Completely Frustrated ANd going broke!!!!

[DrHorshenschwartz]

As a note, here are a few observations:

1. Algae found - SLAM TIME
2. Buying "bleach" from Lowes or Home Depot, they store it outside. Here in Hou, the heat is 95% in the shade...if the product does not move quickly, OP is pouring water into his pool bc the h-acid is gone, case closed. It was also 6.25%
3. Does anyone know for sure the REAL CYA LEVEL ? I still feel this is very ambiguous and unclear.
4. What did the orig pool supply company dump in his water at fill-up ?? Any metals, borates, etc

STEPS:
1. get a definitive CYA test [for both SLAM and future stability of CL]
2. buy 8.25% from an air-regulated seller [ie, grocery store] or higher..
3. Once CYA is known, do SLAM and monitor
4. once stabilized, add quality bleach and take multiple tests daily till FC is in stable ranges for his location/external pool/water conditions...

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As a note, here are a few observations:

1. Algae found - SLAM TIME
2. Buying "bleach" from Lowes or Home Depot, they store it outside. Here in Hou, the heat is 95% in the shade...if the product does not move quickly, OP is pouring water into his pool bc the h-acid is gone, case closed. It was also 6.25%
3. Does anyone know for sure the REAL CYA LEVEL ? I still feel this is very ambiguous and unclear.
4. What did the orig pool supply company dump in his water at fill-up ?? Any metals, borates, etc

STEPS:
1. get a definitive CYA test [for both SLAM and future stability of CL]
2. buy 8.25% from an air-regulated seller [ie, grocery store] or higher..
3. Once CYA is known, do SLAM and monitor
4. once stabilized, add quality bleach and take multiple tests daily till FC is in stable ranges for his location/external pool/water conditions...

I'm fairly new to this and offering the best advice I can and referring to others advice too.
Is there some other definitive CYA test other than the one offered in the K-2006? I'm not familiar with the TF-100 but it sounds the same.
Is it true that if you put 7ml of pool water in the container and add another 7ml of the cya test fluid and shake for 30 seconds you then squeeze it into the test vial fairly rapidly and look from the top to see if the black dot is obscured by the cloudy sample? If you fill all the way to the top and still see the dot is there another way to test for cya between 0-30 then?
Is it fair to say that a visible dot with the vial full is an idication of a cya level of 0-30 or technically 0-29?

 

[triptyx]

I'm fairly new to this and offering the best advice I can and referring to others advice too.
Is there some other definitive CYA test other than the one offered in the K-2006? I'm not familiar with the TF-100 but it sounds the same.
Is it true that if you put 7ml of pool water in the container and add another 7ml of the cya test fluid and shake for 30 seconds you then squeeze it into the test vial fairly rapidly and look from the top to see if the black dot is obscured by the cloudy sample? If you fill all the way to the top and still see the dot is there another way to test for cya between 0-30 then?
Is it fair to say that a visible dot with the vial full is an idication of a cya level of 0-30 or technically 0-29?

We're happy to have members helping other members, we just need to be very careful to offer the correct, established advice. This is often found in our Pool School articles. If your advice isn't in Pool School, stop short and wait for a Guide or Expert. Even as a Guide, if I am unsure about something or don't have direct experience, I don't answer it - I refer it off to an Expert or another guide with experience.

The K-2006 has a perfectly fine CYA test. I think with all of the mess in this thread, tstex missed that the OP has a 2006.

The CYA test requires you to mix the reagents as indicated in your test instructions, agitate the sample, wait 30 seconds, and then agitate it again. There are two schools of thought on reading it, personally, I fill to the first mark (100ppm), then, with the bright sun to my back and the tube held at waist level, take a quick glance into the tube to see if I can spot the dot. If not, I fill to the next hash, and repeat the glance. When I find the first hash that has the dot fully obscured, I round up to the next highest hash (e.g. if it is visible at 50 and not 40, I round up to 50) and that's my number. The test isn't accurate enough to read below 30ppm, which is what we say if you can still see it at 30, only add enough CYA to the pool to add 10-15ppm at a time - don't just assume it's 0 and add a full 30ppm worth of CYA. Make sense? If you have a full vial and a visible dot, you could be anywhere from 0-20ppm. Add CYA to the pool carefully in small increments if you're unsure.

 

[s_vidden]

Yeah I think the cya test is a tough one to understand in some ways. Here's my best theory on it. I use the Taylor K-2006 kit.
Put water in to the 7ml level then add the cya test solution to the 14ml mark. Shake it for 30 seconds. Then I flip up the cap thing and somewhat rapidly squeeze the solution into the tube with the black dot. I only look from the top through the solution and as it starts to get too cloudy to see the dot I slow down on squeezing the solution in but continually put drops in until I can't see any of the black dot from the top view only. For me I make sure I can't see it at all and go with the. Almost invisible and actually invisible could be the difference of ten drops or more which could be a very different result.
If you only get a few drops in the tube before the dot disappears then you have a really high CYA level.
All the way to the top is zero to 30.

I agree with your process for testing CYA. That is how I test as well, and that is how it is explained in the test kit instructions. You add the solution to the vial until the black dot is no longer visible....not kinda blury...not hazy...completely invisible. I too, go drop to drop toward the end for accuracy. Maintaining consistent ambient conditions does help too. For example, I only test CYA outside in the morning, with my back to the sun. Typically before I head to work. I don't worry about the sun if it is a day with overcast clouds. I do not test CYA in the evening hours, but use that time for testing everything else.

SV

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I agree with your process for testing CYA. That is how I test as well, and that is how it is explained in the test kit instructions. You add the solution to the vial until the black dot is no longer visible....not kinda blury...not hazy...completely invisible. I too, go drop to drop toward the end for accuracy. Maintaining consistent ambient conditions does help too. For example, I only test CYA outside in the morning, with my back to the sun. Typically before I head to work. I don't worry about the sun if it is a day with overcast clouds. I do not test CYA in the evening hours, but use that time for testing everything else.

SV

Ok. Looks like the CYA testing using the 2006 kit has been addressed clearly by triptyx.