1st Time Kit User

[Sumo1]

Did my first tests today with my new Taylor K-2006C. I've used test strips for the last 4 summers. Do any of you veterans think these numbers look way out of skew?
Water Temp-68F
FC-5ppm
CC-.2ppm
pH-8.0 (will add 1gal Muriatic acid and retest tomorrow)
TA-130ppm
CH(hardness)-300ppm
CYA-75ppm

I think I did them right but that hardness number looks huge. Will post tomorrow's readings as well. Thanks
Hal

[joelq]

Hi Sumo1, and welcome to the board! There are many much more experienced folks on this board, but here's my 2 cents:

- TA might be slightly high - ideal range is 80 - 120 ppm
- I'd tap the brakes on adding a gallon of muriatic to handle your pH. If your pH really is 8.0, adding a gallon of acid to your 27k gallon pool will lower your pH to around 6.8 (according to BleachCalc). Start with adding much less first, say 48 oz, then retest after allowing to recirculate for 30 minutes or so.

I think your other numbers look good. Good luck!

[CarlD]

Did my first tests today with my new Taylor K-2006C. I've used test strips for the last 4 summers. Do any of you veterans think these numbers look way out of skew?
Water Temp-68F
FC-5ppm
CC-.2ppm
pH-8.0 (will add 1gal Muriatic acid and retest tomorrow)
TA-130ppm
CH(hardness)-300ppm
CYA-75ppm

I think I did them right but that hardness number looks huge. Will post tomorrow's readings as well. Thanks
Hal

Well, FC is on the low side for CYA=75. That explains the CC > 0. You'll want to check the "Best Guess" table and go toward the high side on FC. Generally though, it's common when FC is good to STILL have a trace of CC--.2 if you use the .2 measure, .5 if you use the .5 measure. Not a big worry though. Just remember that you need to keep your FC levels matched to the CYA level. I THINK 60-90ppm of CYA calls for 5 - 10ppm of FC--so you want to be at 7 - 9 ppm, not 5. IMHO

pH is high and you need to lower it. Aim for 7.5, start with one QUART rather than a gallon of muriatic. DO THIS BEFORE ADJUSTING T/A!!!!!!

After pH is 7.4-7.6, measure T/A again. It should be 125 or below which is in range--130 is just a TAD high but the pH of 8 is responsible for that. (I won't explain why here--just for now accept that they are connected).

You have a Gunite pool: Recommended Calcium for that is 200-400ppm --you are perfectly dead center. DON'T MESS WITH IT!

OTOH, I think 68 degrees is too d*** cold to swim in!:eek:

[chem geek]

According to my calculations, it will take 7.6 cups of Muriatic Acid to lower your pH from 8.0 to 7.5 given your TA and CYA levels and your 27,000 gallon pool size. Carl's advice is, of course, spot on in that adding one quart (4 cups) and seeing where you are at is prudent. I would be curious to know how much acid you do end up using, though your pH measurement of 8.0 might be 8+ since that could be the top of the range of your test.

By the way, lowering the pH from 8.0 to 7.5 by adding acid will also lower the TA from 130 to 121 (i.e. measures as 120). That's part of the reason says to adjust the pH first since moving pH ALWAYS moves TA as well (there are technical reasons for this that I won't get into here).

Richard

[Sumo1]

Well, I'm glad I waited to add the muriatic. I'll add a quart tonight and retest in the morning. Will post those numbers as well. However, I'm a little puzzled about the FC. I'm running the chlorine generator 4hrs daily, enough to turn over my water once. I hoped that would be sufficient.

Concerning the pH, it could be higher than 8.0, as Chem Geek guessed. I plan to add borax this year, per the 'Tetraborate Experiment", so I guess I'm in for a few weeks of frequent testing, though I did enjoy reading that thread from beginning to end.

BTW, 68 degrees is too cold for me, too. I doubt I'll swim before May 1.:)
Thanks again
Hal

Also BTW, I was in a new pool store that just opened today down the street from my house. A man had brought in a water sample for testing and they just started grabbing bags of Balance 100 for him @$30/bag. He dutifully pulled out his wallet and bought it. Then the lady turned to me and invited me to bring in a sample for testing:eek: !! I declined, then she said that BioLab had really pushed them hard to buy this superduper new tester(read Big Bucks!). I told you that to tell you this--THANKS to all you folks for your help and GOOD advice because, if not for poolforum.com, I could have been that guy!

[Sumo1]

Test results, day 2. I added 4 cups of acid last night.
62F water temp
FC-4.6
CC-0
pH-7.7
TA-140 (probably tester error, but I'm learning:o )
CH-270 (see above)
CYA- ~65 (see above)
Salt- ~3200

Question: Is it necessary to test hardness frequently? I don't think it changes very rapidly, does it?
Anyway, I'll add three more cups of acid in a few minutes and test later today. That will bring me close to Chem Geek's 7.6 cup estimate and we'll see where it goes.
Hal

[Sumo1]

Here are the results from Friday's second test, about 8pm, after 7 cups(total) of acid were added:
Water-62F
FC-6 (ran chlorine generator several hours longer)
CC-0
pH~7.4/7.5
TA-120
Didn't have time to test hardness or Cya but they should be the same as before, right?
Hal

[CarlD]

Numbers look VERY good.

I would not test CYA or T/A more than once a week once they are where you want them, unless you've done a massive drain & refill.

I think you are all set except for one item.....

WATER TEMP! :eek: :eek: :eek:

[Sumo1]

I think you are all set except for one item.....

WATER TEMP! :eek: :eek: :eek:[/QUOTE]

Unfortunately, we're getting a much later than usual "last winter blast" and temps will be in the 20's the next 2 nights, with day temps not reaching 65 until Wed! After that, though, it should only get warmer:D YAY!
Hal

[Sumo1]

Wow, hard to believe 12 days have gone by since I last tested. Today I got
FC-7.4
CC-0
pH-7.8
TA-140
CH-280
CYA~60-65
Temp-59F (One of my kids fell in today while skimming leaves:eek: BRRR!)
Hal

PS: If I'm going to add borax to my pool, does water temp have any effect on the process?

[CarlD]

Why would you add Borax if your pH is 7.8? It's already a bit high, and Borax will raise it further.

[chem geek]

Carl,

In this post (http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?p=43991&postcount=5) Sumo1 said that the Borax was to be used to raise the Borates level as in the Tetraborate Experiment. So for every box (76 ounces weight) of 20 Mule Team Borax that is added, 47.6 fluid ounces of Muriatic Acid will need to be added. Probably less than one box of Borax should be added at a time, alternating with acid in the proportions indicated.

Richard

[Sumo1]

Chem Geek, you are correct. I liked the results of the Tetraborate Experiment and plan to duplicate them. Should the 20MTB I'm adding be in slurry form or just poured in dry? Does it matter?
Hal

[waterbear]

I put half the borax in by dissoving some in a bucket of water and broadcasting it over the pool surface and repeating this until it was all in and then adding half the acid in the same way and then repeating with the other half. The borax dissolved fast as long as I didn't put too much into the bucket of water at a time. I rechecked my pH the next day and found that I needed to add a bit more acid to bring my pH back down to 7.6. Not a big deal.

EDIT: I use the AquaChek borate test strips and I have not had to add any more borax since the initial time. My borate levels are still about 50 ppm!