Finally got my TF-100 test kit. Water looks crystal clear and appears great BUT I am so confused!!! Per tests - FC 8, CC 1, TC 9, TA 140, CYA 50, CH 125, pH 7.35. I am confused because the test for chlorine and pH in the blue kit gave me a chlorine reading of 5, but the Chlorine Drop Test gave me the numbers above. What chlorine am I needing to look at and why so many different readings. I read the ABC's of pool chem but I am still confused. Can somebody help me understand what to look at or what needs attention? All these different chlorine readings have me in a tizzy!
Finally have decent test kit...Now What???
- Thread starter poodlma
- Start date
borjis
LifeTime Supporter
We don't generally use the chlorine test from the blue kit, it's only for ph.
It only goes to 5 and can be difficult to read so the DPD powder test takes it's place for much higher accuracy.
Not sure how you get 7.35 for the ph.
In any case your numbers look pretty good. TA seems a bit higher than recommended, but if your ph is fairly stable, I'd leave it alone.
- May 3, 2014
- 58,579
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Great job in getting a quality test kit.
The OTO kit is for pH only. The Chlorine test is typically not used by most of us.
Use the FAS-DPD for FC (powder then reagent drops). Be sure to use a 10 ml sample of water and then divided the number of drop to clear by 2 for your FC.
All your levels look good. Follow the [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA] for your FC needs at CYA of 50.
Be sure to use plain liquid chlorine or bleach. Clorox does not sell a plain bleach anymore. Also, do not use the Trichlor for maintenance chlorine.
Take care.
The OTO kit is for pH only. The Chlorine test is typically not used by most of us.
Use the FAS-DPD for FC (powder then reagent drops). Be sure to use a 10 ml sample of water and then divided the number of drop to clear by 2 for your FC.
All your levels look good. Follow the [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA] for your FC needs at CYA of 50.
Be sure to use plain liquid chlorine or bleach. Clorox does not sell a plain bleach anymore. Also, do not use the Trichlor for maintenance chlorine.
Take care.
Yep, only use the powder and drops to test chlorine.
Your numbers don’t look bad, except the CC at 1. How does the water look?
Your numbers don’t look bad, except the CC at 1. How does the water look?
So for my CYA of 50, a FC of 8 should be good. My water looks great. I appreciate the info on not using the blue kit for the chlorine. It confuses the already confused like me. Question: If plain Clorox isn't plain bleach, then what is??? and where do you get it???
Sadly, plain Clorox used to be plain bleach, until they started adding stuff like scents and Cloromax, whatever that is.
Pool stores often sell liquid chlorine, and they sometimes have refillable bottles which is nice for decreasing plastic trash. Walmart’s brand is still just bleach, and I know my grocery store’s brand is plain bleach.
Home Depot or Lowe’s has bleach, but you want to make sure it’s fresh hand hasn’t been stored outside for months.
Pool stores often sell liquid chlorine, and they sometimes have refillable bottles which is nice for decreasing plastic trash. Walmart’s brand is still just bleach, and I know my grocery store’s brand is plain bleach.
Home Depot or Lowe’s has bleach, but you want to make sure it’s fresh hand hasn’t been stored outside for months.
- May 3, 2014
- 58,579
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Clorox now only markets bleach with 'Cloromax'. It has stuff in it you do not want in your pool.
As most household bleach is now 6%, you are best to look for Liquid Chlorine, Chlorinating Liquid, Liquid Shock, etc. They are typically 10% or 12.5% sodium hypochlorite.
Be sure what you get is fresh. The box of the bottles should be stamped with a 5 digit number, such as 18XXX. The XXX is the number of days in 2018 the bottle was filled. So look for dates with 18100 or higher now.
Take care.
As most household bleach is now 6%, you are best to look for Liquid Chlorine, Chlorinating Liquid, Liquid Shock, etc. They are typically 10% or 12.5% sodium hypochlorite.
Be sure what you get is fresh. The box of the bottles should be stamped with a 5 digit number, such as 18XXX. The XXX is the number of days in 2018 the bottle was filled. So look for dates with 18100 or higher now.
Take care.
Thank you mknauss and kellyfair for the "Clorox" info. Who knew??? I certainly didn't. I will have to shop around.