Taylor K 2006 test kit question

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2clowns

0
Jul 14, 2012
23
Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay
Hi again -
I am trying to figure out how to use the Tayor K-2006 test kit that this site recommends. I want to check my FC and want to make sure I understand the instructions.

The part that says 1 drop - .2 PPM use 25 ml sample and 1 drop - .5 PPM use 10 ml sample. Does that simply mean that if I fill the tube to the 10 ml line, when I multiple the drops I would muliply it by .5? For example, if I added 10 drops of R0871 unti the water changed from pink to colorless, I would then multiple 10 by .5 and my FC would be 5 PPM? Do I have that right?

If I understand the directions, I would fill the tube to 10 ml (or 25 ml), add R0870 (swirling until dissolved) until the water stays pink. I would then add R0871 swirling and counting each drop until the color changes from pink to colorless. Multiply the drops by the drop equivalence (.2 or .5). That woud give me the PPM of FC.

Then I would add 5 drops of R0003, if CC is present, the water will turn pink. I would then add R0871 swirling, and counting the drops until the color changes from pink to colorless. Then multiply the drops by the drop equivalence (.2 or .5) to get PPM of CC.

In the winter, how often do I need to check my FC? I live on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay. Temps are in the 70's right now, but will soon dip into the 40's and 50's.

I am also concerned about my CYA level. Unfortunatey, we have a lot of the chlorine tablets that contain stabilizer. Can we discontinue using this in the winter and just shock the pool every 7 to 10 days? We will discontinue using the chlorine tablets for good when we run out and switch over to bleach.

I'm thankful for this site. This is our first summer with our pool and we have a lot to learn.

Dawn
 
We are in the process of shocking the pool. We are battling mustard algae. I thought we got rid of it, but it's reappeared. I want to do the shock process right this time and check my FC levels. I'm going to check them in the morning. So far I only know how to test the FC, CC and CYA.

My last set of test results are from 10-20 from the pool store.

FC 7.5
TC 7.5
CC 0
PH 7.8
Hardiness 310
Alkalinity 100
CYA -the pool store says 35, but when I tested it a few weeks ago it was 80

Here is a history of our CYA and you can see why I question this. The numbers are all over. When we got our test kit I tested the CYA and it looked like about 80. That was around Oct 12th. Although, maybe I didn't do it right? These were all done at the same pool store except where noted when I took it to Pensacola Pools. Can these numbers be accurate?

July 3rd - 65 PPM
July 11 - 75 PPM
July 17 - 70 PPM
July 20 - 66 PPM
July 25 - 65 PPM
Aug 14 - 95 PPM
Aug 16 - 103 PPM (Pensacola Pools)
Sept 10 - 55 PPM
Oct 3 - 90 PPM
Oct 6 - 65 PPM - (Pensacola Pools)
Oct 12 - 20 PPM (???)
Oct 20 - 35 PPM
 
From my own experience, I would say ignore the pool store tests altogether. Test your water with the K2006 each day, more often if you're shocking, and go from there. They never give you enough CYA liquid in the kit so I ordered a big bottle through Amazon for $11. We haven't had mustard algae, but we have had the green monster once or twice. With the K2006 and www.thepoolcalculator.com we have been able to wipe out our last green monster attack *the first since dumping the pool store* and keep everything under control. I swear by daily testing with the K2006 and TFP :)
 
With yellow/mustard algae it is very important to get behind light niches and under removable ladders and other areas that do not get direct sunlight and have poor water circulation but where water is present and in contact with the pool. With yellow/mustard algae, if you don't kill it completely everywhere, it will come back. There are ways to deal with the situation if that occurs, but they are more expensive ongoing as they require either higher regular chlorine levels (FC that is 15% of the CYA level) or use of additional products (sodium bromide or phosphate removers).
 
What are you using to add the chlorine to the pool? Sounds like you need to review the shock process as described in Pool School.

If the CYA is, that high, then the first step is to replace water to lower it. If you are using powdered chlorine, that could be why it is going up.

Posted from my Droid with Tapatalk ... sorry if my response is short ;)
 
What am I doing wrong? We added two lbs of re-fresh yesterday; 2 lbs about noon today, and we are adding another 2 lbs right now. In between, we are brushing the pool. We are using a powder that we have to mix with water called re-fresh. We also put in Yellow Treat with the first 2 lbs.
Tomorrow I was going to put in the robot, and see how things look.
I know the CYA is high when I test it, but I had the pool store test it twice and it was low. I hesitate emptying out the pool until I am certain my figure is correct. Tomorrow we are going to another pool store and see if they can test the CYA, even with all the chlorine in the water.
We have lots of powdered chlorine, and I don't want to switch over to bleach unti we use it all. It's too expensive.
 
What is the ingredient in the powder? It is either adding CYA or calcium(CH) with the chlorine. Neither are good if they get too high.

It does not sound like you are flowing the process. You are suppose to measure the FC level then adjust it up to the shock level from pool school or the calculator. Repeating every hour or so. Sounds like you are blindly adding 2 pounds every so often.

Posted from my Droid with Tapatalk ... sorry if my response is short ;)
 
YOu can follow the Shock Process outlined up in Pool School or you can take the pool store advice (which it seems you are currently doing). They are not at all the same and it is hard for us to help you when you put in pool store stuff like "yellow treat" and "refresh" and don't learn to use the shock process as we have outlined.

Blending advice from the Pool Store and this forum almost never works so, at some point, I think you need to commit to staying with our process or the pool store's but don't try to blend both.

If you decide to use the shock process, the first thing needed will be a set of CURRENT test results using your K-2006.
 

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The refresh is adding calcium. The reason I am using refresh is because we have a lot of it. The same with the chlorine tablets. This pool has become a money pit. I know I am just a novice at this, but I want to use what I have before I switch over to the bleach. It's too expensive and I have too much of it to not use it.
 
Well, the current products you own are sunk costs ... they are not costing you any money to hold. BUT, continuing to use them WILL result in you having to spend more money later when you have to drain the pool because the CYA and/or CH are too high.

The tablets will last for years in a dry bucket. And you can use them for vacation purposes, or bumping up the CYA if the need arises in the future. But, continuing to blindly use the wrong products and methods is sure to end up costing you more money in the future.

If you spend the time to learn the proven methods discussed here and utilize the test kit we recommend, maintaining you pool will become cheaper and easier.

Read this thread if you want some inspiration: bbb-saved-me-over-1-400-in-the-first-full-year-t54033.html
 
I understand what you're saying about having and using, but it's probably going to cost you more in the long run. Remember pool stores need to sell chemicals to make money (It's in their interest). Here the cost is free, not trying to cost you money but get you satisfying results. For example pool stores trying to sell PhosFREE, they say you get rid of the phosphates you get rid of the algae food, then the algae die. For the most part the group here doesn't recommend using it because: 1. Kill the algae with chlorine (It's cheaper, and sanitizes the water) 2. It's wasting money. 3. No algae doesn't matter what the phosphates are.

Switching to BBB method is less expensive, but more can be more time consuming.
The basics really are: Chlorine: to kill nasties (algae and such) and sanitize the water. Pump: circulate the water through filter to filter out dead nasties. Filter: capture dead nasty stuff to keep water pretty.
CYA: Sunscreen for Chlorine. Too much makes chlorine less effective. Not enough and your chlorine goes away due to sunlight.

CH/TA: too much or too little and you'll have problems, but I feel these are the easiest to maintain.

Your pool has a daily chlorine usage. If you use only liquid chlorine it as very little effect on CH/TA/CYA. When you use pucks and powders you will effect the CH/TA/CYA.

The pucks and powder you're using are great to use if you're going away or can't use the liquid chlorine for a while. You don't need to throw them away, but you may want to avoid using them now.

We want you to satisfied with your pool.
 
You have seen this chart right: pool-school/chlorine_cya_chart_shock

If you CYA is 80ppm, then for the shock process you are supposed to maintain the FC level at 31ppm
But now you think it is 100ppm, so the shock level is 39ppm
Already your FC is not high enough.

Note the poolcalculator.com is a little more conservative with slightly lower shock levels.
 
2clowns, to help illustrate what we're saying, a few weeks ago in another post you mentioned pucks and powder, posters identified that pucks add cya, powder adds calcium, both of which one can only reduce via partial draining.

Your CYA is now 100 - that's from using the pucks! At a cya of 100, you're going to have a great deal of difficulty defeating mustard algae, which you've now been battling since early September from my recollection. The reason you will continue to have difficulty is because cya has a "reserve" power on chlorine, which in small amounts saves chlorine from being burned off by the sun. But in large amounts, renders the sanitation power ineffective.

The pool store really cannot accurately or consistently read cya, as you can tell from your own summer of pool store readings (cya does not go away except via splashout/dilution...and it sure doesnt go away at all if youre using pucks. So wjile the pool store cant accurately read cya, with a little practice standing by the pool you
can! Keep pouring the liquid in, read it, pour it back into the test mix bottle, pour it into the tester again, read it, then again. Soon you'll have the hang of it and have a consistent range. You don't need to remix it or anything. Just practice the pour and the read.

So, in short, you could avoid all of this protracted hassle if you read through pool school a few
more times and did the following:

A) stop using pucks immediately
B) if your cya is 100 and you repeat the test a few times and confirm, you now need to drain about 50% to get the cya back in line
C) maintain shock value using liquid chlorine according to mustard algae dose FOR THE AMOUNT of CYA you have. By maintain, we mean check frequently and dose up or a little past the shock value (using the pool calculator) to MAINTAIN the shock ppm until you lose less than 1 ppm
overnight, and you have less than .5 cc, and the water is crystal clear with no signs of algae and no murkiness to the water.
D) finish up following the mustard algae recommendations, then
E) resume BBB maintenance using liquid chlorine, testing frequently, and maintaining the normal
target amount of chlorine for your cya -- which you can find in the chart at pool school, which is
also where you'll learn the details of what I've loosely summarized here.

It's a wee bit of a learning curve in the beginning, but if you study up a bit this once, you won't
have to go through this nonsense again and can enjoy a trouble free pool ;)
 
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