G
Guest
This web site is great! (Sorry, just had to get that off my chest.)
My readings recently have been pretty good this summer (TA a tad low, I guess). This is from this morning:
FC= 5.5
CC= 0.0
pH= 7.4
TA= 70
CH= 70
CYA= 50 (last summer my CYA was a bit lower, but everything else about the same)
I use Chlorox, Borax, and baking soda, supplemented frequently with some 3" tablets I have leftover from last year. And it's been fine until recently, when it's gotten a tad cloudy with a hint of green (probably needs a shock). So, I brought a sample to my local pool store to see what they say. I was surprised that their readings were so different. Here's a few samples:
FC= 3.4
TC= 4.2
pH= 6.9
TA= 86
Adj TA= 74
Tot Hardness= 120 (what's this??)
CYA= 40
They recommended 19.5 lbs of "Balance Pak 100" to increase TA, and 1.75 lbs of "Balance Pak 200" to increase pH - or, they said I could just shock it instead (which I'll probably do tonight).
What concerns me most is how different my readings are from their readings. Especially the pH. All summer, I've been getting 7.4 - and just last night I used both the Taylor test kit I have and an cheap HTH kit, and they both said 7.4. But the pool store says it's 6.9!
I've frequently read on this website and others that you can't trust the readings from the pool store, but should I? I'm having self doubts about my testing!
Any words of wisdom and advice is welcome.
-Dan-
P.S. In case you haven't heard, the last 2 weeks here in St. Louis have been brutal - close to 110 degrees every day, with no clouds or rain. Finally got a little rain last night though, and they're predicting that this heat wave may break soon.
My readings recently have been pretty good this summer (TA a tad low, I guess). This is from this morning:
FC= 5.5
CC= 0.0
pH= 7.4
TA= 70
CH= 70
CYA= 50 (last summer my CYA was a bit lower, but everything else about the same)
I use Chlorox, Borax, and baking soda, supplemented frequently with some 3" tablets I have leftover from last year. And it's been fine until recently, when it's gotten a tad cloudy with a hint of green (probably needs a shock). So, I brought a sample to my local pool store to see what they say. I was surprised that their readings were so different. Here's a few samples:
FC= 3.4
TC= 4.2
pH= 6.9
TA= 86
Adj TA= 74
Tot Hardness= 120 (what's this??)
CYA= 40
They recommended 19.5 lbs of "Balance Pak 100" to increase TA, and 1.75 lbs of "Balance Pak 200" to increase pH - or, they said I could just shock it instead (which I'll probably do tonight).
What concerns me most is how different my readings are from their readings. Especially the pH. All summer, I've been getting 7.4 - and just last night I used both the Taylor test kit I have and an cheap HTH kit, and they both said 7.4. But the pool store says it's 6.9!
I've frequently read on this website and others that you can't trust the readings from the pool store, but should I? I'm having self doubts about my testing!
Any words of wisdom and advice is welcome.
-Dan-
P.S. In case you haven't heard, the last 2 weeks here in St. Louis have been brutal - close to 110 degrees every day, with no clouds or rain. Finally got a little rain last night though, and they're predicting that this heat wave may break soon.