Two Questions

[dsime42]

K2005:FC/BR <3/6
K2005H <7.8
K2005:TA 70
K2005:CH 290

K-1515:FC 1
K-1515:CC 1.4

K-1517:BR 1.4

Borate test strips seem to be just about worthless!

Q1: Shouldn't the K-1517:BR match the K-1515:FC not the K-1515:CC???

Q2: My CH is rising. Is it part of the TA/PH equation?
PH goes up, bring it down with muriatic acid.
TA goes down, pump it up with bicarb
Still working on where I want this pendulum to stop swinging, but hadn't expected the CH to keep rising.

Q3: (can't count) I added enough 20 mules to get what the pool calc said would be 42 ppm. I didn't want to overshoot and hadn't received my test strips yet. Test strips look like it could be between 50-80 or >80, but really the swab doesn't look like any of the pictures. :-(
Is there a better Borate test? Yes! Yes! Yes! Please????

Q4: (just getting wild here) Fore the "Suggested Goal Levels"
Would you suggest a 400Gal Spa would be better served with the TFP goals or a "Traditional Spa" goals?
Not sure if the calc takes into account the 102F temp when doing the calcs

 

[Richard320]

K2005:FC/BR <3/6
K2005H <7.8
K2005:TA 70
K2005:CH 290

K-1515:FC 1
K-1515:CC 1.4

K-1517:BR 1.4

Borate test strips seem to be just about worthless!

Q1: Shouldn't the K-1517:BR match the K-1515:FC not the K-1515:CC???
I have zero experience with Bromine, can't help there
Q2: My CH is rising. Is it part of the TA/PH equation?
PH goes up, bring it down with muriatic acid.
TA goes down, pump it up with bicarb
Still working on where I want this pendulum to stop swinging, but hadn't expected the CH to keep rising.
CH is independent of pH/TA. It rises because even though water evaporates, CH does not. It stays and keeps rising. Try not being so exacting about pH/TA. There's probably a sweet spot where they will hold steady for a week or two, you just need to find it. Also note, pH will rise more with vigorous aeration, such as a spa gets. If the TA is kept lower, pH rise slows down.
Q3: (can't count) I added enough 20 mules to get what the pool calc said would be 42 ppm. I didn't want to overshoot and hadn't received my test strips yet. Test strips look like it could be between 50-80 or >80, but really the swab doesn't look like any of the pictures. :-(
Is there a better Borate test? Yes! Yes! Yes! Please????
I have zero experience with Borates, can't help there
Q4: (just getting wild here) Fore the "Suggested Goal Levels"
Would you suggest a 400Gal Spa would be better served with the TFP goals or a "Traditional Spa" goals?
Not sure if the calc takes into account the 102F temp when doing the calcs

There is a place to enter the water temperature on the poolcalculator. It affects CSI. And I'd use the TFP recommendations, they are based on hard experience. Traditional values come from manufacturers.

 

[JamesW]

The K-1517 has a multiplier of 0.5 or 1.25. Therefore, the result of 1.4 seems like it would be an error in the multiplier.

Are you testing water with chlorine, or bromine, in it?

Did you take a sample near a return while the ozonator was on?

Have you added MPS (non-chlorine shock) recently?

 

[dsime42]

The K-1517 has a multiplier of 0.5 or 1.25. Therefore, the result of 1.4 seems like it would be an error in the multiplier.

Are you testing water with chlorine, or bromine, in it?
Possibly both as I have a bromine bank and use bleach to supplement the ozone for rechargeThough I hadn't put any bleach in for well over the period where the chlorine should have all been gone

Did you take a sample near a return while the ozonator was on?
Possible. I will take more care to avoid that in the future

Have you added MPS (non-chlorine shock) recently?
No. I shock with bleach.

Color=0040FF

 

[dsime42]

The K-1517 has a multiplier of 0.5 or 1.25. Therefore, the result of 1.4 seems like it would be an error in the multiplier.
Bingo.
I was using the same mult. as with the K-1515 kit.
7 drops = 1.4 was wrong
7 * 0.5 = 3.5 which agrees with the K-2005 kit.
Boneheaded mistake.
Thanks

 

[JamesW]

A few points for clarification:

1) Any chlorine added to a bromine tub will quickly become bromine. Therefore, you usually wouldn't have any chlorine in a bromine tub unless there was no significant bromide bank.
2) The bromine test divided by 2.25 should match the FC test because they are essentially the same test other than the multiplier. Any difference can probably be attributed to testing error, or test margin of error.
3) The test can't distinguish between free chlorine and total bromine.
4) Theoretically, all bromine should react with the first part of the test and there should not be any measurable reaction in the second part of the test where the R-0003 (iodide) is added. However, I have found that there is often a measurable reaction for the second part of the test.

Perhaps the reactions as measured in the second part of the test are due to bromate, ozone, MPS, chlorobromamines, chloramines, chlorinated or brominated compounds, other oxidizers, or perhaps the bromamine (via the monobromammonium ion) does not react with the first part of the test within the typical time taken to do the first part of the test.