3 separate tests= 3 readings

[Chrisplus4]

This has been an obsession of mine. Balancing my water. Today to check things I took my sample myself, took same water to Leslie’s, and took another sample to a local store that uses Taylor test kits.

I got three different results and had three different recommendations.

I just added 1 gallon of acid. Been fighting high PH and alkalinity all summer.
How OCD are y’all about your Chems?

 

[mknauss]

Do not have pool stores test your water chemistry. Just confuses things.

 

[Donldson]

"Pool store testing is unreliable and not worth the price you pay for it" is a bit of a mantra around here. There is a reason for that.

 

[Mike1162]

I'll have to admit to being on the lax side when it comes to testing. Maybe once a week do the OTO/Phenol Red test. Complete set of tests every 2 or 3 weeks. It's rare that I have any water problems. You should post a complete set of test results. It could help you get suggestions to get the PH under control.

 

[Chrisplus4]

I wonder if I am being to OCD. I only took my water to the stores just to see if my readings are similar.

 

[mknauss]

So if you believe the pool store tests over your own testing, do you follow their recommendations? If you trust them, you need to trust both things. I do not, I trust my own testing, as we trust yours.

 

[Donldson]

There's only one person who truly cares about your pool and making sure that the readings are right. That person doesn't work behind the sales desk, taking readings as fast as possible under florescent lighting, with the only goal of the test being to add to their sales quota.

 

[an1vrsy]

Obsessive? No… Precise? Yes! As others have said, no pool store employee will care about my pool as much as I do. They care about what they can sell me.

i am concerned that you dosed a gallon of MA. A gallon in my 25k gallons pool would lower my pH 1.2

What was your pH before dosing and then 30 minutes later?

 

[proavia]

What test kit do you have? Add it to your signature.

How did you go from a CYA of 90 nine days ago to a current reading of CYA of 50?

Believe in your own testing. Getting your water tested at the PS is a time wasting practice and just screws more with your OCD.

In looking at your test logs - if they are from your test kit - you need to keep a better handle on pH and keep your CSI slightly negative. A CSI between 0.00 and -0.30 (negative point three zero) will help keep your SWG from scaling up.

What Pentair SWG model do you have? Add that to your signature also.

Your UV system actually eats a bit of FC and really doesn't provide much "sanitation" to your overall pool. That big orange fire ball in the sky provides all the UV an outdoor pool needs - especially in Texas.

 

[Donldson]

How did you go from a CYA of 90 nine days ago to a current reading of CYA of 50?

Hmmm, good catch. That is concerning the way it's jumped around in the past month. Not to mention numbers that appear to be from multiple sources. That's a sure way to mess up the water...