We are supposed to take in a pool sample to our builder every month - supposedly as part of our warranty on our pool equipment. I personally think it's just to get you in the store to try to sell you something! Anyhow, when they test the FC, they say the target is 1-3. Are they using a different numbering system?
Pool Store Testing Differences
- Thread starter momtaps
- Start date
There is this old rule that FC levels should be between 1 and 3 (or sometimes 1 and 4) that dates back to before the use or understanding of CYA. Once you have CYA in the water everything changes and that rule doesn't make sense any more.
Test your own water. Make your own adjustments. Take the water to the store if you are required for warranty purposes, but ignore everything they tell you and only buy something if you know you truly need it.
Reading through Pool School, will quickly give you more knowledge than many (most) pool store employees who may not even own a pool.
Reading through Pool School, will quickly give you more knowledge than many (most) pool store employees who may not even own a pool.
I am in the same boat as you are - pebble tech requires monthly 'computerized' testing from a pool store.
So once a month I gather my samples and visit three stores that are all within a few miles of here. Sometimes I am in and out, sometimes I hang around to discuss their proposed purchases to avert the eminent disaster that my pool certainly faces, and frequently I find myself laughing out loud like when my freshly filled pool was supposedly testing 80 for CYA (it was at zero).
My recommendation - Hang onto your printouts in a binder, and test your own water with one of the recommended test kits from this site, using THOSE numbers to determine what changes to make.
One of the best learning tools I have found is to keep a spreadsheet with all of my measurements and make note of what I add then test the next day to see how my pool reacts.
My spreadsheet calculates the LSI because it is easy to put into a formula and I monitor the CSI from the poolcalculator.com
A couple of shortcuts to help you:
1) pool-school/recommended_levels
2) pool-school/chlorine_cya_chart_shock
Best of luck!
So once a month I gather my samples and visit three stores that are all within a few miles of here. Sometimes I am in and out, sometimes I hang around to discuss their proposed purchases to avert the eminent disaster that my pool certainly faces, and frequently I find myself laughing out loud like when my freshly filled pool was supposedly testing 80 for CYA (it was at zero).
My recommendation - Hang onto your printouts in a binder, and test your own water with one of the recommended test kits from this site, using THOSE numbers to determine what changes to make.
One of the best learning tools I have found is to keep a spreadsheet with all of my measurements and make note of what I add then test the next day to see how my pool reacts.
My spreadsheet calculates the LSI because it is easy to put into a formula and I monitor the CSI from the poolcalculator.com
A couple of shortcuts to help you:
1) pool-school/recommended_levels
2) pool-school/chlorine_cya_chart_shock
Best of luck!