I made a BIG mess, and need advice on cleaning it up.
- Thread starter momofmany
- Start date
OK, after toting 8 kids to 4 stores, this is all I could come up with for a test- a Pool Master Basic 5 Test Kit- tests free chlorine, combined chlorine, bromine, pH and total alkalinity. These are the results I found: free chlorine between 2-3 (sorry, I hate trying to color match 
), combined chlorine again, 2-3, Bromine a little darker than 4.4 PPM and not quite to the 6.5 PPM, pH 7.2 and total alkalinity 210 PPM.
I forgot to mention that the lady at the local 'pool store' told me I had a lot of iron in my water (0.1 is the # given), and that I need to add BioGuard remedy pool magnet plus metal stain preventer, BUT only after the chlorine registers @ less than 1PPM.
So..... where to go from here and do really I need to or should I do what she told me about the iron? And, my kids are bugging me BIG TIME, so is it safe for them to swim for a little bit this afternoon?
Thanks again- I'm so glad I found this site and I will be ordering my TF50 test kit today!
), combined chlorine again, 2-3, Bromine a little darker than 4.4 PPM and not quite to the 6.5 PPM, pH 7.2 and total alkalinity 210 PPM.I forgot to mention that the lady at the local 'pool store' told me I had a lot of iron in my water (0.1 is the # given), and that I need to add BioGuard remedy pool magnet plus metal stain preventer, BUT only after the chlorine registers @ less than 1PPM.
So..... where to go from here and do really I need to or should I do what she told me about the iron? And, my kids are bugging me BIG TIME, so is it safe for them to swim for a little bit this afternoon?
Thanks again- I'm so glad I found this site and I will be ordering my TF50 test kit today!
You should add a sequestrant to the water. BioGuard remedy pool magnet plus contains both a sequestrant and a strain remover. Only the stain remover portion requires lowering the FC level.
It would be more efficient to use a product that was just a sequestrant. ProTeam's Metal Magic and Jack's Magic the Pink Stuff (regular), the Blue Stuff (fresh plaster), and the Purple Stuff (SWG) are some of the top sequestrants. You can also find many other brands with similar products, some of which are noticeably less expensive. Sequestrants based on HEDP, phosphonic acid, or phosphonic acid derivatives are the most effective.
Ignore the bromine reading, you aren't using bromine.
I expect that your kit measures FC and TC, not FC and CC. That would explain your CC reading, which is actually a TC reading meaning that your don't have any CC (you don't want to have any CC).
I recommend getting a top quality test kit mail order. I recommend the TF-100 from TFTestKits.Net. The Taylor K-2006 is also good. It is often impossible to find a top quality kit locally, but having one will make things much much simpler (and no color matching on the chlorine test).
It would be more efficient to use a product that was just a sequestrant. ProTeam's Metal Magic and Jack's Magic the Pink Stuff (regular), the Blue Stuff (fresh plaster), and the Purple Stuff (SWG) are some of the top sequestrants. You can also find many other brands with similar products, some of which are noticeably less expensive. Sequestrants based on HEDP, phosphonic acid, or phosphonic acid derivatives are the most effective.
Ignore the bromine reading, you aren't using bromine.
I expect that your kit measures FC and TC, not FC and CC. That would explain your CC reading, which is actually a TC reading meaning that your don't have any CC (you don't want to have any CC).
I recommend getting a top quality test kit mail order. I recommend the TF-100 from TFTestKits.Net. The Taylor K-2006 is also good. It is often impossible to find a top quality kit locally, but having one will make things much much simpler (and no color matching on the chlorine test).
Thank you- I will be looking for the sequestrant today. I do appreciate all of you sharing your knowledge!
Hi - since you couldn't find the HTH kit - the TF-50 won't be enough - go with the TF100 or the Taylor as Jason suggested. I don't know anything about that 5-way kit if its accurate at all.
Were you able to find the stabilizer?
Were you able to find the stabilizer?
I couldn't find the hth stablizer after 4 stores, so went to a pool store and bought a 4lb. bucket of regal brand stabilizer-
as for the kit, I guess I'm glad things got crazy around here and I haven't ordered the kit yet, b/c I was going to buy the TF50, so I didn't 'miss the ship' on getting the correct one
Thank you again!
as for the kit, I guess I'm glad things got crazy around here and I haven't ordered the kit yet, b/c I was going to buy the TF50, so I didn't 'miss the ship' on getting the correct one
Thank you again!
Ok, you can go ahead and begin to add the stabilizer and also bring your FC level up to 10, using bleach (if you have any on hand.)
Have you tried using the pool calculator?
One large jug should be enough at first. Pour it slowly in front of the return, leave the pump running, and test it again in an hour. Is your chlorine tester a "yellow-OTO" type or what colors does the comparator tube show? How high up does it show-3, 5? If it goes up to 5, you can use the "dilution method" - use 1:1 ratio of pool water and chlorine-free (distilled) water and then multiply the results by 2. Hope that makes sense. You lose some accuracy that way but it will allow you to test up to 10, which is your shock level for now.
Have you tried using the pool calculator?
One large jug should be enough at first. Pour it slowly in front of the return, leave the pump running, and test it again in an hour. Is your chlorine tester a "yellow-OTO" type or what colors does the comparator tube show? How high up does it show-3, 5? If it goes up to 5, you can use the "dilution method" - use 1:1 ratio of pool water and chlorine-free (distilled) water and then multiply the results by 2. Hope that makes sense. You lose some accuracy that way but it will allow you to test up to 10, which is your shock level for now.
Good Morning~ sorry I missed your post yesterday~ the stabilizer is in, and I will go ahead and slowly add the bleach.
The test kit I was able to find is the yellow OTO chlorine test and it goes up to five. Your explanation was perfect, so I'll do as suggested.
I'll post later to let you know how things are going Thank you again!
The test kit I was able to find is the yellow OTO chlorine test and it goes up to five. Your explanation was perfect, so I'll do as suggested.
I'll post later to let you know how things are going
Thank you again!I ordered my test kit (TF-100) and Metal Magic! So I should be able to post some solid #'s when it gets here! Thanks again!