Help...about to pull my hair out or tear down the pool!!!

[PoolDoc]

HTH has been re-jiggering their products, and unless you're sure it's unchanged, I'm not. They are trying to out-do BioGuard in the games they play with products -- I don't trust them even a tiny bit. There's no relationship between this HTH and the old one I knew, except trademarks, bankruptcy courts, and lawyers.

Ben

[butterfly26_78382]

Thanks for all the advice, I have been trying really hard to keep up with the pool this past week so sorry for the late responses! But great news, I think I have got it under control for the moment, however when i can afford to I will upgrade to the Taylor kit. For now my simple test seems to be doing ok, my pool is sparkling clean & clear (minus the bugs i have to skim out everyday) lol! I have been able to maintain a clean clear pool for about a week & I'm so excited because I was really just ready to give it all up!! Thanks to you guys & my unwavering tenacity I think we've got it. Here are my current readings, please tell me if something looks wrong:
TH:220
FC:5 ( my test will only read up to 5)
PH:7.5
TA:160-180
CYA:50-70
Because my test only reads up to a 5, but there could be more! Is there any way to tell with my kit, any tricks to find out?? Is a 5 compatible with my CYA level?? We have been swimming in the pool & it doesn't have a strong chlorine smell, no burning eyes or anything. I figure as long as I can keep that chlorine level up to a 5 & there's no algae then I'm ok basically, right??

Thanks,
Candice

[Watermom]

Here is a way you can force your kit to read higher than 5 until you get a good kit. It loses accuracy with each dilution, but is better than nothing. Testing Without a Good Kit

[PoolDoc]

If you get a cheap OTO/phenol red kit, you can get a rough approximation. OTO changes from dark yellow (5+) to orange (~20) to brown (35+) as the chlorine level increases.

You could have a chlorine level of 15 ppm or more -- given your stabilizer level -- with no noticeable effects on swimmers.

Ben

[CarlD]

I'm back. Irene hasn't actually hit us yet but the Nor'easter-type rain is here. So I just read through the thread.

I don't know about the new HtH 6-way drop kit. The old 5-way was a true bargain. I'll have to get one and try it.

Meanwhile, since your pool is clear but the chlorine keeps dropping, aylad's plan to get your CYA back up to 70-80 is probably a good one. Before, advice was based on the premise you were fighting something more than just losing chlorine in the hot, humid Southern sun.

Carl

[aylad]

Just FWIW, a friend of mine recently bought the $20 HTH kit in the process of trying to clear up her messed-up pool (an Intex filled with well water ) and after taking my PS 234 over to test her water, I repeated it all with her new 6-way, and all the results were the same--so it appears that this is the same 6-way they had before, just without the blue plastic storage box. And the OTO block on hers reads to 5 ppm.

Janet

[PoolDoc]

That's good, and I'm glad.

I still don't trust them. The goop I found in Walmart this summer, under the HTH label, was discouraging. (BTW, I got thrown out of Walmart for taking pictures of the stuff! Still got the pics, though; just haven't gotten around to posting that info.)

[butterfly26_78382]

All right guys....I thought i've been doing good keeping my pool nice & balanced, well not so sure My water is clean & crystal clear but here are my newest readings from about noon today:
TH:0
FC:3
PH:7.5-7.8
TA:180-190
CYA:50
Now i've read that harness isn't really needed in a vinyl pool, but none at all?? when i put in the blue drops & swirled it around instead of turning blue it turned a light yellow or clear color, then as it sat for a while it turned red without adding the titrant. Freaked me out because the pool looks great & i thought i was doing so well. Also the TA is a bit scary, i just kept adding & adding those drops waiting for it to turn red. I got to 18 & it turned a very slight red then i added 1 more drop & became a more noticible red. But isn't that a bit high?? The PH side on the test kit is a lil darker than usual, which usually runs at a 7.5 so i guess it would be closer to a 7.8, but from what i gather that PH is an ok level. Please any advice would help me out, i'm freaking out about my numbers being a bit off, just let me know if this is ok & if not how i could get it back to what it was! I didn't add any bleach last night so my chlorine is a bit low, but toniight i will add about 47oz to get it back up to about a 6. Please let me know if i should add anything else. Thanks