I have my K2006, now have questions...

[blessedbeingmom]

We received our Taylor K-2006 test kit today.

As a reminder, our pool is an Intex above-ground, metal-framed pool, that holds around 4,600 gallons (closer to 5000 when fuller after it rains). We've had it for a bit over 2 weeks now, and are in the process of switching to BBB method. Lately, we've only added bleach (6%).

These are the numbers we got.

FC 2.0 ppm
CC 0.5-1.0 (was hard to tell, appeared clear after 1 drop, but then became slightly pink after sitting for a minute, so we added another drop)
pH 7.8
TA 110 ppm
CH 140 ppm (vinyl pool, don't think this matters much)
CYA - We guess maybe a bit less than (but near) 30 ppm... We could still faintly see the dot at the 30 ppm mark. We actually went to the top and the dot was still extremely faintly visible.

Now, I need to find out what to do with these numbers. Do we need to add more stabilizer? We leave in a bit over a week to go out of town for a week, so I want to get things in order before we go, so we don't come home to a pool full of algae like we did the last time we went out of town (and it was only 4 days then, but we hadn't put any chlorine in yet, because we were stuck on "balancing").
How do we know what is a good chlorine level to aim for? I've got the pool calculator handy, so I can figure out how much to add. Do we need to worry about this CC level? Is this pH level okay?

Thanks for any advice!

[waterbear]

We received our Taylor K-2006 test kit today.


These are the numbers we got.

FC 2.0 ppm
I would keep this a bit higher, say 3-4 ppm
CC 0.5-1.0 (was hard to tell, appeared clear after 1 drop, but then became slightly pink after sitting for a minute, so we added another drop)
The test will revert to pink on standing, ignore that. If it turned colorless in one drop you are done. Keeping your FC a bit higher like I suggested should eliminate any CC problems.
pH 7.8
Upper limit of where you want it. When it goes higher add come acid and bring it back down. I like to keep a pool around 7.6 but as low as 7.4 is one and 7.2 is acceptable.
TA 110 ppm
Fine for now. If you find your pH keeps rising too fast then you can lower this. If your pH stays fairly stable then don't worry about it. The natural tendency is for pH to rise, btw.
CH 140 ppm (vinyl pool, don't think this matters much)
It's fine for a vinyl pool. CH only becomes a problem for vinyl when it's very high, say over 400 ppm.

CYA - We guess maybe a bit less than (but near) 30 ppm... We could still faintly see the dot at the 30 ppm mark. We actually went to the top and the dot was still extremely faintly visible.
Needs to be slightly higher, you want it somewhere between 30-50 ppm.
Now, I need to find out what to do with these numbers.
You just did!

You are doing great!

[CarlD]

Waterbear gave you GREAT guidance! Here are a few addenda:

We received our Taylor K-2006 test kit today.

Congratulations! You'll never have a pool store test for you again!

As a reminder, our pool is an Intex above-ground, metal-framed pool, that holds around 4,600 gallons (closer to 5000 when fuller after it rains). We've had it for a bit over 2 weeks now, and are in the process of switching to BBB method. Lately, we've only added bleach (6%).

If you want to raise your FC by 6ppm you'll use 2 quarts of bleach (6%). 5,000 gallons is a great number because calculating bleach addition is really, really simple. The Rule of Thumb is:
One Gallon of Bleach adds to 10,000 gallons the same # of PPM as its percentage. 6% adds 6ppm, 12.5% adds 12.5ppm. Just half the amount of bleach and you get the same result!

Meanwhile, Intex filters are a little weaker than others, but if you stay on top of your water with daily maintenance according to the B-B-B method it will do just fine--I had an early Intex for 3 years that I last used in 2002. With B-B-B, I never had a problem.

These are the numbers we got.

FC 2.0 ppm
CC 0.5-1.0 (was hard to tell, appeared clear after 1 drop, but then became slightly pink after sitting for a minute, so we added another drop)

If it goes clear after one drop you have, AT MOST, 0.5 CC. If you want to be really particular about it, re-run the FAS-DPD test using 25ml rather than 10ml and each drop is only 0.2ppm, rather than 0.5ppm. You may find your CC disappears after one drop again--in which case it's actually at or below 0.2ppm--not much of a problem. If you let it sit, it will become pink again--so don't do that because it's a false reading.

pH 7.8
TA 110 ppm

Here Waterbear and I disagree slightly. YMMV ("your mileage may vary" ). But he would agree on this: If you find you have NO problems with constantly rising, falling, or just changing pH, TA's not a problem. I've NEVER had unstable pH whether my TA was 140, 120, or 80. Whenever I've had a pH problem it was due to a clear, reversible condition. IF you CH (below) gets very high AND your TA gets around 200, you MAY get milky water and scaling...so, unless your pH isn't stable, don't worry and don't "fix" what isn't broken.

CH 140 ppm (vinyl pool, don't think this matters much)

Right. Again, when it gets to 400 or 500 AND T/A is high, such as 200, you may get milky cloudy water from the calcium. The cure is lowering T/A. But, since you are testing, you won't have that problem. Since I have a vinyl pool and I don't use Cal-Hypo for chlorine, I tend to check CH no more than twice a summer, but I check T/A weekly.

CYA - We guess maybe a bit less than (but near) 30 ppm... We could still faintly see the dot at the 30 ppm mark. We actually went to the top and the dot was still extremely faintly visible.

The rules on CYA reading are a bit ambiguous, but it's best to hold it at your waist, on a sunny day, with your back to the sun. If you can see the dot when the cell is full, you have less than 20ppm of CYA and need to add it. Remember: unless you use the new, pricey liquid CYA, it takes time to dissolve, up to a week before it shows up, so don't even bother testing for a week after you add CYA and save your reagent (consider ordering a 16oz refill bottle).

Now, I need to find out what to do with these numbers. Do we need to add more stabilizer? We leave in a bit over a week to go out of town for a week, so I want to get things in order before we go, so we don't come home to a pool full of algae like we did the last time we went out of town (and it was only 4 days then, but we hadn't put any chlorine in yet, because we were stuck on "balancing").
How do we know what is a good chlorine level to aim for? I've got the pool calculator handy, so I can figure out how much to add. Do we need to worry about this CC level? Is this pH level okay?

Thanks for any advice!

Given your high pH and low CYA, you could SAFELY put a floater full of tri-chlor tabs in your pool for the week. Tri-Chlor adds CYA and lowers pH (It's very acid) which, for you situation, is ideal. Despite all the negative comments about Tri-Chlor, like anything, it's a useful tool if used correctly, in the right circumstance--like yours. People run into trouble by not recognizing when circumstances change, such as: CYA reaches your target level, pH lowers to the LOW end of the safe range, or...you come home! Just be sure the Tri-Chlor is nothing but Tri-Chlor--no "double-acting" or "Extra algae fighter"--both mean copper and that's trouble.

Despite my lengthy writing, you are doing well. 'Bear has given you good advice and this is just extra info.

[blessedbeingmom]

This is Tricia's DH Matt. After adding 1,130 grams of 6% bleach last night at 11pm. Tested pool water at 8:40am.

pH 7.9
FC 4.5ppm
CC .5ppm
CYA 42 Tested using method suggested in earlier post. Waist high back to sun.

What should we do next?

[aylad]

Go swimming!!! Keep the chlorine at the 3-6 ppm level, might want to add a little muriatic acid to get the pH down to the 7.2-7.6 range, and enjoy the pool. Continue testing daily for the next several days, and you'll start to get a "feel" for how much chlorine you're losing during the day. That will help you decide how high you need to raise it before leaving for vacation.

Janet