Hello, this is my first post. Last summer, we bought a house with an IG pool so we are fairly new to pool care. There is scaling above the water line on the tiles. I also saw a half-dollar sized hard bump below the water line. I just received my TF 100 Testkit and the results are as follows:
FC 5.0
TC 5.5
pH 7.5
CYA 80
TA 90
CH 1000 (?)
Salt test strip says 2640; SWG says 3100
Here are my questions:
1. When testing for CH, the test kit directions say to add drops until the water turns blue. I'm not sure what "blue" means exactly. At 95 drops, I have purple-ish water. At 100 drops, the water is sky blue. At 105 drops, the water is unquestionably blue. What would the color be for a correct reading?
2. The Pool Calculator recommended that I drain most of the water and refill with water with CH of 0. My tap water is testing at 350-400 CH so right off the bat, we are starting with high CH. Any suggestions on how to start off with and maintain the proper CH in an area with hard water?
3. Despite the recent rains, our water district still has us on rationing and prohibits the draining of swimming pools. Is there another way to get the calcium out without draining the pool?
4. Regarding the salt reading, the control panel of the SWG says we have 3100 but the Aquacheck Test Strips say 2640. Does anyone have any ideas why there might be a discrepancy and how I would know what the real salt level of the pool is?
By the way, until I found this site, I didn't know I could test CYA and CH at home. I was also frustrated with the limitations of the standard chlorine testing. The new TF 100 was just what the doctor ordered :-D Thank you for the great advice!
Karen
FC 5.0
TC 5.5
pH 7.5
CYA 80
TA 90
CH 1000 (?)
Salt test strip says 2640; SWG says 3100
Here are my questions:
1. When testing for CH, the test kit directions say to add drops until the water turns blue. I'm not sure what "blue" means exactly. At 95 drops, I have purple-ish water. At 100 drops, the water is sky blue. At 105 drops, the water is unquestionably blue. What would the color be for a correct reading?
2. The Pool Calculator recommended that I drain most of the water and refill with water with CH of 0. My tap water is testing at 350-400 CH so right off the bat, we are starting with high CH. Any suggestions on how to start off with and maintain the proper CH in an area with hard water?
3. Despite the recent rains, our water district still has us on rationing and prohibits the draining of swimming pools. Is there another way to get the calcium out without draining the pool?
4. Regarding the salt reading, the control panel of the SWG says we have 3100 but the Aquacheck Test Strips say 2640. Does anyone have any ideas why there might be a discrepancy and how I would know what the real salt level of the pool is?
By the way, until I found this site, I didn't know I could test CYA and CH at home. I was also frustrated with the limitations of the standard chlorine testing. The new TF 100 was just what the doctor ordered :-D Thank you for the great advice!
Karen