Got a new test kit, couple of questions

[bandersesk]

Hi,

Been in my old pool for three years. My routine was maintenance with tri-chlor, shock with calcium hypo, raise pH with sodium carbonate.

I had occasional troubles with cloudiness and a bit of algae. I found this forum and upgraded from my wally world test kit to a Taylor K-2005.

Current conditions:
Temp = 90 F
FC 2, TC 3 DPD method
pH 7.4
TA 150
good so far.
Here is my surprise,
CYA = 0 Checked it three times.
CH = 0 Checked it three times.

Is it plausible that I've use tri-chlor for three years with no CYA residual? I've never used the bi-chlor shock treatment.
Is it plausible that I have no calcium hardness?

Thanks,

Ted

 

[jblizzle]

Seems pretty unlikely to me that either are zero based on your choice of chlorine products.

How old is you test kit?

Posted with Tapatalk ... sorry if I sound short ... hate typing on phone

 

[duraleigh]

Yeah, unless you have a leak and are constantly adding fresh water to that pool, you probably (but not definitively) have some bogus test results.

 

[supertune]

Hi and welcome to TFP!
Get some fresh reagents to test with.
See my sig at the bottom for TFtestkits.

Chuck

 

[bandersesk]

Get some fresh reagents to test with.

Chuck

I contacted Taylor customer service with the reagent lot number, and the CYA reagent is OK.

 

[jblizzle]

Get some fresh reagents to test with.

Chuck

I contacted Taylor customer service with the reagent lot number, and the CYA reagent is OK.

How can Taylor say something like that not knowing how the chemical was stored? I am sure I could go buy some or their reagents off their line and lay it in the AZ sun for a few days and I bet it is not good anymore ... but according to their date stamp it should be fine.

Not saying that is the case here, but how have you been storing your kit? In a cool dark place?

 

[bandersesk]

Picked it up at the local pool store, where they kept is somewhere in back. Ran the test the next day.

 

[elwood58]

This is certainly one of those cases where having the pool store test your CYA would be useful. The number may not be accurate, but I bet it will not be Zero (0).

 

[jblizzle]

This is certainly one of those cases where having the pool store test your CYA would be useful. The number may not be accurate, but I bet it will not be Zero (0).

Yes but is it believable? There are documented cases where members have had their tap water tested that showed CYA in the water by the pool store ... that does not mean there actually was CYA in the water.

In this situation, I do not know what is going on. You got a new kit showing zero CYA and CH. But in the same breath state that you have been using a lot of tablets (adding CYA) and cal-hypo "shock" (adding calcium).

 

[Isaac-1]

I think he meant to say he used dichlor shock, still the I would be very surprised to see a CH reading of 0, I live in an area with water that is considered to be very low hardness and still get a reading of around 40 -50 ppm on my tap water.

Ike

 

[frogabog]

A 0 reading of CH is possible, there are areas where there is little or none and if it's under 10ppm it'll read 0. Our tap water has a CH of ~4ppm. It shows as 0 with drop tests, and interestingly enough anywhere from 50-100 on a strip.

Just to be sure, in case there's some confusion over the CYA test... Is it possible the OP is interpreting the CYA test incorrectly? Did the mixture of 50% pool water and 50% CYA reagent turn cloudy at all? 0ppm CYA indicates there is absolutely no cloudiness to the mixture at all, it'd be perfectly clear.

Furthermore, if the OP has EVER placed a tablet in the pool, it also added CYA. This we all know to be a fact. The OP states tablets are what they use to chlorinate, and have used for years. So, we know that CYA was added to the pool regularly. By all accounts, CYA has to be present in some measurable quantity.

The other option is that the CYA has been completely depleted by ammonia. I don't understand that very well, but apparently it could happen.

 

[jblizzle]

But I was pretty sure that the ammonia would show up as high CC levels ... although the initial test results did show 1ppm.

 

[bandersesk]

I'll pick up some calcium chloride and test it out in a five gallon bucket; increase doses and test to see what happens. If it looks promising, I can add it to the pool. Is there a problem running low calcium hardness in a pool that has no contact with grout or cement?

Will ammonia deplete CYA?

 

[jblizzle]

the CH had nothing to do with your CYA problem.

I don't remember your pool type, but Lee CH is fine in a vinyl pool. Fiberglass needs some CH but not as much as plaster.

There is a bacteria that converts the CYA into ammonia. Usually seems to only happen in closed pools over the winter though.

Posted with Tapatalk ... sorry if I sound short ... hate typing on phone