Question about CH Test Coloration

[jmarcum]

When using my Taylor test kit to test my CH the instructions say if CH is present the water will turn red. My water does not turn "red" it turns a VERY light pink. Performing the next step of the test where the water should turn blue it turns a purplish color then a VERY light blue. It's almost hard to tell there's any color in the water be it red or blue. Is this normal?

I this test and the CYA test to be the most subjective of all the tests. The black dot "disappearing" is not cut and dry by any means. If I try really hard to make out the dot and I can does that mean the test is not complete? Should I literally not even know there's a dot there?

[CarlD]

Good questions.
I think pink means you don't have a lot of calcium. And I've noticed it turns more purple than blue. Maybe old reagents?

The CYA test takes practice. You should face into the sun with the vial at your waist level. The GOOD thing about the test is you can keep repeating it without using more chems. Just pour the solution from the black-dot vial back into the squeeze bottle and try again. Do it as many times as you need till you get a feel for it! I ALWAYS do it at least twice, sometimes 3x. It only takes another minute.

Another thing is always try to do the test EXACTLY the same way each time, especially when you do it on a different day. You'll figure it out with practise.

[jmarcum]

Very helpful. Thank you!!! I never even though about pouring the water back and forth.

So I guess it is supposed to turn literally red? I have a huge thing of calcium up. I bought it when I started the pool up for the first time last year and I've only ever used 1 scoop of it. My pool has really bad scaling and I read that can be caused by low calcium because calcium is pulled from the plaster. So should I add some? If so how much?



Another quick question... My PH was low so according to the pool calculator, which BTW I like so much that I bought the app today, so I added the suggestion amount of Borax. How long should I wait to retest ph? I ask because I went ahead and retested after about 2 hours and now the Ph is off the chart high. I'm hoping that is because I am just too impatient. :-)

[CarlD]

Scaling from LOW calcium?????

Usually it is from too high calcium and too high T/A

[jmarcum]

That was something I read. I'm definitely not saying it's accurate. The way they explained it was calcium would be pulled from the plaster if the level in the pool was too low. I take it from you reply though that it likely not true. :-)

[CarlD]

Pulling calcium from the walls is true if calcium is too low. But scaling is from too high calcium.

[jmarcum]

Ah okay. Gotcha. I think I may go to the dreaded pool store tomorrow just to compare their readings of the water to mine. I'm curious to see how closely I am interpreting things. :-) How about that other thing I asked above....My PH was low so according to the pool calculator, which BTW I like so much that I bought the app today, so I added the suggestion amount of Borax. How long should I wait to retest ph? I ask because I went ahead and retested after about 2 hours and now the Ph is off the chart high. I'm hoping that is because I am just too impatient.

[CarlD]

what is your pH? Anything between 7.2-7.8 is do-able and not too bad

[jmarcum]

As far as the pH goes my test before adding the borax was 7.0. The calculator said to add 67 ounces so I did. Two hours later the reading was so dark that I'd say it's over 8.0.

On the calcium test it took me a little while to figure out what you meant when you said "old reagents" I bought this kit during the winter but I did leave it ouside all winter. I didn't know I wasn't supposed to do that until recently. This is the color "red" that I get...
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj163/jmarcum01/image1.jpg

[jmarcum]

I know the lighting is terrible in my house but this is the color after 40 drops...

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj163/jmarcum01/IMG_7300.jpg

[CarlD]

pH: With almost all chemicals we always say NEVER ADD THE FULL AMOUNT! Add 1/2 of the "recommended" amount, wait a couple of hours and test again. Gradual adjustment is the key. i don't use the pool calculator for just that reason--too easy to overshoot your goal. It works best for bleach, IMHO.

Now you need to add acid to your pool to bring pH down. I don't know how big your pool is so I would start with a cup of Muriatic acid. You can use Dry Acid instead. Either way, add it to a five gallon bucket of water FIRST before adding it to your pool. Do no breath the acid fumes...you will see vapor rise from the jug. Keep it away from your face and skin and wear safety goggles and gloves. Always add the acid to water, not the other way around!

Then pour the bucket into the pool's return stream and keep your pump on. Test pH in an hour and if it is still high repeat. 7.6 is ideal but any result from 7.3 to 7.7 I would leave alone.

CH: the colors look fine to me. 40 drops means a CH of 400ppm and you do not want to exceed that in any pool or you may face clouding or scaling. See if your pool store tester confirms that number.
However, I would go on line and order replacement reagents (testing chems) just to be sure. Always store them in a cool, dry place, indoors.

So, what is the ONE additive I don't mind overshooting on? Chlorine, of course!

[jmarcum]

Thanks again. I'll give the acid a try. From testing this am it took 4 drops to get the color down to the recommended ph. According to the ph chart that means I need a little over a quart so I'll just do a little at a time and retest. As far as the pool size goes the pool builder told me 12,000 gallons but the next time I refill it I'm going to get the water company to do before and after readings to confirm. Are any of the digital water testing devices available to consumers worth buying?

[CarlD]

I never bother with the acid demand test. My pH is too high? I add a cup of acid and recheck in an hour.

Pool volume is simple solid geometry. Once you have the cubic footage volume of the water, not the pool, you multiply by 7.48 to get gallons.

[jmarcum]

Now I am just totally confused. I did as you suggested, added small amounts of acid, retested 1 hour later. My test shows great numbers on everything so I took a sample to the pool store to see how right or wrong I was.

My Numbers:
FC:12.5
pH: 7.4
TA: 80
CH:400
CYA:70

The numbers and reccomendations from the pool store are below. She suggested I turn my chlorinator back on and set it to the Max (5) because, according to her test my FC is 0

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj163/jmarcum01/2015-08-01_14-25-40.jpg

[jmarcum]

Here's another quick test I did with a 6 way test strip. I know these are not as accurate as the Taylor but still this doesn't indicate anywhere near the 0 that the pool store reported.

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj163/jmarcum01/2015-08-01_14-35-00.jpg

[CarlD]

If both your K2006 test kit and the guess strips match, ignore the pool store.
I bet it was some kid using strips. Sorry I suggested it. I have never heard of anyone getting a 0 FC reading and a positive CC reading. if TC is 1.8 and FC is 0, then C must be 1.8. I don't believe their numbers.

BTW, the "Alkalinity Plus" is very, very, very, expensive baking soda. Sodium bicarb, but they use an alternate name, Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate, which is the same thing, just an elaborate attempt to fool you.

Before you waste money on calcium and risk going 'way over 400, invest in new reagents first.

[jmarcum]

Yea I agree, I think either their machine just doesn't read as high as my FC is or it was broken. My CC according to K2006 is ~.25 or less. It's almost undetectable. Oh and it was an adult and they do use some sort of machine for the testing.

I've been reading these forums enough to know not to buy any of the chemicals from the pool store. They do sell reagents though and I may grab some from them next week.

[CarlD]

Yeah, Some of them stock Taylor reagents. Leslies only stocks Taylor which is good. But they rarely have everything you need, which isn't so good. On Line is more reliable.

[jmarcum]

I went to a Leslie's this am and had them do a water test. The results are nearly identical to mine and apple to oranges from the little local pool store nearby. Now I see the importance of what you guys teach here! Had I listened to that pool store I'd wasted a bunch of money and had my pool all out of whack.

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj163/jmarcum01/ba0b4971-c7b7-4e13-bd68-2215411a2dce.jpg

[CarlD]

Numbers look really, really good.

I wouldn't mess with them--and the T/A is TECHNICALLY high, but if you don't see clouding or scaling and your pH doesn't trend up, it's too close to mess with.
TDS and Pho numbers are BS. If you had a salt water chlorine generator, the salt alone puts TDS at 3000--where it is SUPPOSED to be!

We recommend you generally do not worry about phosphates unless you have a bad algae bloom you cannot resolve and your phosphate level is very, very high (I think 3000 again is the number). But if you're NOT having algae problems you cannot control, it's irrelevant.

The Leslie Brand test kits are made by Taylor and other than costing a bit more, are the same. So their FAS-DPD Chlorine Service Test Kit is really a re-badged K-2006. Their own OTO/pH test kit is, again, the Taylor-Made OTO kit, my preferred one.