New to this all

[xteddyx]

Hi Guys, Stumbled upon this site after trying to figure out how to take care of my pool after having to cancel years of pool service.

the economy has decided for me that it is now time to start taking care of my own pool. i understand that the key to this is to buy a the Taylor k-2006 test kit. can i just get this off amazon, or are their any particular sellers to not buy it from?

i printed the guide for how much chlorine to have for how much stabilizer is in your pool. i under stand that ph needs to be in the 7.4 ish range. are they any other key numbers i should be aware of???

im extremely scared of screwing this up my pool is always crystal clear with the pool guy only coming out once a week, just trying to get a handle on all this info, and get the test kit on the way before the pool turns green as this is the first week my pool service wont be out.

[PoolDoc]

You can use the Amazon link in my signature; try to order from Amato Ind. -- other sellers have been less reliable. (Plus, the price is kinda low right now!)

Chlorine, pH and stabilizer are your key numbers for water quality. Alkalinity affects pH stability; calcium is an issue if it's high *OR* if you have a concrete pool.

Right now, go to Walmart and get 10 gallons of plain 6% bleach AND a cheap OTO/phenol red test kit. Check your chlorine level, and add bleach at the rate of 2 gallons per 10K gallons of pool water . . . and then MAINTAIN a dark yellow chlorine level on the OTO kit, till the K2006 arrives.

[xteddyx]

Thanks pooldoc, i just ordered the kit from amato ind. the link in your signature took me to taylors site for some reason so i just did a google search and found it.

pool is a pebble tech in ground pool that's over 20 years old. i will hit up wall mart tonight and get the bleach/tester to hold me over till the test kit comes.

[xteddyx]

Test kit showed up today and i am confused on how to use it. i looked at the directions for the test and it said for 1 drop .5mm use 10ml of water and for 2 drops use 25ml of water the bottle the kit came with had marks for 7 and 14 ml.

Please help totally lost with this kit

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i take that back i was able to figure out how to use the test by reading on this site my numbers are

fc = 4ppm
cc - .2
7.8 ph
70 ppm total alk
400 ppm calcium hardness
60 = cya

from ben's chart it looks like i need to add some cl to get me up to the 5-10 range how about the other numbers. i tested thi s at 944 at night if that matters at all.

[PoolDoc]

Looks like you are OK, other than needing chlorine a little higher.

You may want to use bleach, rather than stabilized chlorine, which will increase your CYA level.

[BigDave]

teddy,
My 2 cents to save you a few bucks: Use the 10ml test instead of the 25 - your titrating reagent will last more than twice as long. Also if one scoop of DPD powder turns the sample pink, it's enough. Save the second scoop for another test.