Yes it is a blessing you found this site! In 2018 I was a new pool owner, and I had such a hard time with my pool I hated it! Found this place in spring of 2019, and now my pool maintenance is a breeze and I love my pool.
I agree. Reagent / drop testing is far more accurate than those strips, despite what the store might say to the contrary. The taylor kit you have is a good one. If your levels are in acceptable parameters, the water is then safe for swimming. It's easy to be (as you put it...anal) as to chasing numbers and trying to micro-manage. I tend to do that during the off season partly due to worrying about either scaling or etching of the plaster. Once you have your numbers, you can use a site such as this one to calculate your saturation index. Happy swimming!!
If you are testing with a Taylor kit.. those don't look like the numbers from it.. either way.. based on what you posted
Thanks Tex ...Results from very large pool store. Taylor kit being delivered in next 2 days by Amazon. If it was the post office I might be sweating it. Still getting Christmas cards. I have a liquid kit that came from Ionizer company people. Doesnt have cya or chlorine so I decided to order a better kit. Right now I am stuck with pool stores machine for accuracy. I am hoping Ionizer will help with limited chemicals. I also know what peoples opinions are of them for outside pools. But I see them in large commercial settings and my pool has a couple extras that makes it almost like an indoor pool. I dont get the debris and the sunlight/wind exposure that a standard outside pool gets because I have a pool cover that is only opened for swimming hours. Ionizer company Carefree also likes the cya alk ph and hardness to be on the lower side of the standard range. But I am looking at these numbers and I know I can probably add a cup or 2 of bleach BUT asking should I bump my ALK up 15 and my HARD up 100 or is enough .. enough ??
