New to TF-100 and thorough testing.

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sixfive34

sixfive34

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Silver Supporter
Apr 27, 2017
27
Atlanta, GA
Thanks for the great site and advice, I'm finding TFP invaluable and appreciate of the friendly, expert advice and guidance!

I've recently started doing thorough testing (used to check chlorine and ph only) with a TF-100 kit. I've gotten some results that are moving somewhat sporadically and am looking for peace of mind/proofreading of results as much as I am advice. I've tried searching and researching as much of this but a few things are still puzzling. I think I'm headed in the right direction but don't want to find out the hard way.

Test Results: (May 12-24)
test---5/12---5/20---5/24
FC -----2.5-----2-----7 (spiked at 10 on 5/14 with 32 oz of cal hypo but dropped to 2 by 5/20)
CC-----.5-----0-----0
TC-----3.0-----0-----7
PH-----6.8-----7.2-----7.8
CH-----775---250---450
TA-----50-----40-----120
CYA-----42-----50-----38
Water temp around 82-84

Additions/notes/questions:
I feel like I'm being careful while testing but can't guarantee that some of these results are due to being a noob tester.
5/5 started using robotic cleaner
5/13 added 32oz of alkalinity up. went from 50-80 in 8 hours but dropped back in a few days. This jump up doesn't seem to make sense based on 5/23 addition?
5/22 made switch from powder (cal hypo 73%) to liquid (sodium hypo 10%- date is good & smells 'bleachy') Added 1 gallon (1/2 at a time on 5/22 and 5/23)
5/23 VERY heavy rain for about an hour.
added 370 oz of alkalinity up. went from 50-120 overnight.
ph went from 7.2 to 7.8 as expected....PH was low so i added bulk of AlkUp at one time.
CH jumped from 250 to 450, is this normal/expected?
CYA dropped from 50-38, is this expected/normal?
Water has been consistently clear but I still seem to have minimal 'algae' on bottom and walls but i'm not certain if it's usual dust/pollen/junk that's blown into a pool. It's significantly better than it's been in past years, though. Because of clear water, I haven't done an overnight chlorine loss and i haven't gotten chlorine to shock levels based on CYA levels. Am I wasting everyone's time by not doing them before posting?

Is there any other test that is more detailed for PH than the K1000?
 
How are you getting single-digit precision on the CYA? To the best of my knowledge (which is admittedly limited), there's no test that is that accurate. I would guess your CYA has been at 40 this whole time, but you'll settle on something after a few more tests. Though you don't need to do the full range of tests every day, you should at least be doing Chlorine and pH every 1-2 days. Also, when you need to raise Alkalinity, use plain old baking soda rather than AlkUp, which is the same thing at 3-4 times the price.

I'll let the real experts chime in on the rest. :)
 
Hey there. Some of your numbers are moving around quite a bit, which doesn’t make sense unless you are exchanging water. So, to help you arrive at some firm conclusions, let’s start with CYA.

For the CYA test, try to make sure to do when sun is out. Stand with sun behind you, fill cylinder to first line, glance in. If at a glance, you can still see dot, fill to next line and glance in. Repeat until you no longer see dot WITH A GLANCE. If you stare, eventually you’ll see dot! The first line that you don’t see dot at a glance is your CYA.

Now that you have CYA, you can follow the Chlorine/CYA chart and use Pool Math to calculate how much chlorine to add. Since your water is not perfectly clear, you might need to SLAM. PH really should be lowered before you SLAM, so use muriatic acid to get down to 7.2.

You will only need to monitor FC and CC while SLAMming.

For the TA test, make sure you are wiping tip of 0009 bottle with damp cloth between dots. The new bottle builds up static which changes size of drops, leading to innacurate results.

Interesting fluctuation in CH. Since you used cal-hypo on 5/14, Iwould have expected that to increase!
 
Hello and Welcome to TFP!!

In addition to the advice given above about the testing, review the Extended Test Kit Directions page for some pointers on testing

I'd like to make some points to be sure we are all on the same page.
Chlorine is a consumable that you will need to add each day, so that is going to fluctuate.
CYA does not change unless you remove and replace water OR you add it with dichlor/trichlor/CYA. So in your case, it's probably around 40ppm.
CH does not change unless water is added OR you use Cal-Hypo tabs, so the first test you had might have been an error.
TA looks like it did what you expected it to do. but you probably should have left it where it was.
pH can vary but you probably should have left it where it was. it will go up quicker now that the TA is higher. The K-1000 pH test is more than sufficient for what we need to maintain a pool. The color matching is close enough, don't ponder too long at it. Yellow on the low end, purple on the high end. If the pH is between in the 7's, then we are usually happy. You don't need to aim for a specific value. If it goes above 8 then add some muriatic acid. If it is below 7, then increase it. You should be able to tell which direction it is drifting by keeping some notes like you are doing.
Ask any questions you have, if you are learning then it isn't a waste of time.

And finally, you say the water is clear, but there is visible algae. By TFP definition, if you can see algae, then the water isn't clear. Perhaps you can see through the water, but that's not the same thing. Clear water means that it isn't cloudy and there is zero visible algae. As said previously, you need to do the SLAM Process process to get your water TFP clear. Follow this process and take no shortcuts. After that, you will never have to worry about algae again when you maintain your FC per the [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA].
 
Kellyfair---Thank you for the response and advice. The tip on the CYA test was helpful. I tested and came up with 35 for CYA. Thanks, too, for the note about the wiping the tip of 0009...I wondered about that.

Teald024- by 'clear' I meant it looks clear and i only see algae when brooming but I have black pebble tec so everything is hard to see, so thank you for 'clarifying' (pun intended) the verbiage. We do have and auto-fill but definitely not a water exchange taking place. Why should I have left the TA? On the site, I read under 80 will cause PH swings. I thought low TA causes PH swings and high TA results in clouding?

I'm a little Sheldon Cooper-esque in my thinking so some of the testing is tough to comprehend because their is a bit of gray area for interpretation. I appreciate the guidance on how to do these and make them user-friendly. I will get going on the SLAM after getting everything where it needs to be in order to perform it.
 
The test vial for the CYA test is in logarithmic scale. So measuring a '35' is not possible. You would round up to 40.

When I do the test I fill to the whole 10's and glance for the dot.

Take care.
 
What Marty said! So, consider your CYA 40, which means you will be targeting FC of 16 during your SLAM.
 
geko29 said:
How are you getting single-digit precision on the CYA?
Click to expand...

I was filling the tube until I couldn't see the dot, instead of using the method mentioned by kellyfair and mknauss. If I couldn't see the dot and the water was just above the 40 line...I called it 38 (or estimated the number based on where it was in between the lines) if that makes sense. Thanks for the tip on the AlkUp. I assumed it's more expensive because it came from a pool store... but this is new enough I haven't had time to search for the bulk baking soda and wanted to move on this.
 
sixfive34 said:
Why should I have left the TA? On the site, I read under 80 will cause PH swings. I thought low TA causes PH swings and high TA results in clouding?

I'm a little Sheldon Cooper-esque in my thinking so some of the testing is tough to comprehend because their is a bit of gray area for interpretation.
I will get going on the SLAM after getting everything where it needs to be in order to perform it.
Click to expand...

Each pool is different, but lower TAs can help control pH swings. You were borderline too low before. Adding a bit was ok but going up to 120 was probably more than you needed. I probably would have left it unless the pH started dropping and you couldn’t keep it up.
Yeah, some of the test aren’t as black/white as they say. Unfortunately one of the most important (CYA) is the most difficult.

What you waiting for? Lol. Start that SLAM process. And don’t forget... we like pics, lol.
 

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sixfive34 said:
Thanks for the tip on the AlkUp. I assumed it's more expensive because it came from a pool store... but this is new enough I haven't had time to search for the bulk baking soda and wanted to move on this.
Click to expand...

No worries. I get mine from Sam's club. They recently replaced the old 13.5 lb bags with 15 lb ones, and they're just $6 this month! (regularly $7.50, which is still pretty awesome)
 
Teald024 said:
What you waiting for? Lol. Start that SLAM process. And don’t forget... we like pics, lol.
Click to expand...

Gonna SLAM this weekend. Juggling pool usage and heavy rains! Wasn't sure about pics. I've got a pretty cool timelapse video of the build in my signature!. Here's a pic:


- - - Updated - - -

geko29 said:
No worries. I get mine from Sam's club. They recently replaced the old 13.5 lb bags with 15 lb ones, and they're just $6 this month! (regularly $7.50, which is still pretty awesome)
Click to expand...

Thank you! I'll add that to my list of things to get moving on!
 

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All clear. SLAM complete! Thanks to everyone on this site. I'm kicking myself I waited this long to do this. Paralysis by analysis, I guess. The switch to liquid chlorine has been much simpler than I expected and I like the results MUCH better!
 
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