Preferred order of testing water

[BitViper]

Is there a preferred order to testing and then adjusting your water.

Pool School recommends testing the pH daily and the TA only weekly..

But I thought I read someplace to adjust your TA before adjusting pH because of the affect TA has on pH.

I just ran my first test yesterday (I was really just playing around) but the values I got back were interesting.

I didn't run the full gambit of tests.. From memory the values were
Water temp was 39 deg
pH 8.2 - since the water is so cold this was kinda expected
FC .5
TC 2.5
CC 0
TA 160 this is the one that surprised me

So I'll re-measure this evening.. and run the full series.. but I was wondering if there was a preferred order.. and when I do start to adjust the pool what to start with
since it seems that one parameter drives another

 

[JohnT]

Chlorine is always the priority with pH next.

TA is primarily adjusted because of the way it affects pH. TA adjustment isn't required often, and is generally a much slower process than pH adjustment, though at times you need to know them both because they interact and some chemicals affect both, and some one more than the other.

 

[linen]

FC .5
TC 2.5
CC 0

This is impossible when tested accurately. TC=FC+CC

What test kit did you use to do the above measurements?

For chlorine, the FAS-DPD test is the best one. It measures FC and then CC. The OTO test measures TC and in general is really only useful to see if you have chlorine, not how much.

 

[BitViper]

FC .5
TC 2.5
CC 0

This is impossible when tested accurately. TC=FC+CC

What test kit did you use to do the above measurements?

For chlorine, the FAS-DPD test is the best one. It measures FC and then CC. The OTO test measures TC and in general is really only useful to see if you have chlorine, not how much.

As I said I was reporting from memory... obviously a bad memory.. I'll post actual values this weekend..

Sorry for the confusion... and misdirection

 

[PoolsPlusMI]

I would suggest adjusting TA first, then pH, then Chlorine. Since the first two can effect the effectiveness of Chlorine you always want to lower your pH first before adding Chlorine.

 

[JasonLion]

I would suggest adjusting TA first, then pH, then Chlorine. Since the first two can effect the effectiveness of Chlorine you always want to lower your pH first before adding Chlorine.

The original question was about testing order, which should be chlorine and PH first as JohnT mentioned.

For adjusting order, the only time you would want to adjust TA first is if it is very very low, say below 50.

TA never has any direct effect on the effectiveness of chlorine. PH does have an effect, but that effect is small and can be ignored unless the PH is way out of range or you are managing an indoor pool with zero CYA.

 

[fast1971chevelle]

YEA
What Jason said BOYEEEEE!!!!!!!!.......lol