Weekly Test Results - TF-Pro Salt vs. Leslie's (was just curious)

[jlosurdo]

Hi there,

I did my weekly testing today using my TF-100 Pro Salt and my Apera PH60 Meter:

FC: 12.5
CC: 0.0
pH: 7.8
TA: 70 (been trying to get this reduced for the last few weeks - I was very happy)
CH: 275
CYA: 30
Salt: 3400

I tested my water exactly 1 minute before the SWCG kicked back on. I run it twice a day, but I figured testing in the morning (which is the longest period that it is off) wouldn't make sense since it wouldn't have received any direct sunlight overnight.

I know that I need to raise my CYA and lower my FC. I have some conditioner, so I'll add that (using Pool Math), and I think I am going to drop the chlorinator percentage from 70% to 65% and see how that impacts the FC. Any thoughts? It doesn't seem like this is an urgent issue. My water is crystal clear.

I'm sure people have done this before, but for kicks, and since I was driving right by the store, I stopped by Leslie's and asked them to test the rest of the sampled water. Here are their results:
Free Chlorine: 11.58 (flagged as out of range)
Total Chlorine: 12.09 (which would mean CC = .51) (flagged as out of range)
pH: 7.5
Total Alkalinity: 86
Calcium Hardness: 291
Cyanuric Acid: 32 (flagged as out of range)
Iron: 0
Copper: 0
Phosphates: 375 (flagged as out of range)
Salt: 2822 (before finding this site, I exclusively took my water to Leslie's - I quickly learned that their tests for salt were wildly inaccurate - fluctuating 500 ppm in both directions)

They recommended using Leslie's Chlor Neutralizer, Fresh N' Clear shock, Conditioner, and No Phos. I told them I had everything I needed and thanked them for the test. Questions for everyone, based on these results:

1. Do phosphates matter? I'm guessing no, since the recommended test kit doesn't test for them.
2. I'm fairly confident that I did the CC test correctly. The sample didn't change color at all when I performed that part of the test - never went back to pink/red. Regardless, they (Leslie's) say that your CC should be "within .2 of FAC" - that seems extreme. Thoughts?

 

[YippeeSkippy]

No, phosphates don't matter assuming your pool is properly chlorinated and all is well. Even if they did matter, 375 is such a tiny amount its laughable that they alarm people over it. They use it to boost sales in their weak over priced phosphate remover.

Ignore their CC finding. Trust YOUR testing.

 

[Newdude]

Do phosphates matter

Not until you are in the thousands (plural.... possibly several thousand) of pp*B*. That's parts per billion. Yeah.

And if your pool was to remain free of hitting minimum FC forever, they *still* wouldn't matter. I personally think it's foolish to expect perfection forever. At some point, life happens. It might be a big storm or a death in the family, but minimum will happen one day. And if your phosphates are 4k+, you will have a runaway algae train. So at some point, it becomes a good idea to address phosphates, but that threshold is higher than most people have. Also, you need to test them with your own kit, just like the regular chems.

With a CYA of 30 and a 12.5 FC, it is NOT an issue.

I'm fairly confident that I did the CC test correctly. The sample didn't change color at all when I performed that part of the test - never went back to pink/red. Regardless, they (Leslie's) say that your CC should be "within .2 of FAC" - that seems extreme. Thoughts?

Take whatever the pool store said, and bleach your ears. Their tests are designed to sell you all that stuff. They will justify the printouts like a used car salesman.