head spinning from all the info......

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Thanks, Richard!

We should be getting our good test kit by Tuesday, but for now, we have the 3-2way drop kit. It is still showing the chlorine level high....it is bright yellow - matched closest with 5.0 CL and 11.0 BR
ph low - exact match to 7.2

Should we go ahead and add borax (which I will have to go and get) for the low pH, baking soda for the low TA...and then hold up on adding any more CYA since the chlorine level is so high. Also, are the levels ok enough for us to get in the pool or should we wait until the chlorine level is down?

Thanks, again for any and all help/suggestions!
 
I would wait on raising CYA until you get the new CYA test, so you can be more confident about what your current CYA level is. Adding too little CYA is easy to correct. But adding too much CYA can be a pain to correct.

I would go ahead and prepare to add borates, but not actually add them until you get a more reliable PH test result.

Swimming should be fine once you get PH up to at least 7.2.
 
The test result for the pH that we got on Friday from the pool store showed 7.0..... and we haven't added or done anything except we did run the pump for 8 hours yesterday. The test I showed today for pH at 7.2 came from that 3-way test kit I had picked up at Walmart....so it probably isn't as accurate as the test from the pool store.

Do you still think I should wait to add borates? Thanks!!!
 
ok.... now I have confused myself.....

should I go ahead and add the baking soda to raise the TA (will that help to increase the pH) before I head off to try to find Borax.... or should I go get the borax and add it before adding the baking soda.

Now I can't remember if the TA helps to raise the pH.... or raising the pH helps to raise the TA.....

sorry, I am really trying!

we have the pump only running right now... not the SWG since the chlorine is so high....
 
Test kit arrived today.... now to figure it all out!!! Will probably try to do the tests tomorrow. Do I use the magnetic stirrer for all the tests or is that necessary?

Did a quick test today with the 3-way test kit I already had.....here are the results:

FC 3.0
BR 6.5
pH 7.2

We have been only running the pump for 12 hours for the last 2 days since the chlorine level is still registering on the high side. Haven't added anything else or run the SWG.
 
You really only need the stirrer for your CH test. Of course, you can use it for others if you would like.

When you use your new kit to test for FC, CC, CYA, pH, TA, and CH, post the test results and we will go from there.
 
You can ignore the BR on the 3 way kit because you do not use bromine in your pool.

The magnetic stirrer makes testing easier :)

Just wanted to make sure you have seen the visual from Taylor for the CYA test.
Scroll to the botton for the pics:
http://www.taylortechnologies.com/Chemi ... ntentID=44

Also, when doing the CYA test, you can pour the mixture back into the bottle and then "re-do" the test (slowly pour back into the view tube) several times until you feel comfortable with it.
 

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t2roadrunner said:
What we have done now:
1. Added 3lbs of Aqua chem Stabilizer (powder - 100% cyanuric acid) - placed in a sock and used the squishing method to disperse. All of this has been dissolved into the pool
2. Added (1) 1lb. packet Aqua Chem Shock Xtra Blue - mixed in a 5gallon bucket of water and poured in while circling the pool.
Active ingredients in Aqua Chem Shock Xtra Blue:
Sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione: 63.05%
Copper (metallic) derived from copper citrate: .26%
OTHER INGREDIENTS: 36.69% (Great! it doesn't show what OTHER is)
Available Chlorine: 39%
Click to expand...

I suggest that you not use this product any more.... the copper can be a problem for blondes. Probably not from the amount used so far, but in the long run it would be.

And, there is a special section of Pool School for small and temporary pools that you will want to read.
 
ok, bought the stirrer and only really need it for the CH test.....which, my understanding, that test is not at the top of the list for important since I have a vinyl pool and my reading is low......doesn't matter, though....with all of this "science" stuff I figure I need something that is gonna be fun!!!

Thanks for the info on the BR test.... just found "bromine" on the abbreviations and definitions list and realize that it is chlorine....boy I have a lot to learn :)

Just went to the link for the visuals from Taylor for the CYA test... again, thanks a bunch!

Last night, after my last post, I actually went to the Pool School link and printed off everything in the Pool School that would apply to the pool we have. I'm going to try to read through the parts about testing, chemicals, etc, then I'm going to attempt to do the tests in this order:
FC, CC, CYA, pH, TA, and CH (thanks 257WbyMag)

Is there a specific order these should be done in or does it matter.... I guess an order of importance is what I'm wondering.... if there is, I'm sure it is in the info I printed off last night.... will be reading through with a highlighter in hand!!!

Again, thanks to all of you for your help and patience! I really appreciate that I haven't had a single negative (as far as how clueless I really am) comment from anyone on here! This is a great forum and I am truly glad I found it!
 
Re: head spinning from all the info......TEST RESULTS...TF10

test results......
FC 1.5 (could have been 1.0, but I accidentally dropped the 2nd and 3rd drops almost together ...should have practiced first )
CC .5
pH 7.2
CYA 40 (and I did this one 2 complete times...thought I might have put too much of the
solution in the first time, so I redid it)
TA sorry...not sure on this one... it turned pink at what would be 50. took it all the way
to 80 and it still looked the same color pink that it looked at 50 (dark pink).... it just
didn't look red to me. Should I have kept adding more of the solution?
CH 170 (turned mostly blue with a very faint hint of pink along the top edge at 130, but it
was completely blue at 170)
Copper .1 (checked with copper test strips)
Salt 3120 ppm (checked with salt test strips)

When I tested the pH, I also tested the chlorine and it showed 2.4 (used the test kit in the blue case that came in the kit)

Used the magnetic stirrer......love it!
 
forgot to mention.... when I did the test for CH, after putting in 20 drops of R0010 and 5 drops of R0011L, it turned purple not red..... (grandson confirmed that it was definitely purple not red).

Now that I have gone back and looked at the pictures for the CYA results, I may be off on that, too. Grandson said the dot disappeared before I thought it had.....hmmm. (I promise I never was never good at science and I really don't like having to use all of these bottles of liquid with warning labels on them!!)
 
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