Okay, to both of you I understand your frustration. I am new to this but I have been reading the stickies and these forums (with pretty much ALL of my free time, I'm obsessed!) and have been trying to do everything right. Right Thing(tm) number 1 I tried to do: Taylor K-2005 has FAS-DPD for chlorine. I've read the testing stickies and I've read and follow the manual. I also was criticized for being too careful with the chlorine... Hit it hard, bring it to 25. I kept getting low numbers so I kept hitting it hard. Even after the pool was cleared I still have TC that doesn't match FC on my kit. So as to the education that goes on around here you tend to think you still have organics, ammonia, etc.
I've been suspecting my kit pretty much since I got started and today I took the water to Leslie's and now I'm fairly sure. 1. after describing to them the spots they seem convinced it's not mustard algae - primarily because it's on none of the walls, only on the curves so they think it's more dirt settling off of the walls after brushing.
Let's recap. My numbers:
FC .5-1
CC 5+
PH 7.0
TA 175
CH 375
CYA 90
Now I tested everything multiple times. I tested different dilutions on the chlorine test. I'm suspicious so I've been going to great lengths to ensure I've been doing the tests accurately.
Pool store numbers:
FC 5
TC 5
PH 6.8
TA 130
CH 220
CYA 30
TDS 1000
copper/iron 0/0
Phosphates 300
Nitrate 2
Nitrite 0
Now when they did the FC test, I watched them like a hawk. Their TAYLOR reagents caused almost immediately a blood red color - VERY different from what my identical TAYLOR reagents did. A color which I haven't gotten from the FC or TC test. I mean DARK. I also saw when they did the CH test the blue turned purple almost immediately (bleaching?)
I don't want anyone to worry about being harsh with me. For one I do a lot of pontificating or guessing without acting immediately. I almost always wait to hear back from several people before agreeing with an assessment - mostly because I am new to this. I did test the CYA shortly after that post. I was going to edit it to include it but forgot about that. Sorry. Taking a guess and assessing how right or wrong you were is the way to become an expert IMHO.
So Leslies suggests that everything is okay (except my test kit maybe). My FC held way high overnight and the pool water looks delicious. My temptation is to just be happy with I have, filter and leave some trichlor tabs in the floater but I feel I need to explore the accuracy of my test kit a bit or maybe just buy a new one. This is a K-2005 I bought from lincoln aquatics over the winter. It was strangely cheap. I think $36... I thought I was getting a good deal - it does FC, TC, CH, TA, CYA, etc.
Any advice appreciated, thanks
Pic today:
Mustard algae?