Zero CYA reading using same TFTestkit on two different pools, accurate?

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J

jimcraig152

0
Jun 5, 2013
18
Manteca, CA
My TF-100 kit was bought 1.5 years ago. Never tested CYA in my pool. Was confused by the directions and for some reason never attempted it again till today. Kit has been kept mostly indoors until I loaned it to my bro, who has left it outside in the shade for about 2 months. This week, it reached the 90's.

Decided to test my bro's CYA and it was zero. My CYA is also at zero. What are the chances the reagent is still good and the reading is correct? My bro's pool was green for almost a year. I read another post that bacteria can eat CYA and turn it to ammonia. That may explain my bro's reading. My pool however has been mostly blue since I bought my kit and found this site. And I know when I bought my house, the pool was green and I hired pool boys who slammed it with powdered shock. CYA's must have entered the pool chemistry then. I can go to Leslie down the street and have them test my pool free. I can maybe ask my neighbour for a sample of his pool water to test my kit to see if I get a reading.

Question is, given the conditions my bro kept my kit in in the last two months and the age, should I just get refills anyway?
 
Texas Splash said:
Below are some previous discussions about that same issue:
Can CYA testing agent R0013 go bad?
Extended Test Kit Directions
Test Kit Life span...

Water Testing Instructions on One Page

Try to post some overall results (FC, CC, PH, TA, CYA, CH) and we'll try to help some more.
Click to expand...

Just took readings from my pool:

FC: 10
CC: 1
pH: 8.2
TA: 180
CH: 320
CYA: 0

My normal (lazy/time saving) process is just to add 2 gallons of Walmart GV 8.25% bleach once per week during the warm months and skip the testing. It's the only thing I ever do besides cleaning debris and the requisite cartridge cleaning 2x/year. Looks like my slacking has left some things to be desired (water is hard here). And yes, I did do just that hence the high FC reading. My pool fringes on an algae bloom at the top of the pool all the time. Looks like I have to go back to school.

But, it also does appear my kit is in order; thoughts on this?
 
YOur kit was purchased two years ago to the day.

The chemistry may or may not be good after being outside (the CYA probably is....the others????) and I would simply place an order for a complete refill set and start over.

Pool Store testing stinks......no way around it. I hope you decide to manage your own pool and get the benefits out of your kit.
 
duraleigh said:
YOur kit was purchased two years ago to the day.

The chemistry may or may not be good after being outside (the CYA probably is....the others????) and I would simply place an order for a complete refill set and start over.

Pool Store testing stinks......no way around it. I hope you decide to manage your own pool and get the benefits out of your kit.
Click to expand...

Care to PM me a coupon code duraleigh since my spam filter pulled your discount notification out of my inbox?
 
Divin Dave said:
Its most likely that both of the pools dont have any CYA.

Teh R0013 should be good for several years.
Click to expand...

My next question was going to ask: is it better to bring CYA up instantly with a solid/liquid solution, or slowly with tablets and monitor it as it goes to 30. But I think the drawback is loss of FC until CYA gets there is beyond the break even point of a more instant solution. Off to search the board for a good brand to buy, preferably off Amazon, from Walmart, or from the dreaded Leslie.
 
Scuba_Steve said:
You could always just go into your spam folder... If the spam folder messed with the email, mark it as not spam and it will go into your inbox.
Click to expand...

It wasn't a coupon. It was a 20% off promo for the refill kit that ended on 4/20/15 (interesting choice with this date, btw). But it does appear like my kit is giving accurate readings. With zero CYA, I would expect my pH and TA to be high, which they are. Considering I just dumped 2 gallons of 8.25% bleach in it, I'd expect the FC to be high, which it was. My pool has very little traffic however. I do have a couple of pool noodles and a inflatable tanning bed in it. Still a CC reading of 1 seems high given the traffic.

Thoughts?
 

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Perhaps I don't understand what a heaping scoop is when doing the FC/CC test. From high school chemistry and cooking classes, we were taught to level off the dry ingredient from the rim of the spoon to have an accurate amount to be used. And that is what I did. Is this correct?
 
No a heaping spoon is done without leveling off the spoon. It is basically as much as the spoon can hold without actually spilling over.

Alternatively you could use 2 level spoons.

Accuracy obviously is not important for this measurement. You can not have too much, but you can have not enough.
 
Thanks Scuba_Steve. Took your pointer and headed over to my bro's house and tested his water. He is in a different neighboring county and perhaps it is municipally treated differently. Here are his readings. Keep in mind I am in the middle of SLAM'ing it (or at the tail end of the process). I inadvertently added the 2 bottles of the scented bleach from Walmart yesterday. His pool was cloudy yesterday as it had been for about a week. I couldn't see the bottom. I can only work on it during the weekend since I work in the Bay Area. Today, it is hazy and I can easily make out the two drain caps in the deep end. It's still not crystal clear but I am close.

FC: 2
CC: 1
pH: 7.2
TA: 170
CH: 200
CYA: 0

Yesterday, his pH was reading 7.8 before I put in muriatic acid. I suppose I shouldn't have done that now that I am adding in the CYA with a sock. Keep and eye out for where this ends up.

Still undecided if I should buy chem refills though. Because of laziness, I have hardly used it in the time I owned it. Seems to be wasteful. And because it does seem my chems still are good.
 
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