Test kits in europe

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Pwareing

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May 4, 2018
65
Carcassonne France
Hi there, I have been battling my pool for several months and after 'slamming' had the dreaded return of the mustard algae. I then realised I had not gone to the mustard algae shock level so had to start again. The pool is crystal clear and I think I have just about seen the back of the algae.
OK the questions are:
1) Where do I get a proper test kit in Europe - the only place I found in Spain wants 150€ Taylor K2006 which sound extremely expensive but I don't really have any idea. Can they be shipped from USA?
2) I exchanged around 35% of my pool water to reduce high CYA from 150 to around 100 (strips appeared to confirm this) but after shocking for several weeks the reading for CYA appears to have dropped to 30-50 - is this because the FC is still too high to give a proper reading or can this be true (FC is currently 40-50 and dropping but has been as high as 60)

I admit I have been bundling along doing OTO tests dilluted and verifying with test strips with the same dillution, but it seems odd that the CYA has dropped so dramatically (the CYA was tested undilluted)
I know I will get slapped wrists and am sorry to be using the Aquachek test srtips and a basic OTO/PH drops kit but I am struggling to get the proper kit here in France

Merci en avance

Peter
 
Some options on test kits in Europe.

How to Buy a TF-100 outside the USA:
Check legality, if legal: Have a friend buy it in the US and send it to you or ship to PO Box/will-call near border and pickup yourself or use an international forwarding service if you can find a trustworthy one (5 Reliable Parcel Forwarding Companies For International Shoppers | HuffPost)

How to Buy a K2006 or K2006C Outside the USA:
Canada: only Lowry & Associates in Newmarket, Ontario (905-836-0505) or [email protected].
Spain & Portugal: only BEHQ SL (34-93-846-53-36) or [email protected].
Rest of the World: pretty much only HornerXpress Worldwide in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (954-938-5355) or [email protected].

How to Buy LaMotte 7002 FAS-DPD Commercial Series Kits (FAS-DPD Commercial 7 Kit):
UK: poolandspacentre.co.uk or sword-scientific.com or pro-swim.co.uk

How to Buy Palintest: [SP 315C (similar to K-2005) AND/+ SP 300 FAS-DPD chlorine test]
UK: Tel: +44 (0) 191 491 0808 ext. 208 Email: [email protected] or camlabworld.com or pool-chem.co.uk

How to Buy Lovibond test kit:
UK: pro-swim.co.uk or lovibondwater.com or leisureteq.co.uk
 
Spiers said:
Is it ok to purchase the TF test kits in the USA and then transport them back to the U.K. in a suitcase?
Click to expand...

Check with airlines and your local customs organization.

- - - Updated - - -

Pwareing said:
OK great thanks for the information and contacts - I have emailed the Spain / Portugal contact already.
Has anyone any experience with the question 2 item and high chlorine leading to lower CYA levels please.
Peter
Click to expand...
Is there a direct correlation, no. CYA does oxidize at a slow rate, typically 3-5 ppm per month.

Water exchange is the only rapid way to remove CYA from a pool.
 
Most likely testing error due to unreliable test strips. Your cya might lower due to backwashes but not as much as your reporting.

Best thing to do (except for getting a proper kit) is to buy a new set of test strips and try again.

Each dilution will double the room for error when you do your FC tests, so try to up your measureing accuracy

Nobody will call foul on you since you are in Europe, you can only do what you can only do.
 
metRO: The Spain contact was in fact the company who quoted the 150€ when I double checked so may just have to bight the bullet when I get some funds.
cfherrman: The old strips Aquachek (4)agreed with new ones Aquachek (7) on the current CYA 30-50 and none have been old because I am checking 2-3 times a day just for now.

The pool is going well - crystal clear but still gets small algae???? deposits overnight on some of the liner seams, it is a deep pool so it could be debris settling in areas of bad circulation but my gut tells me its a growth.
We have had LOTS of pollen lately???? could this be a factor????
My FC is down to about 30 and I am brushing a lot, changing skimmer nets daily and using flocculant, filtration 24/24.
I am thinking of keeping the FC elevated just for now - if my CYA is 100 or 50 according to AQUA the FC efficiency is around 3% or 2% respectively, add the 50% -60% drop in efficiency from the PH, if I understand the way they interact then at 30ppm the real FC is only 0.3ppm (30 x .5 x 0.02)
Thanks for the help so far - maybe I am expecting too much
Peter
 
I worked for a courier for 9 years, and the problem with test kits, is that they contain items that are considered dangerous goods, in liquid form. This adds a whole layer of extra paperwork and expense to transporting these across borders. For example R-0009 is sulphuric acid, contained in a small plastic bottle, shipment by air, where you can have changes in pressure, could potentially cause the little bottle to explode, and eat a hole through the exterior of an aircraft causing a crash. The extra paperwork and expense, along with brokerage and customs fees, and different labelling requirements makes this stuff much more expensive.
 

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Pwareing said:
wogster: Thanks for the headsup. I understand the problem of liquid shipment but we are not talking about mega quantities here. Is there any way to get the TF100 shipped via non airline routes?
Click to expand...

True the quantities are quite small, it's the concentration and the type of good, the fact is, there are a bunch of different chemicals in these kits, that may not play nicely together, if spilled together. While it would be possible to ship by ship, ships deal is thousands to millions of Kg of material.
 
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