Shub, I don't want to be rude, but it's not that hard! We're about ready to give up, too.

#1 - Did you mix your pool water 50:50 with reagent in the sample bottle?
If the answer is no, you need to re-read the instructions, and follow them.
If the answer is yes, go to #2

#2 - Did the sample get cloudy?
If the answer is no, you have been reading the test wrong and you need to re-read the instructions, and follow them.
If the answer is yes, then -- and ONLY THEN -- you have a positive high CYA test, and need to go on to #3

#3 - You really have high CYA *and* high chlorine loss to sunlight. There are only 2 ways this can happen:
+ You have added bromine to the pool . . . which you may have done unknowingly! In this case, you'll have to
--- put up with high chlorine use for a period, possibly the rest of the summer, OR
--- drain and refill your pool, but you can't do this with a vinyl inground pool, or with any inground pool in a low or wet area.

+ OR . . . you have discovered some unknown pool chemistry, based on some unknown condition that only exists in your pool. But, if you have, we can't help you, but how to help with unknown pool chemistry based on an unknown condition is unknown.

It is possible for the R-0013 reagent in a kit to be 'bad' . . . but that would almost certainly produce a LOW reading, and NOT the high CYA reading you support.

The initial high CC readings + subsequent loss of chlorine on sunny days in SPITE of high CYA sounds very, very much like the typical response of pools dosed with a lot of one of United Chemical's products.


So . . . the ball is in your court. Why don't you have your pool water tested at a pool dealers? Dealer guess strips are not very accurate with CYA, but they can tell the difference between low and high.

Sincerely

Ben Powell

PS: When you reply, you need to answer questions ONE and TWO with "yes" or "no". You can add something besides yes or no, but we need to see a definite yes or no answer to each question by number.