First full year with a pool coming up. Been busy the last 3 weeks - installed solar heaters and plumbing, as well as a SWCG (CircuPool Edge-40), and all the while, learning the PoolMath app and how to log effectively, and of course water chemistry and testing methods/processes thanks to threads and articles here at TFP. I started wtih a Leslie's test as I had no test kit a couple weeks ago. Leslie's TA was off by over 50, compared to TF-Pro (220 at its highest on TF-Pro, 167 from Leslies). Apparently I ddin't log the 220, but it took over a gallon of acid to get to 170 on the TF-Pro kit.
So this is Leslie's results, 11 days ago (actual test was two weeks ago, but I logged it in PoolMath 11 days ago):
Test from this morning (TA, pH, FC, TC, Salt, CYA tested; TC not shown, it's 0.5 ppm):
Test kit - yes I do in fact find that wearing the pink bunny ears leads to slightly better and more ideal test numbers. Tide goes in, tide goes out - can't explain that:
FC is higher than I intend to keep it, and I need to bump up CYA 10-20 points, due to the SWCG. I plan on keeping FC at 5-6, maintained by the SWCG and topped off with LC if needed. Still getting the hang of the CYA test, but I've added 8 lbs of stabilizer to my 16k gallon pool, so I think I'm in the ballpark. I lifted FC up a bit to "prime" the water for the SWCG, which I just turned on last night after adding 12 bags of salt throughout the morning. Lastly, pH should come up today after a full day of rain. I may have to vac to waste as my water level is getting a little higher than I want, and we're going to get an inch of rain today.
But all in all, I'm really happy with everything - the numbers are consistent and predictable. Not quite sure why I have .5 TC right now - it's cold, rainy, and crappy out for the last 4-5 days in this area, but I'll keep an eye on it and test again tomorrow. The app and the kit have made testing almost fun, or at the very least, not a burden.
For reference - my fill water is pretty high in TA - tested at 320 with the TF-Pro kit. It's also pretty high in copper and iron. I have a packet of CuLator that I haven't used. Really want to have everything in check first, and just add that to make sure I don't throw anything off that I can't quickly correct. Also, at that point, I'll be adding boric acid. I know it's more costly than Borax + MA, but I do prefer simpler if it's affordable within my budget, and boric acid seems a simpler route. I also don't like handling MA anymore than I absolutely have to.
This is an AGP with a vinyl liner, so not sure if I need to do anything for the CH or not?
Thanks for reading, and more importantly, thanks for all the great resources and input found here.
Todd
So this is Leslie's results, 11 days ago (actual test was two weeks ago, but I logged it in PoolMath 11 days ago):
Test from this morning (TA, pH, FC, TC, Salt, CYA tested; TC not shown, it's 0.5 ppm):
Test kit - yes I do in fact find that wearing the pink bunny ears leads to slightly better and more ideal test numbers. Tide goes in, tide goes out - can't explain that:
FC is higher than I intend to keep it, and I need to bump up CYA 10-20 points, due to the SWCG. I plan on keeping FC at 5-6, maintained by the SWCG and topped off with LC if needed. Still getting the hang of the CYA test, but I've added 8 lbs of stabilizer to my 16k gallon pool, so I think I'm in the ballpark. I lifted FC up a bit to "prime" the water for the SWCG, which I just turned on last night after adding 12 bags of salt throughout the morning. Lastly, pH should come up today after a full day of rain. I may have to vac to waste as my water level is getting a little higher than I want, and we're going to get an inch of rain today.
But all in all, I'm really happy with everything - the numbers are consistent and predictable. Not quite sure why I have .5 TC right now - it's cold, rainy, and crappy out for the last 4-5 days in this area, but I'll keep an eye on it and test again tomorrow. The app and the kit have made testing almost fun, or at the very least, not a burden.
For reference - my fill water is pretty high in TA - tested at 320 with the TF-Pro kit. It's also pretty high in copper and iron. I have a packet of CuLator that I haven't used. Really want to have everything in check first, and just add that to make sure I don't throw anything off that I can't quickly correct. Also, at that point, I'll be adding boric acid. I know it's more costly than Borax + MA, but I do prefer simpler if it's affordable within my budget, and boric acid seems a simpler route. I also don't like handling MA anymore than I absolutely have to.
This is an AGP with a vinyl liner, so not sure if I need to do anything for the CH or not?
Thanks for reading, and more importantly, thanks for all the great resources and input found here.
Todd
