My first test with TF100

[vincent]

Hooray..... finally got my TF100...thanks Dave, the parcel arrived safely and not paying a single cent for duty of any kind.

Did my first test and got the following:

FC 2
CC 0.5
TA 80 (My Aussie Gold 4in1 test kit show 60)
CH 60 (Pipe water 40)
PH 7.8
CYA ?? (TF100 can only test 20 or above) into my 3rd pucks from 0 CYA
Temp 80 F
Salt 3500
Water Clarity: Still sparkling blue

Now I got a few questions:
1) When testing CH, after adding in R0011L, instead of red, I only get purplish (not even pinkish) but it did turn blue on my 8th drop. Is the test correct?
2) My pipe filled pool (over Christmas) test CH 60 which I belief is well below your recommendation. I use concrete pool with ceremic tile. How to bring up the CH and to what level (or should I use the level recommended for plaster pool since my plastering is only limited to the grout filling). I don't get rain water for fill/overflow as my pool is under shed. The only chemical available here are Trichlor, Sodium Hypochlorite 10%, bleach at 6%, 5.25%, Calcium Hypo, dry acid, sodium bicarbonate, soda ash, ph up and ph down. Also the only metal parts that ever got contact with the pool water is whatever in the pump and swg cell, all else are either ceramic, grout and plastic. My swg off at the moment while undergoing pucks treatment to get my CYA up. Will revert to full SWG (+ bleach for shocking when necessary) when CYA is sufficient.
3) Why my TF100 test TA at 80 while my Aussie Gold (by Pool solution Australia) only test 60. Am I testing it wrong?
4) I am running my pump for one turnover a day. Anything else that I need to do? All $, 2 c or even 1 c advice are most welcomed.

Oh, the TF100 is a much easier to use testkit when doing color comparisson than my Aussie Gold.

Thanks.

 

[Butterfly]

Hi Vincent,
Congrats on getting your TF100 kit!! :-D Sure would like to see some pics of your pool

Joyce

 

[JasonLion]

1) The test sounds fine. Watch for the color change and don't worry about what specific colors appeared.

2) Calcium levels will affect the grout in much the same way they affect plaster. Maybe you can find some Calcium Chloride, often sold as a deicer (though that may not be common there).

3) I would tend to believe the TF-100, though the tests might actually agree with each other. The TF-100 is + or - 10 on the CH test and the other test is at least that and maybe more. So if the water is 70 both tests could be right within their accuracy.

 

[duraleigh]

Hi, Vincent,

I'm so glad you got your kit...I was concerned that customs might be a problem.

You mentioned you have Cal Hypo (calcium hypochlorite) available. That will be good for adding calcium and chlorine to your pool both. You could turn your SWG way down (or off) and then supplement your chlorine with Cal Hypo. It will probably take all summer but it's an easy way to get calcium if you have nothing else available.

The pucks will take forever to get your CYA up, too. I can't help but think you can find it there somewhere....it's also called stabilizer.

I would run the pump to turnover the pool about twice a day instead of once. Most of us use that as a guideline.

Most importantly, your water is clear....that's the best indicator of a healthy pool.

 

[vincent]

Thanks everybody for the advices.....

Joyce, I'll need time to pick up more courage to post pics of my pool because it's well below par. If only I found this site earlier, then I may be able to produce a better one. But to DIY my own pool without any pics reference and nobody here who can actually help me build a budget pool, it's very frustrating.

I may be able to get some Calcium Chloride from our local school scientific lab supplier but those are rated as lab use only and I have no idea if they are harmful for pool use.

None of the 4 pool dealers here heard of Cyanuric Acid or stablizer. I only learn (from TFP) that alternative source would be Trichlor, thus I'm using them in-lieu of my SWG (which is off at the moment). I can get about one tablet of 200g (7oz) trichlor disolved every 5 days and at that rate will need about 3 months to get my CYA up to 50ppm. But you mention Cal Hypo to get Calcium. What's the contents of Cal Hypo in term of calcium and chlorine because by then I would have to adjust my pucks dosage in order not to over chlorinate. Very frustrating with pool stuffs here. That's the reason why I invested in TF100 so that at least this forum knows what I'm talking about (in time of problem) and help is available. I really appreciate very much all the advices and support given by the gurus and novices alike from TFP.

Vincent.

 

[Guest]

If you can get dichlor that will add CYA faster than trichlor will. Dichlor is a fast dissolving granular stabilized chlorine often sold as shock.

 

[vincent]

Thanks waterbear,

No Dichlor are avilable within easy access. The nearest would probably be in Kuala Lumpur ( 2 hrs flight) and with air freight restriction on such chemical, it'll take months to get here. Thus I settle for Trichlor since it's available here. Can anybody tell me the calcium-chlorine weight ratio of Cal Hypo? Since my pool is still healthy, I don't mind getting more "pool patience" to fix my water balance. As I don't have Borates, where can I obtain them when the pool dealers here don't have them. No pool shop in the US and Australia are willing to ship pool chemicals overseas unless on bigger volume which I don't know what to buy when I don't need them. Can I buy them from scientific lab supplier? What's the scientific name for Borates and in what form or purity?

Thanks guys.

Vincent.

 

[JasonLion]

It takes about 1.8 times as much cal-hypo to equal the calcium of calcium chloride, though it depends on the concentration of the cal-hypo (it is available in various percentages).

In the US borates are sold as Borax, which is a laundry detergent booster. The chemical names are Sodium Tetraborate Pentahydrate (sold for pools) and Sodium Tetraborate Decahydrate (borax).

 

[vincent]

Thanks Jason,

Will get to work with Cal Hypo. Hope it doesn't take too long to bring my CH up to reasonable level.

Happy long Easter weekend.

Vincent.