I got a new pool in March of 2020. I'm a pool "newbie" but didn't realize how clueless I was until recently. I'm an engineer and wanted to really understand how the water chemistry worked. Before I found Trouble Free Pool, I made some classic errors.
1) Thought strips to test water chemistry was OK.
2) Found #1 wasn't right so, invested in a ColorQ Pro7 only to find the results weren't consistent.
3) Put too much stabilizer in and THEN notice the CYA was still rising. Who'd a thunk that the chlorine tablets (trichloro-s-triazinetrione ) in my auto feeder had CYA in them.
4) Thought going to get my water chemistry tested at pool store was a good thing. WRONG!
5) Got tons of bad advice from people who own pools who I thought were 'experts'.
Then I found TFP looking for a good software program to log my test results (Pool Math). The software brought me to pool school and the forums where I found everything I was doing wrong.
1) I now use the TF-100 test kit with speed stir and PH meter.
2) I keep my Ph meter in a standard solution and ensure accurate calibration before each use.
3) I understand the dependencies now with TA and Ph, the impact of CYA to Chlorine, and the benefits of CSI measurements when things are looking strange.
4) Probably saved myself a ton of money yesterday because I changed my water our to reduce my CYA from 130 to 35. I selected the day to do it based on the weather. I used a high gpm pump and kept the plaster wet (I live in Texas and it's hot) when the temperature was over 80 degrees until the pool could refill to be be sure it wasn't put at risk.
5) Understand the the pool store's "Adjusted Alkanity" doesn't mean much.
So, today marks a new day for me. The water has been changed out and I finally think I've gotten everything under control from my early errors. Or, at least I see a direct path to get there over the next few days. To show my thanks, I upgrade to gold status - not because I really needed to do it but because TFP has saved me so much money and frustration I figured it was the least I could do.
So, thanks TFP for picking me up by the boot straps and helping me understand how to keep my pool a place to have fun and not a place of angst and frustration.
1) Thought strips to test water chemistry was OK.
2) Found #1 wasn't right so, invested in a ColorQ Pro7 only to find the results weren't consistent.
3) Put too much stabilizer in and THEN notice the CYA was still rising. Who'd a thunk that the chlorine tablets (trichloro-s-triazinetrione ) in my auto feeder had CYA in them.
4) Thought going to get my water chemistry tested at pool store was a good thing. WRONG!
5) Got tons of bad advice from people who own pools who I thought were 'experts'.
Then I found TFP looking for a good software program to log my test results (Pool Math). The software brought me to pool school and the forums where I found everything I was doing wrong.
1) I now use the TF-100 test kit with speed stir and PH meter.
2) I keep my Ph meter in a standard solution and ensure accurate calibration before each use.
3) I understand the dependencies now with TA and Ph, the impact of CYA to Chlorine, and the benefits of CSI measurements when things are looking strange.
4) Probably saved myself a ton of money yesterday because I changed my water our to reduce my CYA from 130 to 35. I selected the day to do it based on the weather. I used a high gpm pump and kept the plaster wet (I live in Texas and it's hot) when the temperature was over 80 degrees until the pool could refill to be be sure it wasn't put at risk.
5) Understand the the pool store's "Adjusted Alkanity" doesn't mean much.
So, today marks a new day for me. The water has been changed out and I finally think I've gotten everything under control from my early errors. Or, at least I see a direct path to get there over the next few days. To show my thanks, I upgrade to gold status - not because I really needed to do it but because TFP has saved me so much money and frustration I figured it was the least I could do.
So, thanks TFP for picking me up by the boot straps and helping me understand how to keep my pool a place to have fun and not a place of angst and frustration.
