Well let me start all over. Evidently I may have mis-read something. Yesterday I had to use some shock
and a little acid. I noticed that I had some dark mustard colored junk on the bottom of the pool. And I'm
pretty sure it wasn't sand or any kind of sediment. So it must be algae. It appeared to be a little spongy
looking. I'm having to use two different test kits since just one doesn't cover the six tests I need to post.
The first kit (which are strips) and using it's terminology covers total hardness which I assume is CH, then
total chlorine which I assume is CC, then free chlorine, Ph, TA, and CYA. The other kit uses reagent bottles.
It covers FC, Ph, and TA. But it also tests for acid demand. After adding shock yesterday around 9am the
pump ran up to 9pm last night. This morning I noticed just a very small amount of the same junk on the
bottom near the deep end. Here are the test results I took this morning before the pump came on using
both kits. The kit with six tests shows total hardness 250, total chlorine 1, free chlorine 3, Ph 7.6, TA 120,
stabilizer 0.
The other kit results were free chlorine 3.0, Ph 7.2, TA 100. And of course no acid was needed. In my very
uneducated opinion I think my problem is that for the last week we've had very high temps and bright
sunshine all day everyday. And our pool has no shade at all. So much of the FC is being eaten up by sunlight.
Especially since I have little or no CYA. Yesterday the CYA measured 50. This morning it's 0. And since I use
a SWG my Ph levels will creep up and I'll have to add about a pint of acid every two or three days to get it
back to a normal range. I do intend on purchasing the test kit promoted in this forum. So based on what I've
posted what should I do? Thanks....