Newb here

[KristiSoCal]

Hey all,

I've had my above ground pool for about 19 months and have never really gotten the water balanced. I'm finally feeling like I'm getting some understanding of water chemistry, but I'm facing some issues that I'm hoping to get help with. My water isn't balanced as of yet, but once it is, I will be using the TFP method, as I have spent SO frickin much money on pool chemicals in the past 4 months. It feels awful, and I want our pool to feel fun, rather than the albatross it has felt like for the past 18 months.

Thanks for having me.

 

[Richard320]

Welcome!

Things are about to improve.

You will need to invest in a proper test kit. It's a chunk o'change but it will repay itself quickly in trips not made to the pool store. There's nothing wrong with your kit. Some of the tests are identical. But yours is incomplete, and by the time you purchase the individual tests you need, you might as well buy a whole kit. Have you seen https://www.troublefreepool.com/blog/2019/01/18/test-kits-compared/ ?

Armed with your own reliable test results and our advice, you can take control of things. Soon your water will be crystalline and sparkling, odor free, and non-irritating to skin and eyes. There will be a couple week's steep learning curve and then suddenly it will all make perfect sense and you can coast from then on. Not kidding. !0 minutes a week on chemistry. Maybe an hour brushing and vacuuming. That's my usual. I can stand on the deck and look through eight feet of water and tell that the screws on the drain cover are Phillips head. No lie. You'll be there, too, soon enough.

 

[TomGallopavo]

Hey all,

I've had my above ground pool for about 19 months and have never really gotten the water balanced. I'm finally feeling like I'm getting some understanding of water chemistry, but I'm facing some issues that I'm hoping to get help with. My water isn't balanced as of yet, but once it is, I will be using the TFP method, as I have spent SO frickin much money on pool chemicals in the past 4 months. It feels awful, and I want our pool to feel fun, rather than the albatross it has felt like for the past 18 months.

Thanks for having me.

Last year I didn’t hit 150 in stuff and still had a thing of cya, 2 bags of salt, and some bleach. Bought two more bags of salt a month ago when I opened, some bleach I haven’t used and some hcl I haven’t used yet. I usually go through 2 hcl so that’s 30 bucks. I seriously might be under a 100 bucks this year... totally crazy I know...

Oh wait I did dump 50 bucks for two floaties...

 

[KristiSoCal]

Thanks guys. Can I ask, which test kit is most well-rounded? I don't know enough to know which kit is best, even with reading the article. The reason, I think, is because I don't know how many times I need to run each test. I apologize if this is a weird or dumb question.

 

[KristiSoCal]

Also, is the Taylor K2006C the same as the K2006 Complete kit?

Here's the one I'm looking at: NEW TAYLOR K-2006 Complete Swimming Pool/Spa Test Kit FAS-DPD K2006 Chlorine - Walmart.com

 

[Richard320]

Thanks guys. Can I ask, which test kit is most well-rounded? I don't know enough to know which kit is best, even with reading the article. The reason, I think, is because I don't know how many times I need to run each test. I apologize if this is a weird or dumb question.

I use a TF100. TFTestkits.net

If your pool is greenish, order the XL option now. There's more than enough reagents to last you all season and possibly through next year, too.

The K2006 is too small. You'll run out of Chlorine test powder too soon. The K2006C has bigger bottles, which is why it costs more.

 

[KristiSoCal]

Sweet, so if I purchase the TF100, I can use the reagents from my Taylor kit if I run out?

My pool isn't greenish now, it's just cloudy. The alkalinity is way too high because I've been having Ph issues. I'm learning, but it's just going to be slow going I think to fix it. I should probably start another thread about the alkalinity.

 

[Richard320]

Sweet, so if I purchase the TF100, I can use the reagents from my Taylor kit if I run out?

My pool isn't greenish now, it's just cloudy. The alkalinity is way too high because I've been having Ph issues. I'm learning, but it's just going to be slow going I think to fix it. I should probably start another thread about the alkalinity.

Yep. same chemicals, same numbering system. If the numbers are the same, use it up.

Alkalinity is only a problem if it drives the pH up too fast. It doesn't cause cloudiness. Doesn't burn chlorine. Doesn't feed algae. Each time you lower pH you also lower TA a little. pH will come back up, TA will stay down. There's no point in stressing over TA.

 

[KristiSoCal]

Awesome, thank you so much, Richard.

Hmm. I would love to quit worrying about the TA, but it's at 310 this morning. I have had a hugely difficult time getting my ph into acceptable range, and I used a ton of ph up a few days ago (I used those HTH Pods). It seems like it didn't do ANYTHING, which was unfortunate, but it did raise my TA to crazy levels. I bought a digital ph reader which told me that my ph was at 6.85 two nights ago. For the past two nights, I have aerated the pool, and I've got it up to 7.4 using no chemicals, but I've still got the TA super high. I'm contemplating what to do about it next.

Also, I can't seem to see the XL kit on that site. They only have the TF100 (which is probably fine).

 

[Richard320]

Awesome, thank you so much, Richard.

Hmm. I would love to quit worrying about the TA, but it's at 310 this morning. I have had a hugely difficult time getting my ph into acceptable range, and I used a ton of ph up a few days ago (I used those HTH Pods). It seems like it didn't do ANYTHING, which was unfortunate, but it did raise my TA to crazy levels. I bought a digital ph reader which told me that my ph was at 6.85 two nights ago. For the past two nights, I have aerated the pool, and I've got it up to 7.4 using no chemicals, but I've still got the TA super high. I'm contemplating what to do about it next.

Also, I can't seem to see the XL kit on that site. They only have the TF100 (which is probably fine).

Your pH is fine right now. Don't worry about TA.

If you go to order a TF100 there are options. XL is one of them.

Borates Test Strips (Add $14.25 )
Salt Test Strips - Aqua Chek (Add $11.95 )
Taylor K-1766 Salt Test- (Add $27.00 )
XL Option (Add $20.00 )
Standard Sampler (Add $16.00 )