testing for sanitizer?

[ethany]

I have a taylor kit to do my testing. Testing everyday is hard to keep up with working full time and raising a family. Are there any test strips that could used when you are pressed for time?

 

[chem geek]

If your chlorine usage is fairly consistent each day, you could skip a day, though I don't think you'd be able to go more than 2-3 days without testing if you're adding bleach or chlorinating liquid and your pool isn't covered. I only test and add chlorine twice a week, but I have a mostly opaque cover and very consistent 1 ppm FC (or slightly less) per day chlorine usage.

This post compares some test strips against drop-based tests. The test strip kits aren't useful as complete test kits and are generally terrible for CYA, don't test for CH, etc., but if you are only checking FC daily and possibly pH then they might not be so terrible so long as you aren't trying to operate "on the edge" in terms of FC relative to CYA to prevent algae growth. Though I listed the more expensive test strip kits that have more types of tests, they also make less expensive ones to just test a few things which is what you would need. If you get one of these, then "calibrate" it against your known good Taylor test so you can get an idea of its rough accuracy. You should still double-check with the Taylor kit at least once a week just to be sure everything is OK.

You might also consider enlisting other members of your family to help you out in testing. Like any chores, they don't always have to be done by only one person.

 

[ethany]

I'm sorry I should have been more specific, I use bromine for my spa. Could I substitute using the strips and the drops durning the week,then on the weekend get a more accurate reading?

Also when I test for bromine, how do I calculate how much chlorine I need using the pool calculator?

 

[chem geek]

If you are using bromine with tabs in a floater then you are better off since it's far less likely for you to have too little bromine in between uses. So yes, once you get a rough idea of your normal bromine levels you could test with strips during the week and then use the test kit on weekends. Not as good, but probably OK.

The relationship between bromine and chlorine is that bromine is a factor of 2.25 times higher than chlorine. So if you want to add chlorine (say, bleach) to get to a certain bromine level, then divide your desired and current bromine levels by 2.25 to enter into The Pool Calculator to calculate how much bleach to add to get to that bromine level.

 

[ethany]

Thank You, perfectly clear.