Test TA in 5ppm increments

[Mikecn]

Is it possible to test TA in 5ppm increments. Not something I’m planning on doing regularly. I currently have a TA that is somewhere between 70 and 80 as my test turns pink at 70 and red at 80. I want to get my TA as close to 70 as possible and not overshoot into the 60’s. Would I just double my water sample similar to DPD test?

For those that will ask I am using Taylor reagents that are less than a year old. I am using graduated cylinders and a magnetic stir. I have the tools necessary to measure water in .1ml increments however I don’t feel I need that level of accuracy.

 

[JamesW]

Would I just double my water sample similar to DPD test?

Yes, use 50 ml.

 

[JamesW]

Here is the normal TA test.

A speed stir can help get better results.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

You may need to double the drops of indicator dye too if the colors aren’t intense enough. But other than doubling the sample volume, nothing else changes. Use only two drops of chlorine neutralizer (R-0007) to start. If the colors look weird then you can add an extra drop on the next test.

 

[ajw22]

Why?

What is wrong with TA in the 60s or even 50s?

 

[JamesW]

If you have an extra bottle of R-0009, you can dilute it 50% with distilled water and use that to get 5 ppm accuracy with a 25 ml sample size.

You can keep one bottle for 10 ppm resolution and one for 5 ppm resolution.

Just be sure to label them accordingly.

 

[Mikecn]

Why?

What is wrong with TA in the 60s or even 50s?

It’s not that there is anything wrong with it it’s just not the range I’m shooting for with my current calcium levels

 

[Mikecn]

If you have an extra bottle of R-0009, you can dilute it 50% with distilled water and use that to get 5 ppm accuracy with a 25 ml sample size.

You can keep one bottle for 10 ppm resolution and one for 5 ppm resolution.

Just be sure to label them accordingly.

I have an empty bottle I may just mix some up as this seems like a simpler option

 

[ajw22]

It’s not that there is anything wrong with it it’s just not the range I’m shooting for with my current calcium levels

Do you really think you can dial in and maintain pool water chemistry that precisely?

 

[JamesW]

Do you really think you can dial in and maintain pool water chemistry that precisely!

Probably not, but maybe they just enjoy working on it?

 

[ajw22]

Probably not, but maybe they just enjoy working on it?

I am all for science experiments to present at the Fair.

 

[JamesW]

I am all for science experiments to present at the Fair.

I once paid a substantial fare to enter a science fair and I didn’t think that it was fair at all for I did not fare well and at the end of the day I had to say farewell.

 

[Mikecn]

Do you really think you can dial in and maintain pool water chemistry that precisely?

Maybe, maybe not. Everyone here is different. Some of us are more obsessive than others.

I happen to have a profession that is very technical. I constantly have to correct or rework the work of others when there measurements were “good enough “.

Unfortunately/fortunately for me this has carried over into anything do.

I really just want to know am I closer to 70 or closer to 80.

Call me crazy or obsessive. We all are in our own ways. I have a neighbor who dries the windows on his house after a rain. I have another neighbor who uses scissors to trim his lawn. I happen to have a pool.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

For $4,500 and the cost of supplies/consumables you could get one of these babies and know your alkalinity to within +/- 0.01ppm

METTLER TOLEDO EasyPlus Easy pH Titrator - pH and Electrochemistry, Benchtop Titrators

Used to automate and speed up simple acid/base titrations. The EasyPlus Easy pH Titrator is ideal for the determining the acidity content of beverages, alkalinity of cleaning reagents and chemicals, free fatty acid content of cooking oils, and alkalinity (m-value) and acidity (p-value) of water.

www.fishersci.com

 

[JamesW]

For $4,500 and the cost of supplies/consumables you could get one of these babies and know your alkalinity to within +/- 0.01ppm

METTLER TOLEDO EasyPlus Easy pH Titrator - pH and Electrochemistry, Benchtop Titrators

Used to automate and speed up simple acid/base titrations. The EasyPlus Easy pH Titrator is ideal for the determining the acidity content of beverages, alkalinity of cleaning reagents and chemicals, free fatty acid content of cooking oils, and alkalinity (m-value) and acidity (p-value) of water.

www.fishersci.com

I have 5 of those and I do 5 test per machine and then I average the test results to get the best accuracy and precision.

I add acid to my pool one drop at a time.

 

[mgtfp]

I have an empty bottle I may just mix some up as this seems like a simpler option

I'd suggest to add a couple of drops from the undiluted bottle first until you're nearly there and then switch to the diluted bottle.

Like that you have less error accumulation should your dilution be slightly off. And you don't run out of diluted titrant as quickly.

 

[duraleigh]

While I don't think a 5 ppm resolution is at all necessary, Mikecn has every right to do his test that way if he so chooses.

More than one of the posts in this thread are condescending, unnecessary and downright argumentative.

TFP is a better place than that. The forum does not exist to belittle or in any way be rude to a legitimate poster with a legitimate question.

Responders should help with the knowledge they possess........not use it to diminish anyone. We can do better.

 

[BMerrill]

While the EP is concerned with Total Alkalinity, I, like others on TFP, had a concern of accurate ph levels. To me, the Comparator block was not vary accurate. The TFTestkits pH meter was better, but I wanted something even more accurate so I purchased the Apera PH60.
Wished there was a more accurate test for CYA than a sight tube.

 

[Newdude]

Newb question. (Username checks out )

Does diluting the sample also double the testing error variance like it does for the CYA test ?

I'm not judging, Lord knows I love overkill, I'm just concerned that trying too hard may be counterproductive and put you right back at square one, or worse.

 

[JeanZ1]

Newb question. (Username checks out )

Does diluting the sample also double the testing error variance like it does for the CYA test ?

I'm not judging, Lord knows I love overkill, I'm just concerned that trying too hard may be counterproductive and put you right back at square one, or worse.

Much better practice to double sample size than to dilute titrating solution.