Just got my test kit... are these numbers right?! Help!!

[Zanzan83]

My pool was a green swamp on Monday. After being "pool stored" for a few hundred dollars, I added bleach and brushed/vacuumed daily. It's no longer green, but cloudy in the deep end. My T100 arrived today and I got the following results. It seems like something is way off...

Using the the little blue kit:
Total chlorine- the color was a red/orange and didn't match any of the options
Bromine- same for this (I assume one sample shows both since its in the same column)
PH- 6.8

Alkalinity- it went from blue to yellow with 6-7 drops so 650?
CYA- 100
Calcium Hardness- pink to blue with 35 drops so 875?
FC- after 30 drops the sample was still hot pink. It didn't get clear.

Im a total newbie at this, but either I've made some testing errors or these numbers seem way off. Any help would really be appreciated!!

 

[Zanzan83]

I retested the CYA and still see 100. Concerned it was even higher, I tested a sample of half pool water and half water from my house and it came up at 50.

last wknd the pool store had me add calcium, ph increaser, and alkalinity and to shock with the packs of granules and the pool was still green until I came to this site. I'm worried I will have to drain my pool. I definitely need some guidance. Thanks!!

i should also mention that I just started getting air bubbles and spurring from the return jets a few days ago. Checked for leaks and changed the basket o ring and still there is air.

 

[Donldson]

Each drop of the alkalinity test is 10 ppm, not 100, so your TA is 70 (if the 7th drop made any change to the color at all then it is 70). Your Calcium test calculation is correct though, and yes that is high. The pH test is not reliable when your FC is above 10 so ignore that for now. There was no reason for you to stop testing your FC, it can measure up to 50 and you stopped at 15.

Anyway, with your CYA and CH where they are a partial water change is your next step IMO. I also see you have another thread going on so best to keep all of your stuff together in 1 thread until you get your pool cleared up and going.

 

[triptyx]

100 is higher than most people would like it. That said, it is manageable - all the more so since your pool is clearing up. The only thing 100 CYA means is that you have to maintain a higher FC in a healthy pool, and a far higher "shock" level while performing a SLAM. High CYA, by itself, doesn't mean the pool is dangerous to swim in. I did just fine with a CYA of nearly 300 when I first moved in! Once your pool is clear and sparkling, you'll want to maintain an FC of 8-13 (never let it drop below 8!) to keep it sanitary. That will require you to use the FAS/DPD chlorine test kit in your TF-100 rather than the little OTO (yellow color matching) kit.

If you don't have a salt water chlorine generator, we usually suggest a CYA of no more than 50, maybe a bit higher if you're down in the lower latitudes and get a ton of sun like I do. That would require a 50% drain of your water to achieve, however. A CYA of 100 is ok if you're careful with your FC levels and flat out do not want to drain.

 

[Texas Splash]

Well let's try to help you now that you have the TF-100. First order of business ... the CYA. It's too high at 100. That's a direct result of the pool store chemicals and any chlorine tabs you may have used in the past. There's no sense trying to add chemicals now that will just be drained because the only way for you to lower CYA is by a water exchange. (Sorry). Good news is it should be the last time you ever have to do that because now you are in charge. With a CYA of 100, replacing 50% of your water should bring your CYA down to about 50 if your test was accurate. You can take a little more water out if you want. But that's priority number one now.

Once you refill, run another set of tests and let us know what you get so we can help you SLAM. On your next set of tests:
- TA is number of drops x 10, so your number above was probably more like 60-70. I suspect the color of the TA reagents (green to red) were different because your FC is so high.
- CH .. don't bother testing it again until after the SLAM. It's usually N/A for a vinyl pool, but your appears to be high so the water exchange should help that as well.

So once you get the water exchanged, give us a shout and we'll help you clear the water and adjust everything as it should be. Congrats on your test kit!

 

[Zanzan83]

I tested the FC again and it is at 30. Since I have to drain water, is it safe to drain half at once? Should I do this in stages? I assume that vacuum to waste is the quickest way to get the water out, but I'm not totally sure. How harmful are these high levels; are they doing any damage to my liner or equipment? Sorry for all of the questions and thank you for the help!!