We’ve all been down the PoolStored road. I’m a highly visual person, I need to see things. The pix I sent you show what colors I’m looking for on the pH drop test. The one test that I had a difficult time with was the CYA. I kept looking and staring for the black dot to disappear. Someone on TFP suggested not to look steadily, look away while adding reagent. It worked! I also found soaking the dot comparator and the test bottle with a vinegar solution cleans the cloudiness away. Just rinse really well!
I knew I was Pool Stored when...
- Thread starter PoolStored
- Start date
Last year before I discovered TFP, I had a Pool Store tell me I needed to add 38 gallons of chlorine because I had chlorine demand issues. I didn’t buy any.
It took 4 to clear my pool. I had no issues the rest of the year.
It took 4 to clear my pool. I had no issues the rest of the year.
PoolSleuth
Member
How did you manage to get a commercial account? Does an LLC own your pool?I found TFP while I was still in the closing process for my house. They never even had a chance to Pool Store me. In fact, my running side quest in pool ownership is to continue to stick it to pool stores by literally never setting foot in them unless something is so critically broken that I need a replacement same day.
.. and to deal with that I now have a commercial account the local supply house
Just yesterday Pool store told me my TC was 8 and my FC was .5. They argued with me and they reluctantly agreed to retest. Then my TC was 8 and FC was 7.2. “Oh, I guess our test was wrong”
Ok so I got home and tested. FC was 7.8 with CC at maybe .2
Ok so I got home and tested. FC was 7.8 with CC at maybe .2
- Jul 4, 2012
- 801
- Pool Size
- 21000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
Jackie - for the TA test, don't worry the shade of red. Just add drops until the color stops changing and subtract the last drop. So, if drop 8 changes the color/shade in any way, then add a 9th. If that 9th has no impact on the color then you are done and 8 drops is the answer.
Can't believe it took me a full year since owning the pool and then joining here to just see this post.
Leslie's got me for $250 (with Amazon $150 of that) with shock, add this and that. A week later same employee in late July tells me "your chlorine is so high I don't want you to add any more the rest of the summer". Looking back maybe she defined FC with CYA since I had to drain a week later after getting sound advice here.
Leslie's got me for $250 (with Amazon $150 of that) with shock, add this and that. A week later same employee in late July tells me "your chlorine is so high I don't want you to add any more the rest of the summer". Looking back maybe she defined FC with CYA since I had to drain a week later after getting sound advice here.
I had a niggling of doubt about the pool store, then my husband voiced my thoughts. "Why do we only get green water when they test and recommend products, and we use them?" I told him he was right and I had just found this great site called TFP and I was ditching the ps completely. I'm in early days of trying to correct what THEY had me do, but I'm confident I can do it. A couple of skipped visits to the ps, with accompanying purchases, will pay for a testing kit.
I had to visit a pool store in search of a capacitor for my pump. I tried all the plumbing and electrical supply stores near me to no avail. I stood on line watching these people come in with their water samples and walk out with loads of chemicals. I wanted to scream at them to check out TFP! What struck me most were the small packages of salt they sold them. I don't have a salt chlorinator, but don't they know they can buy it cheaper in large bags from Agway or similar stores? I am so grateful for TFP. I felt like the smartest person in the room.
Spencer2024
Gold Supporter
- Jun 4, 2024
- 52
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Jandy Aquapure 1400
I'm new here. Have had a pool for 9 years but paid others to maintain it. That cost is now $275 a month with no filter or SWC cleaning, so I got mad enough to take it over. After all, Leslie's has this handy home test kit. It's $50 a month and I can test at home and it tells me what I need to add. Plus I get a $50 in store credit each month. Seemed easy, right?
Saturday we were at the pool and I run Leslie's test and I test with my Taylor 2005C kit (I know I know I should have gotten the TFP test kit). Leslie's has a 9 CH reading and Taylor shows 180, perfectly inline. And Leslie's treatment plan recommends adding 56 lbs of hardness plus, which would be just over $200! I also had been wanting to test Leslie's and Taylor against my pool company. Taylor and he were pretty much aligned. Leslie's isn't reliable enough to balance the pool with confidence so I'll be returning that. And my pool guy wasn't keeping it as balanced as I thought, so I started sending my results to the pool company and asking them to fix it. Just wish I had taken the time years ago to learn about it, and TFP has been a HUGE resource. Thank you!
Saturday we were at the pool and I run Leslie's test and I test with my Taylor 2005C kit (I know I know I should have gotten the TFP test kit). Leslie's has a 9 CH reading and Taylor shows 180, perfectly inline. And Leslie's treatment plan recommends adding 56 lbs of hardness plus, which would be just over $200! I also had been wanting to test Leslie's and Taylor against my pool company. Taylor and he were pretty much aligned. Leslie's isn't reliable enough to balance the pool with confidence so I'll be returning that. And my pool guy wasn't keeping it as balanced as I thought, so I started sending my results to the pool company and asking them to fix it. Just wish I had taken the time years ago to learn about it, and TFP has been a HUGE resource. Thank you!
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My pool was cloudy and all my levels were "fine" except my calcium was low and they insisted adding calcium would resolve the cloudy pool. It didn't. A few weeks later I went to get my water tested again and they told me everything was fine but my copper level was high...I tried explaining I added algaecide the day before per their recommendation. All they ever seemed to care about was the calcium level and kept telling me to add it. Last time I ever went they had a reading of my cya being 63 and told me my chlorine of 4 was too high. I'm so glad I started reading the cya fc relationship on here and got my own taylor test. They never helped me or my pool.
- Jun 1, 2018
- 16,012
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
You can just buy the fas/dpd kit and your kit will be complete.
FAS/DPD Chlorine Test Kit
taylor k1515 a
Spencer2024
Gold Supporter
- Jun 4, 2024
- 52
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Jandy Aquapure 1400
Thank you!You can just buy the fas/dpd kit and your kit will be complete.
OrFAS/DPD Chlorine Test Kit
tftestkits.net
taylor k1515 a
That’s what I have,plus the speedstir!You can just buy the fas/dpd kit and your kit will be complete.
OrFAS/DPD Chlorine Test Kit
taylor k1515 a
- May 27, 2021
- 1,290
- Pool Size
- 17000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Sooooo……got a call from a client.
We have history from a lot of work I’ve done for them and they are good people. This year the lady of the house is going to take over pool management (instead of hubby) and I’ve always told them I’m a resource for life at no charge, call me-text me I’ll help and advise if they want to do it themselves. Per my advice they own a TFPro kit and she’s pretty good at testing the water. They’ve struggled with clearing the pool because they haven’t followed the SLAM process that I’ve explained and reviewed with them (I get it they are busy and feel like they cannot commit the time to be consistent with it) and this has been ongoing since early May.
Today she texted concerned because Leslie’s told her to backwash her cartridge filter as a part of their “prescription” to clear her pool. I confirmed she can’t backwash which she already suspected. We also talked through their plan of green to clean, cal hypo, soda ash, blah blah blah….
When I heard they recommended a 10# soda ash addition in her 25k gallon pool I asked, what did you test your PH at? She replied my test kit said 7.2 before the addition.
I truly hope she stays out of that place for her sanity and the health of their pool.
We have history from a lot of work I’ve done for them and they are good people. This year the lady of the house is going to take over pool management (instead of hubby) and I’ve always told them I’m a resource for life at no charge, call me-text me I’ll help and advise if they want to do it themselves. Per my advice they own a TFPro kit and she’s pretty good at testing the water. They’ve struggled with clearing the pool because they haven’t followed the SLAM process that I’ve explained and reviewed with them (I get it they are busy and feel like they cannot commit the time to be consistent with it) and this has been ongoing since early May.
Today she texted concerned because Leslie’s told her to backwash her cartridge filter as a part of their “prescription” to clear her pool. I confirmed she can’t backwash which she already suspected. We also talked through their plan of green to clean, cal hypo, soda ash, blah blah blah….
When I heard they recommended a 10# soda ash addition in her 25k gallon pool I asked, what did you test your PH at? She replied my test kit said 7.2 before the addition.
I truly hope she stays out of that place for her sanity and the health of their pool.I've been a lucky one among the unlucky ones I guess. While Leslies has been my source of pool products and I've spent a ton of money with them in 20 years, well, since before they even existed since they bought the Shasta pool store I shopped at from the very beginning, I have managed to keep that to a minimum perhaps just because I never tested religiously and my pool remained clear. I'll admit I have been lucky and while I've had a couple of small outbreaks of yellow and black algae (it's been several years since those outbreaks), after clearing them with the pool store products I always got back to my clear pool that just seemed to stay that way. I used PhosFree every week, Bluetek every month, Fresh n' Clear shock every two weeks and tested maybe every 4 days or so while I relied on my trusty NatureSoft salt cell. I bought at the lowest online prices I could find or when Leslie's had a 20% off sale.
I joined a few weeks ago and read and read and read about the TFP ways. Since my SWG died I relied on the liquid chlorine you all recommended and just kept adding it to maintain my 5 ppm and acid to stay in the 7s of PH. Because I followed that using just my HTH two tube test kit I began wondering how far off my water really was? It was always clear, it used normal amounts of chlorine and acid like it always had and it was still refreshing and enjoyable for all who used it. But I still wanted to know and not guess. So I bought the TFPro kit with salt and found out that my pool is actually balanced pretty well and I can just keep on keepin' on. It's amazing that in this hot, dusty desert with a cartridge filter, liquid chlorine and muriatic acid that I could fly by the seat of my pants and have a pool that eventually tested good. Thank you all for convincing me that my simple way is the right way. And I do test much more often now.
I joined a few weeks ago and read and read and read about the TFP ways. Since my SWG died I relied on the liquid chlorine you all recommended and just kept adding it to maintain my 5 ppm and acid to stay in the 7s of PH. Because I followed that using just my HTH two tube test kit I began wondering how far off my water really was? It was always clear, it used normal amounts of chlorine and acid like it always had and it was still refreshing and enjoyable for all who used it. But I still wanted to know and not guess. So I bought the TFPro kit with salt and found out that my pool is actually balanced pretty well and I can just keep on keepin' on. It's amazing that in this hot, dusty desert with a cartridge filter, liquid chlorine and muriatic acid that I could fly by the seat of my pants and have a pool that eventually tested good. Thank you all for convincing me that my simple way is the right way. And I do test much more often now.
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After being pool stored during my first green pool episode and being sold a bunch of potions that did not work, I searched the web and came upon this place. Just some simple follow the FC to CYA level chart and I took care of the problem in less than a week. Pool store is fine for buying supplies you cannot find elsewhere but their testing is way off. To prove this to yourself. Take a large sample from the pool and share it into 3 seperate bottles. Drive to 3 different stores and see for yourself they are inconsistent. Not sure why that fancy machine does not work better or more consistently. solution-Buy your own kit. I have a TF-100 Pro and its been great and the support form Nate is 2nd to none.
The people at pool stores are mostly kids and they are there to sell you everything they can. Once and a while you find a knowledgeable person.
The people at pool stores are mostly kids and they are there to sell you everything they can. Once and a while you find a knowledgeable person.
I knew when I was pool stored when I was attempting to fix my mustard algae problem for the second time. This time they told me to get a specific algaecide and a phosphate remover and a flocculant remover a long with a filter spray. After cleaning the filter I came back in and this time overheard my old “pool dad” telling the new kid in the back to really push the perfect weekly and to keep 3 bottles by the register at all times.
The new kid came out to talk to me and I had specific questions about my filter and how many years before it needed to be replaced. The kid looked up the filter saw the price ~$700 for the two (sta-rite 850). Then I was showing him the pictures of my very disgusting icky looking filter. He didn’t even look at the picture and said “yep it’s busted - you need to replace it”. (I had already researched and knew that the binding rings were fine and there was no acute wear to the pleats - some owners have gotten 5 years or more out of the filter). Pool dad came out and he looked at the picture and agreed with me that it was fine. Maybe the eagerness of the new kid and the combination of the Sales conversation I overheard that didn’t sit right with me. I immediately googled mustard algae, found this site and then bought a test kit. I read one thread of that lady who had the rusty looking water in her above ground pool turn it into absolute perfection in just a week by applying this method and I knew I found the right place.
After a week of slamming at the right ratio and one more cleaning of the filter. I’m happy to report a trouble free pool. The best it’s looked after spending more than $2000 chasing imaginary levels that didn’t matter and buying absolute ********. Angry and happy at the same time. I’m not mad that they run a proficient business akin to the pharmaceutical industry but Dang, never again.
The new kid came out to talk to me and I had specific questions about my filter and how many years before it needed to be replaced. The kid looked up the filter saw the price ~$700 for the two (sta-rite 850). Then I was showing him the pictures of my very disgusting icky looking filter. He didn’t even look at the picture and said “yep it’s busted - you need to replace it”. (I had already researched and knew that the binding rings were fine and there was no acute wear to the pleats - some owners have gotten 5 years or more out of the filter). Pool dad came out and he looked at the picture and agreed with me that it was fine. Maybe the eagerness of the new kid and the combination of the Sales conversation I overheard that didn’t sit right with me. I immediately googled mustard algae, found this site and then bought a test kit. I read one thread of that lady who had the rusty looking water in her above ground pool turn it into absolute perfection in just a week by applying this method and I knew I found the right place.
After a week of slamming at the right ratio and one more cleaning of the filter. I’m happy to report a trouble free pool. The best it’s looked after spending more than $2000 chasing imaginary levels that didn’t matter and buying absolute ********. Angry and happy at the same time. I’m not mad that they run a proficient business akin to the pharmaceutical industry but Dang, never again.
toddclare
Gold Supporter
- Jun 23, 2024
- 69
- Pool Size
- 21000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Jandy Aquapure 1400
I know I was pool stored a couple summers ago. During COVID, we got an above ground Intex pool and sprung for the salt generator. Had the water tested at the pool store regulary and was spending $100 a month on chemicals and additives, and was never close to good clean water. It was stressful.
Built an in ground pool with spa this summer and found TFP before it started up. I think I've spent < $100 total on some acid and the initial startup chlorine, and now I'm cruising (and having a lot of fun maintaining and using the pool). I own and understand the pool, the pool doesn't own me.
Built an in ground pool with spa this summer and found TFP before it started up. I think I've spent < $100 total on some acid and the initial startup chlorine, and now I'm cruising (and having a lot of fun maintaining and using the pool). I own and understand the pool, the pool doesn't own me.
Mine is here: The "unpoolstorificiation"
www.troublefreepool.com
We all go through it in the beginning...
The unpoolstorification - fixing levels, etc
Hi Everyone- I've titled my thread the "unpoolstorification" because I recently purchased a pool with a house, and it seems just about everything that could be non-TFP was wacked. The instructions from the previous owner were, "put a bag of shock from Big Box Store into the pool weekly, and...
www.troublefreepool.com
We all go through it in the beginning...