Recent content by mikefamig

I wasn't doing the actual testing so I can't say anything for certain. It is history now, we'll see how this year goes. The only thing I can attest to is yes, the CYA was OK when I tested everything at the end of the season and I know from experience that it doesn't fluctuate a lot.. the Ph was...

I am reviving this old thread from last summer for the sake of anyone curious of what was causing my problem with very high chlorine demand. As I mentioned, my wife retired and was learning to care for the pool water. The short story is that the problem turned out to be a lack of communication...

I would like to add to this conversation that 7.5ppm free chlorine has never caused a problem with my PH test in the past. It was after I added the Polyquat that the PH test started behaving badly. It appears to me that the chemical in PQ has something to do with this still. Not that it affected...

Very interesting, I'll definitely give it a try

I like the idea of diluting the water with distilled assuming that the distilled water is neutral PH? I'll give it a try, Mike. I'm doing all tests with the Taylor k2006 test kit.

I understand what you all are saying about letting a test sit before reading it. This PH test starting rising seconds after mixing. It went from orange to purple in 15 seconds or less. Very unusual in my personal experience. Mike.

Texas Splash I separated the two questions to avoid confusion. It is not the FC test that was changing as it sat, it is the PH test and adding 1 drop of R0007 was the solution to that problem. The PH was never too high at all, it was a bad test result caused by the chlorine level according to...

duraleigh I know nothing of chemistry but on the advice of a Taylor tech, adding 1 drop of R0007 to the water sample before performing the PH test gave a good test. He claimed that the R0007 eliminated the excess chlorine that was interfering with the PH test. Mike.

I called Taylor and learned that my Chlorine was too high to get a good PH test. The FC is 7.5 with CYA=40 and every time I tested the PH it would start out orange and then turn purple in a short time. Taylor put me in touch with a pool tech who taught me that adding 1 drop of R0007 would...

I learned that the Polyquat is not causing my PH problem. It turns out that having my Free Chlorine at 7.5 is ruining the PH test results. I was aware that high FC would affect PH results but I did not think that 7.5 was too high with CYA=40. Live and learn, Mike.

I have something strange happening when I perform the Taylor PH test. I use the usual 5 drops of R0004 and the sample turns orange. At first the test result is about 7.2 but if I let it sit for a while it climbs to 8 and above. Why is the result changing while the sample sits? Mike.

cowboycasey If you look at the label in my photo you can see the chemical name of the contents. Mike.

I am closing and added 1 quart of Polyquat 60 to my 16x32 inground pool. A couple of days later I checked the PH and it has gone off the scale to the high side. I added 14 drops of R5 acid demand to get it back to about 7.8. Nothing else has changed and the FC is 7.5. I have searched the forum...

I came up with a way to deal with the pool filling up with water during the winter season with a mesh cover. I install a small sump pump on the staircase of the pool just below the level that you want to maintain. The pump has a garden hose connected to it to carry the water away from the pool...