Just got my TF100

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Sure. They are a human. No different than any other human. The active chlorine at a CYA 120 and FC of 47 ppm is far lower than that in a public pool with 0 CYA and 1 ppm FC.
 
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Algae is likely. Also you are on the edge of too low of active chlorine to quickly kill bacteria, parasites, and viruses and thus protect from person to person transmission.
 
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mrjetson707 said:
I also noticed my water goes clear for one drop before the color change with TA and CH. should that be my number? 1 drop after that I'll see the color change and 1 drop more makes it solid color change. should the last one be my number?
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Count the drops to the color change, then add another drop. If there is no further color change, then do not count that last drop.

When using a speedstirrer, you may see momentary changes in color as the drops hits the solution then it immediately goes back to a color. That is why the speedstirrer Is so good because you can focus on the color changes and not worry about swirling with one hand. You get immediate mixing which helps in completing the test effectively.
 
HermanTX said:
Count the drops to the color change, then add another drop. If there is no further color change, then do not count that last drop.

When using a speedstirrer, you may see momentary changes in color as the drops hits the solution then it immediately goes back to a color. That is why the speedstirrer Is so good because you can focus on the color changes and not worry about swirling with one hand. You get immediate mixing which helps in completing the test effectively.
Click to expand...
so if I see a momentary color change, is that what my number is? or the color needs to stay for it to be the final number?
 
Hey, welcome to the forums, mrjestson. We're glad you're here and it won't be too long before you've got things under control. I got here in June with really high CYA and alkalinity issues. That's frustrating you're not able to easily (or cheaply) do a drain and refill to get those numbers under control. In the meantime, take this opportunity to practice testing, both on your pool water and your fill water, even if it's unlikely you'll use much of it to refill your pool. In the meantime it might not be a bad idea to research rainwater capture if that's feasible and legal in your area. For testing, I did the same thing with the CH and TA tests, wasn't counting enough drops. For TA specifically, count drops until the sample goes barbie pink and stays there, then drop one more drop to see if the color deepens. Don't count the last drop that doesn't cause any further change. You'll get the hang of it quickly. Another thing I noticed about that test, one of the instruction cards says to wipe the tip of the bottle with a damp cloth between drops, because static electricity can reduce the size of the drops from the R-0009 bottle. I was using very high TA tap water for this, and am convinced that was causing my test to read a few drops too high. Use distilled water instead if you use the wipe method.

Other tips and tricks:
  • Make sure to rinse graduated cylinders and the stirring with pool water before and after your tests. Contamination can easily throw off readings.
  • When dropping liquid reagents, go very slowly and hold the bottle vertically. Watch closely as the drop grows to full size, clings a moment and then falls in. Abnormally small drops lead to falsely high measurements.
  • For the normal CYA test, mix equal portions pool water and reagent. Don't get too caught up on exactly how much, this is a highly subjective test. Make sure you're giving it a good 30 second shake.
  • Also for CYA, this test can be practiced multiple times with a single sample. Pour the reagent back into the bottle and practice "feeling" where that dot disappears. Just filling up to the next line and glancing helps me not burn that dot into my retinas or my mind (as mentioned above).
  • I've found it makes a difference how I hold the CYA tube. I tend to get better results holding the tube between two fingers only up toward the top of the tube. More fingers in contact with the tube means less light enters, which means
Now, let's talk about CYA and why it's so important to this method. This is where things are VERY different from what most pool store / pool companies believe, because they're stuck on pre-1980s industry methods that aren't based in correct science. It is safe to swim up to SLAM levels, many pool owners here have (myself included) without experiencing skin or eye irritation, or even bleached bathing suits. The website itself simply couldn't stay open if it was brazenly recommending something that might injure swimmers. We use CYA as the foundation for a safe range for chlorine, and as you can see from the chart, that chlorine level can vary greatly. The pool store blanket recommendations of FC range regardless of CYA is one of the primary reasons they stay in business; not enough FC means they'll never get sued for overchlorinating, but if CYA is high enough there won't be proper sanitization, even at their recommended "shock" levels, meaning pools will always be going green. Here, we need to get in the ballpark for your CYA level, and we round up to the next 10 if the dot disappears in between. Why? Looking at the math, by over-estimating the CYA of the pool even just 10ppm, we're not at risk of overchlorinating, and we're also giving ourselves another 1ppm or so FC wiggle room at the minimum level. Our pools stay clear because we don't let FC drop to that minimum level.

I don't believe the T-100 test kit will measure a CYA of 120. When you mix the reagent and fill to the 100 level, does the dot disappear? Stand with your back to the full sun, hold it near your belt buckle and give it a glance. Try that test a few more times, and of course, the big takeaway for me is not to put any more dichlor or trichlor in my pool longterm. It's best to only add stabilizer when you need stabilizer.
 
TexEdmond said:
Hey, welcome to the forums, mrjestson. We're glad you're here and it won't be too long before you've got things under control. I got here in June with really high CYA and alkalinity issues. That's frustrating you're not able to easily (or cheaply) do a drain and refill to get those numbers under control. In the meantime, take this opportunity to practice testing, both on your pool water and your fill water, even if it's unlikely you'll use much of it to refill your pool. In the meantime it might not be a bad idea to research rainwater capture if that's feasible and legal in your area. For testing, I did the same thing with the CH and TA tests, wasn't counting enough drops. For TA specifically, count drops until the sample goes barbie pink and stays there, then drop one more drop to see if the color deepens. Don't count the last drop that doesn't cause any further change. You'll get the hang of it quickly. Another thing I noticed about that test, one of the instruction cards says to wipe the tip of the bottle with a damp cloth between drops, because static electricity can reduce the size of the drops from the R-0009 bottle. I was using very high TA tap water for this, and am convinced that was causing my test to read a few drops too high. Use distilled water instead if you use the wipe method.

Other tips and tricks:
  • Make sure to rinse graduated cylinders and the stirring with pool water before and after your tests. Contamination can easily throw off readings.
  • When dropping liquid reagents, go very slowly and hold the bottle vertically. Watch closely as the drop grows to full size, clings a moment and then falls in. Abnormally small drops lead to falsely high measurements.
  • For the normal CYA test, mix equal portions pool water and reagent. Don't get too caught up on exactly how much, this is a highly subjective test. Make sure you're giving it a good 30 second shake.
  • Also for CYA, this test can be practiced multiple times with a single sample. Pour the reagent back into the bottle and practice "feeling" where that dot disappears. Just filling up to the next line and glancing helps me not burn that dot into my retinas or my mind (as mentioned above).
  • I've found it makes a difference how I hold the CYA tube. I tend to get better results holding the tube between two fingers only up toward the top of the tube. More fingers in contact with the tube means less light enters, which means
Now, let's talk about CYA and why it's so important to this method. This is where things are VERY different from what most pool store / pool companies believe, because they're stuck on pre-1980s industry methods that aren't based in correct science. It is safe to swim up to SLAM levels, many pool owners here have (myself included) without experiencing skin or eye irritation, or even bleached bathing suits. The website itself simply couldn't stay open if it was brazenly recommending something that might injure swimmers. We use CYA as the foundation for a safe range for chlorine, and as you can see from the chart, that chlorine level can vary greatly. The pool store blanket recommendations of FC range regardless of CYA is one of the primary reasons they stay in business; not enough FC means they'll never get sued for overchlorinating, but if CYA is high enough there won't be proper sanitization, even at their recommended "shock" levels, meaning pools will always be going green. Here, we need to get in the ballpark for your CYA level, and we round up to the next 10 if the dot disappears in between. Why? Looking at the math, by over-estimating the CYA of the pool even just 10ppm, we're not at risk of overchlorinating, and we're also giving ourselves another 1ppm or so FC wiggle room at the minimum level. Our pools stay clear because we don't let FC drop to that minimum level.

I don't believe the T-100 test kit will measure a CYA of 120. When you mix the reagent and fill to the 100 level, does the dot disappear? Stand with your back to the full sun, hold it near your belt buckle and give it a glance. Try that test a few more times, and of course, the big takeaway for me is not to put any more dichlor or trichlor in my pool longterm. It's best to only add stabilizer when you need stabilizer.
Click to expand...
I diluted my pool water with distilled water. so on my vial I went 7.5 with pool. then up to 15 with distilled. then up to 30 with reagent. cya came out to 60 so I doubled it
 
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