"You need to order a test kit"Testimonials

[JohnT]

Re: "You need to order a test kit"Testimonials

I can remember thinking early on though... but wait, I use test strips and we get the pool right... yeah bonehead for 2 weeks out of 16 of the summer. You're really killing it! lol

I think maybe this is a little more insightful than you might think. Seems like a lot of people think the pool going green on a regular basis is normal. They also think that taking care of a pool is expensive and a lot of work, because it is when you follow the pool store path. Many people are tired and have spent a lot of money already when they come to TFP and we ask them to spend more!

The idea that your water could be clearer than you've ever seen it with much less work and at a lower cost is just not plausible until you've tried TFPC. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is, except for TFP!

 

[borjis]

It's different but I first came here in late 2014 when I was in escrow for purchasing my first home with a pool.

I read all the articles I could and when I read a tf100 or k2006c was needed for proper testing, I just
went and got the tf100 lol. no questions/thoughts asked.

 

[BattleOfYakima]

Pool store pucks for years and years lead to high CYA and pool stores kept telling me CYA was only 80. Couldn't clear the green! WHILE following their SHOCK instructions, black algae developed. Yes. Really. When my test kit came, my CYA was in the 260-280 range. But hey, they were only a couple hundred off, right? It isn't their pool that got infested with black algae or their money and time that spent weeks following their instructions during the summer and not being able to swim - with things only getting worse and worse.

Trouble free ever since I found this site & bought an approved test kit. Thank you TFP Founders, TFP Supporters, Amazon Smile TFP Shoppers, & TFP Volunteers that answer posts and moderate. Special thanks to http://tftestkits.net/ for shipping me fresh chemicals so I know I can trust my tests and guarantee them for a year if stored correctly. ( once bought a new test kit at a retail store only to find out the chems expired in 6 months only....sad)

Super special thanks to everyone who pioneered and refined the [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA] relationship and the SLAM Process protocol. Well, actually PoolMath too. WOW! I love this site and these people!

 

[funandsun]

Re: "You need to order a test kit"Testimonials

Many people are tired and have spent a lot of money already when they come to TFP and we ask them to spend more!

I believe this is exactly it. By the time "we" (former pool store disciples) figure out that there has to be a better way and end up here, we are spent.. usually more emotionally than financially but can feel similar.

The idea that your water could be clearer than you've ever seen it with much less work and at a lower cost is just not plausible until you've tried TFPC. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is, except for TFP!

This is a big part of why I happen to have so many pictures readily available. I had to take pics because IF you all were right, I had to have proof and IF I could accomplish it being me, I absolutely had to have proof! lol

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BattleOfYakima, yep pucks were our go to friend and the ONLY time we used chlorine was to open... we 100% managed our pool for the entirety of each season with pucks and only pucks.

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I read all the articles I could and when I read a tf100 or k2006c was needed for proper testing, I just
went and got the tf100 lol. no questions/thoughts asked.

You were planning ahead which is perfect. A lot of us just "wing it" for years banging our heads against our pool decks.

 

[Dirk]

Cost was never a factor for me. I like tools and have no problem buying the right/best tool for a job. I've been systematically eliminating or reducing monthly expenses in advance of pending retirement budget. Pool guy was one of my targets, but I thought pool maintenance was too complicated and too time-consuming to learn and then do. So I was stalling on that one. Fast forward to pool guy destroying my pool with his acid wash, hiring new pool guy to perform start up on replacement pool surface, and then having new pool guy abandon startup on Day Two for a long weekend, and it all came into focus. The on-going and new problems and expenses were all related to pool guys! Now was the time to knuckle down and figure out how to do this myself. Google to the rescue! Luckily TFP popped up first, the rest is history. The kit and the donation were about the same as one month of pool guy, so I never blinked at the cost. One of my first mentors here (thanks Marty) put me at ease right away and it just felt like I was in the right place, and trusting TFP over the pool store dude (which I tried for a couple days during Abandonment Weekend) was no contest! I can't now remember why I gravitated to K2006 over the C version or the alternate TF100, but six months later me and my little blue box are testin' and dosin' and I'm now encouraging others here to do the same. Yay TFP!!

My only regret about ordering a test kit? I did so three years late!!

 

[hollywoodfrodo]

I'm big on research and spent a ton of time here on TFP since before we started building our pool so I knew I was gonna order the prescribed test kit. Our pool is still in construction, but my kit is ready and waiting. I'll probably start "playing" with it to try to get familiar with the process (because, dang, that kit looks overwhelming) during the next couple of weeks prior to plaster.

 

[funandsun]

Re: "You need to order a test kit"Testimonials

My only regret about ordering a test kit? I did so three years late!!

Thanks for sharing!

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I'm big on research and spent a ton of time here on TFP since before we started building our pool so I knew I was gonna order the prescribed test kit. Our pool is still in construction, but my kit is ready and waiting. I'll probably start "playing" with it to try to get familiar with the process (because, dang, that kit looks overwhelming) during the next couple of weeks prior to plaster.

wow nice! cant wait to see pics. Congrats!

 

[Arizonarob]

This thread is sounding like an AA meeting.
“Hi I’m Rob, and I’m a kitter. Hiiiii Rob”

 

[funandsun]

This thread is sounding like an AA meeting.
“Hi I’m Rob, and I’m a kitter. Hiiiii Rob”

Hi Rob, thanks for sharing LOL!

 

[RobertScalchi]

Bought house in 2013. Opened pool green. Previous home owner only left a leaf net on the pool. Didn't know the first thing about pools, one idiot brother threw 3 tri chlor pucks right in the middle of the pool to the bottom. I still wonder to this day if that's what was causing the wrinkles in the floor of my liner, or just the pH being that acidic? Did the trichlor puck thing, without realizing raising CYA, relied on pool store tests. 80 lbs of pucks, floc, soda ash, and packets of calcium hypochlorite every month or so. Relied on the HTH 6 way test kit and OTO FC tester for 3 years. Had 2 breakouts of algae mid season in July first two years like clockwork at 4-6 ppm FC. Flocked it. Cleared it. Spent $300 at Leslie's first two years. Hundreds of dollars on water bills on pool refills 1/3 of the way. Lurked across TFP in 2014. Fully committed myself in 2015 to BBB. Opened clear in 2014 and 2015. Here is the embarrassing part. Did the HTH OTO test kit for 3 years, I was posting here and reading it as a range. In other words where it tops out at 5-10 ppm FC/BR. I thought that meant a range of either Free chlorine or bromine equivalent. Didn't realize the elevated higher 10 specifically was for bromine and the 5 was for chlorine. Decided to start triple filtering in 2015 with skimmer sock and Duda diesel bag. Water looks like glass every season, all season long until 1st leaf fall

Finally ordered the TF-100 in 2016. Opened pool to black water with frogs due to neglecting pool in fall, allowing leave to fall in, cause working crazy OT at work, and too lazy to cover, said the check with it and covered it anyway, had ripped cover over winter and leaf debris swamp. Cleared it 2017. This year I had a clear green pool because my cover cable snapped and all three of my air pillow deflated, and leaves got in around the sides. Since my son was born in September 2017 I had no patience or time to tend to it and just left it again. But once again thanks to the slam procedures and TFP I cleared it again within 4 days. Every year I come on here to refresh my knowledge on the subject and help others as they have helped me and take a lot of pride and joy in doing so.

 

[Oly]

I'm big on research and spent a ton of time here on TFP since before we started building our pool so I knew I was gonna order the prescribed test kit. Our pool is still in construction, but my kit is ready and waiting. I'll probably start "playing" with it to try to get familiar with the process (because, dang, that kit looks overwhelming) during the next couple of weeks prior to plaster.

Practice by testing your fill water now for pH, TA, and CH.

 

[Shekkie]

Bought my pool in 2013 which included a house/land. The previous owner took subpar care of everything but for some reason they took good care of the pool (mostly) and it had a new liner. It was treated with bromine which I knew nothing about so I did some research which landed me on this site. After much reading I could find no valid argument against the TFP method so I went all in and bought my test kit right away. Aside from a minor issue at opening last year (algae behind the lights) which was quickly SLAMmed away it has been smooth sailing with pristine water and minimal expense/time.

I try to steer others this way but the pool store seems to have s trong hold on some folks. Oh well.

 

[jeffchap]

I try to steer others this way but the pool store seems to have s trong hold on some folks. Oh well.

Because it's "free", amirite?

 

[Hootz]

When our kids were young we had a gunite pool built. When finished the builder advised me these instructions: "always have two pucks in the skimmer and take a sample to the pool store for the rest". I kept the pucks in the skimmer but after a few trips to the pool store I realized the free water analysis was not "free". The stuff they sold me usually did not work so I just did not go back. The mind can rationalize the correct colors when looking at test strips so I always thought my water was fairly balanced. We sold the house about six years after building the pool so I do not know how well the plaster fared but I suspect not very well.
While researching how to maintain a vinyl liner pool most searches pointed me to this forum. I was not convinced at first; after all I had a chlorinator that was easy, just keep pucks in it like I did in the skimmer of the last pool. And I was reluctant to buy the test kit when test strips seemed so much easier. I thought liquid bleach could be used for shock but to use for regular chlorine needs? Sounded suspicious....but after a lot of research I came back convinced. Thank you to the founders of TFP.