Water test results - Need input

[Sunny29]

Today's results:

TC 2.5
FC 2.5
PH 8.0
TA 100
CH 305
CYA 50
TDS 5000
Salt 3300

I know the PH is high - I added 1 quart of muriatic acid, as I've been doing every 2-3 day. From what I understand it's to be expected with the new pool.

Stabilizer is a bit low - I've calculated to add about 2 lbs of stabilizer, correct?

TC is a bit lower than it has been. I've been running the chlorinator at 40%, 10 hours a day. I'm thinking the low stabilizer and recent rain we've had contributed to the lower level. Does that seem right?

My biggest question is the total dissolved solids at 5000ppm. The pool store ppw says ideal level is 300-3000ppm. From what I understand, TDA includes salt, calcium, etc....so if the minimum salt level is 3000ppm, how could my TDA ever be below that? Is this something I should be concerned about?

For what it's worth, the pool looks great.

 

[Texas Splash]

Glad to hear your water is looking good. Word of caution however as those appear to be pool store tests and I don't see a TF-100 or Taylor K-2006C in your signature. Those pool store tests are incredibly inconsistent and therefore not as reliable as you might think. I would be very cautious about making extreme chemical changes based on their results. In addition, we don't give a lot of credence to TDS. Pool stores have a way of emphasizing some items like TDS and Phosphates, only to sell you a "specialty product" designed to lower that item - and your checking account balance. They either don't work or it doesn't matter.

Having said all of that :blah: :blah:, IF (and I do mean if) those numbers were accurate, I suspect you have an overall good understanding of what is happening and what should be done. Increase the CYA to help the SWG work more efficiently, increase the FC immediately perhaps with some regular bleach until the SWG gets dialed-in, and later consider lowering the TA a bit (perhaps about 70-80) to help reduce the rate of pH climb. But again, that's a big "if" and I would be cautious. I would really encourage you to test your own water at home with either a TF-100 or Taylor K-2006C. It's not difficult, and you'll have at-home confidence in the condition of your water. I hope you will give that some consideration, and thanks for using the forum.

 

[Sunny29]

Thank you for your response. I am planning to purchase a better kit. Right now I just have the one from to the builder...so I can test the chlorine and PH. I have quickly learned not to trust the pool store tests, although the chlorine and PH results have been consistent with mine.

 

[Arizonarob]

The pool store ppw says ideal

Ok, there is the “elephant in the room” with your thinking. Absolutely beyond a shadow of a doubt, get yourself a proper test kit, either the TF-100 from this site, or the Taylor K2006c. Until then, we have no way of knowing what is actually going on with your pool. Tex is 100% right in his suggestions to you. Do NOT add any further chemicals to your pool until you have an accurate test.
You can take the same sample of water to 3 different pool stores, and get 3 different results from each one! You need to know what’s going on with YOUR pool!

 

[Donldson]

The pool store ppw says ideal level is 300-3000ppm. From what I understand, TDA includes salt, calcium, etc....so if the minimum salt level is 3000ppm, how could my TDA ever be below that?.

Sadly, this is pretty much exactly the kind of thought we typically expect a pool store employee to put in to testing. No thought, no understanding of what they are instructing, just reading numbers and instructions off a sheet. Not that I hold it against most of them, they are just doing the job they were told to do with the training they were given to do it.

As said above, TDS is pretty unnecessary information. Once it was useful to tell whether water was "old", back when testing was very basic and couldn't give a very accurate picture. Today we have more accurate testing and understand better the interactions of things in the water. The continued reliance on TDS by pool stores is an unfortunate effect of an industry that often finds itself stuck in its ways. A reason we are extremely cautious with pool stores on the whole.

Welcome to TFP, glad to have you here!

 

[Sunny29]

Got my Taylor K-2006C today! I was a little rushed as the sun was setting, but here are my results for this evening:

FC 9.6
CC 0
PH 7.8
TA 80
CH 350
CYA 70

These are the pool store numbers from almost a week ago:

TC 2.5
FC 2.5
PH 8.0
TA 100
CH 305
CYA 50


I add CYA about 3 days ago, so that accounts for the increase there. Given the low chlorine last week, I ran the "boost" mode on the intellichlor, which is 100% for 24 hours. May have over shot on that. I even tested the chlorine twice to be sure. What do you all think of these numbers overall? I'm not quite confident in my testing abilities just yet, so I definitely want to check these numbers again.

 

[Richard320]

If it's warm enough, :splash:

The FC is a bit high, but nowhere near shock level. It's safe to swim in.

And now that you have a proper test kit, you'll really only need to go to the pool store for odd bits of specialized hardware.