Testing question

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those are free chlorine ppm readings that you need. do you have algae? I don't think you've mentioned anything about your water. either you or me is entering the info into the pool calculator incorrectly. the reason it's telling you to add calcium is because you put in 180 for now and you don't change the target value. your ch is fine. refer to the link for recommended values I posted earlier. it probably says drain water because you enter in 90 for cya and don't change the target value, so it's telling you how to lower your cya (which is by draining water). I think you would be better off using the recommended values chart in pool school, it will probably make more sense. pool-school/recommended_levels
are you having some sort of trouble with your water?
 
yes I have had algae and been battling it for 3 weeks, I thought it was all gone this morning, but I still see some, but very little in the bottom on the sides. My water is very cloudy, hard to see bottom of the pool in certain spots. I will go back to pc and put all my numbers in again...getting very frustrated not understanding ppm's etc....I know it just takes a lot of reading, it just has to register in my head all the foreign information....thanks for being so patient...
 
ok, didn't realize you had algae. you need to read pool-school/shocking_your_pool and follow it. don't use your swg to superchlorinate (if it can) use bleach or chlorine. I'm showing your shock level to be 23ppm free chlorine per the calculator. so if your current fc reading is 5, you would need 204oz of 6% bleach. are you putting SWG, vinyl and troublefreepool in the bottom yellow box on the calculator?
also, you unfortunately don't have the recommended test kit which means you don't have the fas-dpd chlorine test which is a big help when fighting algae. you can purchase the fas-dpd kit separately from taylor http://www.taylortechnologies.com/pool-spa.asp or www.tftestkits.net
 
Yes I went back and did it right this time and got the same thing as you. Ok, so I am getting somewhere here I think. I need to get 204 oz. of 6% Clorox and in the morning I will start so I can have a full day to work with it. I will go read what you suggested and hopefully it will explain weather I pour all of it in at once, brush? No SWG running during process...anything else you think I need to know, please share...you are making me feel like there is a light at the end of the tunnel...
 
I'm just repeating what the knowledgeable folks teach when they're around, which is almost all the time. I guess some of them have lives on a friday night though, unlike us ;)
I would add it right away if you have it. you're getting further behind the 8-ball the longer you wait, and at night the sun won't use up any of your chlorine so it will keep some of its potency longer. also, remember that shocking is something you keep up. in other words, keep it at 23ppm (or even higher, say 30) as often as you can. hourly is best, twice a day (morning and evening) minimum. the more you keep it up, the faster it will clear. I believe the problem you are going to have is not being able to measure those levels of FC with your current test kit. what is the max FC it can read?
also, I think it's ok the SWG runs, just some of them have a superchlorinate setting which you don't want to use (shortens life and doesn't work fast enough). keep your pump running 24/7 and brush at least once a day if possible. it exposes the algae to the chlorine. also, it is ok to add it all at once. pour it fairly slowly in front of a jet.
 
Here is the test kit I have:
Taylor Total Poolcare DPD
free and tc or bromine, ph, acid and base demand, ta, ch and cya, I don't see where it gives the number you are looking for, the little bottle thing with all the colors on it goes up to 5 for cl 10 for br and 8.2 for ph if that helps.
Ok, I will have to go by the clorox here in a minute, but just want to go over it again.


Tonight I will pour all 204 oz. of clorox in very slowly and brush. Do I put that same amount in again in the morning and tomorrow afternoon?
 
well the problem is you can't really test to see what your levels are with that kit. it goes back to what I was saying earlier about the fas-dpd test. I believe you can test up to 10 chlorine with that test using dilution, but it still doesn't matter since your shock level is much higher. also, to be clear, keep your swg running like usual during the process. someone else should be by soon to advise you better about maintaining shock level without the fas-dpd test, although I'm pretty sure it can't be done except by just guessing somehow.
 
Thank you soooo much for the help of at least getting me started tonight, I truly appreciate all of it! :party: go have a fun Friday night now! lol

If anyone else reads this post tonight, let me know what you think about how to test it without that special tester kit thing....
 
reebok said:
I'm just repeating what the knowledgeable folks teach when they're around, which is almost all the time. I guess some of them have lives on a friday night though, unlike us ;)
Click to expand...
The knowledgeable folks are busy catching up with the other million posts that came in today. :-D But I can give it a whack.

So, you have the Taylor K-2005, sounds like, which is the same as the K-2006 except for the chlorine test, which is the DPD drops (red) instead of the FAS-DPD powder and drops. You want to be careful with this one because the DPD drops can bleach out at high FC levels, and read incorrectly low.

Like reebok mentioned you can dilute your pool water sample half-and-half with chlorine-free water (distilled is certainly chlorine-free, also some water filters do a good job), which will let you extend the range of the test up to 10. Shocking generally takes you higher than that, though, and with the risk of bleach-out the DPD test is really not much help. So, if you're going to try shock levels up in the 20s, you're really flying blind without the FAS-DPD test.
--paulr
 
ok...so what do you suggest I do without having to buy another test kit since this one was not exactly cheap compared to strips. Can you just buy the FAS -DPD on its own? Now you are scaring me, I just bought the clorox and was ready to pour it in, but now I don't know what to do...
 

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No, no, go ahead with the clorox. You figured out that one based on your current readings and the Pool Calculator. The only real question is what to do after that, as you won't know how fast it gets used up.

You can get the FAS-DPD test by itself, I can vouch for the stellar service from tftestkits.net.
--paulr
 
Yes, we occasionally have real life issues that take us away from the 'puter. Like the kiddies softball/baseball games and trampolines in pools. :shock: :mrgreen:

You can use your SWG to help you maintain shock level, once you raise your FC there with liquid chlorine. But in order to perform the Overnight FC Loss Test, you have to shut it off during the test.. To do that test, you'll have to wait until you get the seperate FAS-DPD test that you order from TFtestkits.net :wink: :mrgreen: and then you'll be in the clear. :goodjob:
 
I am having to order the FAS-DPD test kit online, so won't be here until next week, in the meantime, I put the bleach in last night. Should I run my SWG as usual until I get the kit? I guess at this point all I need to be doing is brushing, I assume it is safe to get into pool so I can brush more efficiently?
 
Some people say they are perfectly happy to swim in anything up to shock level. Personally I'm not one of them, but it's one of those things where opinion varies. Not something you want to do a lot, anyway, it'll damage your suit for one thing. Going in for long enough to brush some tricky spots should not be a problem, though.
--paulr
 
Along with my SWG question and whether it would be ok to swim after over 48 hours of adding Clorox...would it be possible that all the remaining algae could already be gone, because I have been brushing all day and the water color has not changed like it usually does when I stir it up, usually looks like pond water. Today color is good, just milky which I think is the dead algae, thoughts on the above...Thanks!
 
skydiva44 said:
Here is the test kit I have:
Taylor Total Poolcare DPD
free and tc or bromine, ph, acid and base demand, ta, ch and cya, I don't see where it gives the number you are looking for, the little bottle thing with all the colors on it goes up to 5 for cl 10 for br and 8.2 for ph if that helps.
Ok, I will have to go by the clorox here in a minute, but just want to go over it again.


Tonight I will pour all 204 oz. of clorox in very slowly and brush. Do I put that same amount in again in the morning and tomorrow afternoon?
Click to expand...
The kit you have is the Taylor K-1005
http://www.taylortechnologies.com/image ... 00x375.jpg

not the K-2005.
http://www.taylortechnologies.com/image ... 00x375.jpg

You have the small comparator (tube is same size as the chlorine comparator sidefor pH that goes from 6.8 to 8.2 and not the large pH comparator that uses a 45 ml sample and goes from 7.0 to 8.0. Also, your acid and base demand tests are not really that precise and are more of a rough guide than anything.

You can get by with this kit if you add a standalone FAS-DPD test from either Taylor or TFTestkits.

You can order the Taylor FAS-DPD titration kit from Taylor
http://www.taylortechnologies.com/produ ... KitID=2185
This kit comes with 10 grams of DPD powder, .75 oz of FAS titrant and .75 oz of DPD reagent 3# for $24.95 in a cool blue box!

OR

you can order the kit from TF Testkits
http://www.tftestkits.net/index.php?act ... oductId=23
for $25.50
It comes with 10 grams of DPD powder, 2 oz. of FAS titrant and .75 oz. of DPD reagent #3 and it uses all Taylor reagents.
BUT
you don't get the cool blue box!

Hmmmm, let me think for a minute....no cool blue box but I can do approx 3 times the number of tests for just about the same money before I need to order refills! Now that's a hard decision, isn't it? :wink:
 

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