Trying to get a handle on my test kit - question about total chlorine

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Z

zonkakiick

Bronze Supporter
Apr 4, 2024
30
Peoria, AZ
Pool Size
14000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
I am using a Taylor k2006. I've had it for about a month and am enjoying using it (my kids like it, too:). I took a sample to Leslie's (I know, I know...) just to see if their numbers are in the neighborhood of my numbers. Every single time I've tested my chlorine it shows no combined chlorine (ie, after adding drops to go from pink to clear, add back the other drops, and it never changes from clear - if I'm doing this right). Leslie's says my FC is .8 and my TC is 1.5. I haven't added chlorine in a few days, so I'm not surprised the FC was low, but I was surprised by that gap.
I went home and tested my water and it showed a FC of 2.0 with no CC (as usual).
I know better than to trust the Leslie's test, but all the other numbers were pretty close to what I tested (they got TA 67, pH 7.9, I got TA 70 and pH 7.8). So that got me wondering about the chlorine numbers and whether, or not, I'm doing the test correctly.
Any help or ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks:)
 
zonkakiick said:
If it matters, my CYA is 57 according to Leslie's. I get it at about 60 from the kit.
Thanks
Click to expand...

Yes it does matter, big time. Not what Leslie’s think, couldn’t give a rats what they think. But your 60ppm CyA is very important. Add it to your 2ppm FC and you’re running very low on FC. To the point where you could be favoring the production of CC’s.

Full sun will degrade CC’s. So your pool while on the edge of turning may be just OK for now. However, take a sample, shake it up and warm it up in the car and by the time you next in line at Leslie’s it has converted some of the FC into measurable levels of CC’s. But now instead of just raising your FC you’ll be convinced to buy stuff to oxidise the CC’s, and then some more stuff to balance the oxidiser. Some over priced bicarb and some calcium because there’s a good profit margin on that.

Just bring your FC up and keep it up. 🙂 :swim:
 
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Reactions: Sunny Blues and Newdude
Thank you for validating what I think is right:) I added about 80oz of chlorine to get it up to around 6, or a little over. I'm in the Phoenix area, so it is going to get pretty sunny and hot pretty quick. Do you think I should bump that CYA number by using some trichlor for a short period of time?
I don't buy anything at Leslie's, but you're right, it will mess with my head when there is no confidence in their results.
Thanks, again.
 
Agree with all above. Your worry is entirely in the wrong place.

lc_chart.jpg

Minimum is not an ok level as it sounds. It is a defcon 1, all hands on deck level. And you're running 3+ ppm under minimum.

That's taking the bullet train to Swampville.

You should Overnight Chlorine Loss Test once you get the FC far above min.
 
Post a full set of current test results from your K-2006 test kit

FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA
Water temp
Salt (if you have a SWG)

Suggest you use PoolMath. You can also share your PoolMath logs with your forum account.
 
zonkakiick said:
Do you think I should bump that CYA number by using some trichlor for a short period of time?
Click to expand...
No. Your CyA is already above the top end of the range. Use liquid chlorine from now on. See Newdude’s post above, the FC/CyA table.
 
zonkakiick said:
Do you think I should bump that CYA number by using some trichlor for a short period of time?
Click to expand...
No. Your CyA is already above the top end of the range. Use liquid chlorine from now on. See Newdude’s post above, the FC/CyA table.
Click to expand...
This that is correct, if you don’t have a saltwater generator. If you have an SWG you’ll want your CYA level to be around 80. Also, I have come to understand that people in Arizona tend to need their CYA higher than those of us who live in New England, because of the additional sunshine. I’ll let somebody else who lives in a desert comment on that.
 

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Deb04 said:
This that is correct, if you don’t have a saltwater generator. If you have an SWG you’ll want your CYA level to be around 80. Also, I have come to understand that people in Arizona tend to need their CYA higher than those of us who live in New England, because of the additional sunshine. I’ll let somebody else who lives in a desert comment on that.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I bit of a confidence boost is always welcomed but we need to be a bit cautious here though. In @zonkakiick’s initial post he/said, “I haven’t added chlorine in a couple of days.” So I assume it’s manual dosed. Even in the desert zones it’s not recommended to go over a CyA of 60ppm. At 60ppm CyA the recommended FC is 7-9ppm. Any higher and there is a risk of bleaching some of the test results.

@zonkakiick, it would help if you could fill in your signature. It helps the folks here give better advice.
 
Update: Here are the numbers after adding chlorine and acid

FC 6.4
CC 0
pH 7.6
TA 56 (this is after subtracting 1/3 of CYA per the manual)
CYA between 50 and 60, probably lower half
CH 500-580 (I don't feel good about that number I'm not sure when I should stop counting drops. It continued from light blue to darker blue over several drops)
Water temp is about 72F

That CH number seems really high. My pool is a plaster new build and is less than a year old. Not sure how it got that high that fast. I went to Leslie's pretty regularly before I came upon this site last summer. It shows the CH gradually climbing from 236 on 10/6/23 to 250 on 10/20/23 to 324 on 3/25/24 to 316 on 4/26/24. Those all seem reasonable and gradually growing, which makes some sense, doesn't it?

I feel pretty good about getting all the testing #s accurate with the exception of that CH test.

Am I in a decent place?
 
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The end point of a drops based test is when the LAST drop you just added makes NO FURTHER COLOR CHANGE.

Subtract that drop and the result is your CH.

What is the CH of your fill water? Test it and post that info.
 
duraleigh said:
The end point of a drops based test is when the LAST drop you just added makes NO FURTHER COLOR CHANGE.

Subtract that drop and the result is your CH.

What is the CH of your fill water? Test it and post that info.
Click to expand...
I tested some water out of the tap and it was 250. The city's website said average calcium content was 53ppm.
 
Reading around on this site, it appears that many manage with a 600+ CH. I, obviously, just need to stay on top of my FC and pH #s.
Do my numbers from today look pretty good?
Thanks
 
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