So confused.

Jump to latest Follow Reply
F

Flynnranch

Well-known member
Aug 25, 2019
52
Lipan tx
Hello there! I am attempting to get our pool clear for the first time this season. All summer we have struggled with algae and cloudy water. I have spent hundreds at the pool store with them telling me what to do and finally decided to wing it myself. I'm sure I have done everything wrong and thrown more at this pool than is feasibly worth it, but I'm not giving up. Is there someone who can guide me in the right direction? I have replaced the sand in the filter as of yesterday, it was three years old but it was really gross. I have pictures of my test strips and the Chlorox Pool app analyzer if that helps at all.
Thanks in advance!
TH 500
TC now at 5 after shocking this morning, but has been at zero
FC same as TC
PH was at 7.8, now lowered to 6.8
TA was 180, ow at 240
Stabilize has not shifted from 0, despite twice putting the HTH Pods in. (2 each time)

I posted pics, but they aren't in any order. :cool:
 

Attachments

  • IMG_9608.PNG
    IMG_9608.PNG
    237.3 KB · Views: 25
  • IMG_9607.PNG
    IMG_9607.PNG
    254 KB · Views: 25
  • IMG_9586.PNG
    IMG_9586.PNG
    30.8 KB · Views: 22
  • IMG_9602.PNG
    IMG_9602.PNG
    34.3 KB · Views: 21
  • IMG_9604.JPG
    IMG_9604.JPG
    340.5 KB · Views: 19
  • IMG_9605.JPG
    IMG_9605.JPG
    314.5 KB · Views: 19
  • IMG_9606.PNG
    IMG_9606.PNG
    211.6 KB · Views: 14
  • IMG_9559.PNG
    IMG_9559.PNG
    34.6 KB · Views: 11
Last edited:
Your testing method is making your life difficult and balancing your pool water impossible.
Upgrade you testing procedure to a titration method or "drop test" and everything will fall into place for you.
TFP recommends the TF-100 or the Taylor K-2006C.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Flynnranch
Welcome to the forum!

Good news and bad news. Good news is that you've come somewhere where people can absolutely help you to take control of your pool, the chemicals, and guide you through cleanup. See any of the other threads here for tons of success stories from people who have struggled with cloudy pools.

Bad news is that we really can't give advice based on test strips. They're notoriously inaccurate, and if we tried we could be making things worse. Same with pool store tests - once again, we don't trust their accuracy and don't want to give you advice based on faulty numbers.

Get one of the test kits mentioned above first. Once you have those you can post test results that we can trust to give specific guidance for your pool. For now, I recommend putting in 5ppm worth of liquid chlorine (bleach, "liquid shock", etc. - no additives, no Clorox brand, no scents or "splashless" or anything, just plain old bleach) daily until the test kit arrives.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Flynnranch
Check out these videos for no nonsense pool maintenance information.

www.youtube.com

Trouble Free Pool

With over 200,000 members, TFP is the largest and most influential pool & spa website on the Internet. The reason is simple: TFPC (Trouble Free Pool Care) is...
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com
 
Practically speaking they have the same chemicals - all manufactured by Taylor. The TF-100 comes with less of a few that aren't used as much and extra of the FC/CC testing materials, especially if you get the XL option. The Taylor kit comes with what I think is a nicer case.

www.troublefreepool.com

Swimming Pool Test Kits Compared

What pool test kit should I buy? Why not use test strips? Our recommended test kits will pay for themselves in no time!
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

Do NOT get the Taylor K-2006. Only the K-2006c. The "c" is important - without that you won't have enough reagents for the FC/CC testing. :)
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Hello and Welcome to TFP!!

Be very cautious about using price as the decision maker with a test kit. What looks like a value now, may lead to less value later. I highly recommend the TF-100 kit with XL option from TFTestkits.net. The K-2006C is a decent kit, but it does come with smaller bottles of drops than the TF-100. This leads to fewer tests for the money. Most people end up buying refills before the pool is totally clear. You do get a pretty blue box with the K-2006C though. Just my 2 cents.
Getting the XL-option now will save you from needing to get refills later and therefore save on the shipping costs.

You are battling the algae and the sun. A perfectly clean pool will loose 2-4ppm of chlorine per day. If your CYA is really zero, then the sun will burn off all the chlorine in a few hours. Don't add any CYA for now until after you get your test kit.
Just add 5ppm of FC per day (one gallon of the 6% bleach).
 
Welcome to TFP! :) You will not regret taking charge of your pool!

While waiting you may want to add plain bleach to raise your FC to ~5ppm.
Check out pool math to calculate how much to add. Use only plain, unscented bleach. Do not use chlorox it usually has other additives you don't want in the pool.
(while typing I see Teald already advised this)

Do not add anything else until you have test results from one of the test kits. Post your results and let one of the experts help get you on track.


Also check out Pool School while you are waiting. A ton of information that may seem overwhelming at first. It helps to get used to and understand some of the terminology. The experts are always here to give a hand for specific questions, so you don't have to memorize it.

Addyour pool information to your signature, similar to the ones above. Settings/signature. It helps the experts to know what equipment, type of pool and location so they can give you knowledgeable advice.

Good Luck!
 
As an Owner of a K2006 (I bought it for the Blue box... ), I can see the appeal of having the K2006C or the TF-100 for the increased testing liquid sizes.

That being said, In my 2 months of ownership I have realized that there are really only 2 things that look like they will "run out fast" from my 0.75 OZ containers. I don't think the 2006 gives more powder in the C or regular.

The FAS DPD Regeant
CYA testing Regeant.

I bought some small Funnels and for less than $50 I was able to get 16 OZ bottles of each of the regeants (2 ozs replacements of each sell for ~$10 bucks each so refilling bottles is a huge savings).

The Powder can be got for ~$10 for the same size (or if you want a bigger size $30), but that seems to last a while if you don't over use it and comes with a new spoon (which may be a plus).

Personally, I don't know if the 2OZ bottles for the Taylor K2006C are worth the premium (which I instead put towards the extra larger sized 16 OZ regeant bottles for CYA and DPD) so I am satisified with that decision, but who knows, maybe in 4-5 months I will realize what a fool I have been (based on my usage pattern, I believe I everything else should last about that long except for the powder and maybe the PH regeant which I may end up getting a 2OZ replacement).
 
  • Like
Reactions: PointeTaken and CarolD
Jason245 said:
Personally, I don't know if the 2OZ bottles for the Taylor K2006C are worth the premium (which I instead put towards the extra larger sized 16 OZ regeant bottles for CYA and DPD) so I am satisified with that decision, but who knows, maybe in 4-5 months I will realize what a fool I have been (based on my usage pattern, I believe I everything else should last about that long except for the powder and maybe the PH regeant which I may end up getting a 2OZ replacement).
Click to expand...
IceShadow said:
The 2006c gives two little bottles/scoops of the powder. I believe the 2006 only gives one.
Click to expand...

I'm in agreement with Jason; I don't know that the overall value is any different between one or the other after pricing out the cost of the kits and the price of the large "E" sized refills of the most-used reagents. It appears to be a wash and probably ends up being a matter of personal preference (and some convenience) tailored to each individual's use.

If I had to do it over again, I'd probably buy the 2006c, but I don't feel in retrospect like I need to replace my 2006 with the C model.
 
Hello there! I posted the other day about going around in circles trying to get my pool clean, it was recommended that I purchase a good quality water test method. Well it has arrived in the mail but before I start, I have a few questions.
My filter has been running constantly, do I need to brush the pool and stir up all of the green stuff on the bottom before I test, or do I just test the water as it has been circulating?
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply