Daily testing

[Jennybird]

Hi everyone, so this is my first year with a pool; Got through my first shock and now I am just testing daily and keeping my free chlorine at eight as a goal. Do I have to use the chlorine drop test or can I use the the little box test that you use for PH?
Thanks

 

[Texas Splash]

You can use both actually. But being new to testing, I would recommend using the drop test (FAS-DPD) so that you know what exact FC numbers look like, then do the OTO comparator block test so you can see what shade the FC looks like at that FC number. Sort of training yourself to use the OTO. Once you get good at it, you can use the FAS-DPD one day, then skip a day or two and use the OTO viewer to save on powder & drops.

 

[Jennybird]

That sounds good, thank you!

 

[Texas Splash]

Remember though that the FAS-DPD first part of the test is FC only. The OTO viewer is "total" chlorine (FC and CC).

 

[Jennybird]

Oh! I didn’t realize that!

 

[Jeff J.]

I use the OTO test and PH test daily. I try to keep the CL in the top band (5-10). When it drops to the next band (3-6), I assume it's 4.5 and use Poolmath to bring it up to my target (which is 7 with a CYA of 40). I do the other tests once per week. I find the OTO usually over-estimates the CL compared to the FAS-DPD, even though I never have CC.

 

[Newdude]

Hey miss !! You have great advice above, covering you well. So with your permission, and you accepting my apologies in advance, I’d like to stray a hair off topic for a sec.


How’s it been going ? Much easier to do a little proactive and barely need to anything reactive (like fight a swamp), right ? Are you at one with the pool yet ? Can just see the sparkle and know you’re good….. then test anyway and confirm it ?

 

[Jennybird]

Hey miss !! You have great advice above, covering you well. So with your permission, and you accepting my apologies in advance, I’d like to stray a hair off topic for a sec.


How’s it been going ? Much easier to do a little proactive and barely need to anything reactive (like fight a swamp), right ? Are you at one with the pool yet ? Can just see the sparkle and know you’re good….. then test anyway and confirm it ?

Yes, I feel very protective of it. I’m always scrutinizing anything that’s happening, we finally got a glycerin filled gauge that works which is awesome, but I get a little frustrated that the pH always wants to drift up it doesn’t seem to want to stay in the sevens for any length of time.
However my doggy shark, the one day it was warm when she saw me up on the pool deck came running across the yard and jumped on her orange float and was the happiest little shark I’ve ever seen

 

[Newdude]

but I get a little frustrated that the pH always wants to drift up it doesn’t seem to want to stay in the sevens for any length of time.

Weird that that the TA went from 140 to 170 a week ago. It usually comes down with regular acid adds, 10 at a time. Did you have to add alot of fill water ? That could be why it spiked. We KNOW you didn't do it with pool store potions cuz you're a bona-fide pro now.

 

[Jennybird]

Weird that that the TA went from 140 to 170 a week ago. It usually comes down with regular acid adds, 10 at a time. Did you have to add alot of fill water ? That could be why it spiked. We KNOW you didn't do it with pool store potions cuz you're a bona-fide pro now.

We haven’t been putting the solar cover on and we did try a couple different gauges so I know he did have to fill the pool a little bit a couple times so maybe that was it.
I am using lower percent muriatic acid just because the 31% was making me cough so I went down to the clean stuff but I adjusted for that.

 

[Jennybird]

And there would be no way in the world I would ever go to a pool store again

 

[Jennybird]

We did get a couple days of pretty good rain so would that along with filling up the pool a couple times be enough to raise the pH and the TA?

 

[Newdude]

Rain has very little (10?) TA and a PH of 5 or so. It would lower both, given enough of it. Tap/fill water is often times higher than the pool so the filling may have raised the TA, which only makes the PH rise quicker. Really surprised it stayed at 140 with all those acid adds and quick PH rises after. Then more surprised it spiked 30 more last week.
@Texasany ideas ?

 

[Jennybird]

Rain has very little (10?) TA and a PH of 5 or so. It would lower both, given enough of it. Tap/fill water is often times higher than the pool so the filling may have raised the TA, which only makes the PH rise quicker. Really surprised it stayed at 140 with all those acid adds and quick PH rises after. Then more surprised it spiked 30 more last week.
@Texasany ideas ?

I was using a kleen muriatic acid (less fumes), And I wonder if that had something to do with it? Is there something added to that that maybe would mess with pH?
I just picked up the regular straight muriatic acid now, so I guess I’ll just stick to that and hold my breath so it doesn’t make me cough

 

[Newdude]

I was using a kleen muriatic acid (less fumes), And I wonder if that had something to do with it? Is there something added to that that maybe would mess with pH?

Nope. MA is MA with nothing else. The weaker ones use water to cut them. If you prefer the low fume ones, it totally won’t break the bank 20 oz at a time.

I just picked up the regular straight muriatic acid now, so I guess I’ll just stick to that and hold my breath so it doesn’t make me cough

Pick a breezy time of day and stand upwind. It really helps.