here are my TFP results taken at 3:0 pm today 6/6/22:

FC 6.5
CC 1.0
Cal Hardness 350
TA 110
Taylor test kit for Chlorine and pH:
Chlorine 5-10 *see above I know it is still high as I dumped 2 gal liq in Friday mid morning
pH 7.5

 

[IceShadow]

See? I probably would have told you to put more calcium in the pool since you have a heater and most heaters say they should have 200ppm, but you're testing at 350 and you would have added when you didn't need it.

You can skip the color comparison chlorine test, by the way. It's really only useful to make sure you have chlorine in the water and as a sanity check for the drop test. The drop one is more important.

The CC at 1.0 does worry me a bit. Do you have a pool cover you use on a daily basis?

 

[skrichard]

See? I probably would have told you to put more calcium in the pool since you have a heater and most heaters say they should have 200ppm, but you're testing at 350 and you would have added when you didn't need it.

You can skip the color comparison chlorine test, by the way. It's really only useful to make sure you have chlorine in the water and as a sanity check for the drop test. The drop one is more important.

The CC at 1.0 does worry me a bit. Do you have a pool cover you use on a daily basis?

No cover. It's a kidney shape and I have a mesh cover for winter. I will repeat the chlorine drop tests in the morning. It's raining here now.

 

[Getitrite]

CYA 95 (only using liq chlorine)

( Is CYA still confirmed at 95 ? Just a thought. . . )