Confused

[newbiepool]

Thx..I am off to get more bleach and borax. I'll post back TA and pH..thanks!

[aylad]

Most folks who use bleach do add a maintenance dose every day, usually in the evening after the sun is off the pool. The only way to use bleach without having to add it daily is to increase your CYA to a higher level so that it last longer--but I would not do that with a metals pool because it will be a total nightmare if you let algae get started because of the high levels of chlorine needed to shock.

[newbiepool]

Our pH is about 7.5, FC 6-10, TA took about 30 drops to get from green to pinkish red. I am using the HTH kit from Wal Mart.

What kind of main dose should we add each eve? thx!

[AnnaK]

I'm not sure how to interpret your HTH test results. pH at 7.5 is good. FC "about" 6-10? With a DPD powder and FAS drop kit there isn't any 'about'. I have never used an HTH kit and so I can't really question or discuss the results.

Wild guess? Add 1 quart chlorine at night, test in the morning. If you're between 3 and 6 ppm FC, you're good. If you're below 3 ppm, add 1/2 gallon, instead. The chlorine demand changes depending on how much the pool is used.

[aylad]

If your FC is higher than the 5 ppm the kit will measure, here are the instructions to force it to read higher levels of chlorine...

http://www.poolsolutions.com/gd/how-...d-testkit.html

[AnnaK]

Thanks for the reminder, Janet. I forgot the HTH kit limitations on chlorine testing. Now I understand the 'about'.

[newbiepool]

I really just need to get the good test kit from Amazon. The FC color was at the top which is 6-10. What about the TA at about 30?

[AnnaK]

Our pH is about 7.5, FC 6-10, TA took about 30 drops to get from green to pinkish red. I am using the HTH kit from Wal Mart.

Because I am not familiar with the HTH kit I would like to ask you or someone who does use this kit how TA is tested for. The Taylor kit I use values each drop of titrant at 10 ppm. If, with my kit, I counted 30 drops to get from green to red (or pink) I would have a TA of 300. I just want to make sure that we're working with the right number.

[aylad]

Anna, unless they've changed the test, the math is the same as what we use--each drop is 10 ppm.

Janet

[AnnaK]

Thanks Janet.

Newbiepool, that means at 30 drops your TA is 300 ppm. That means your well water is highly alkaline unless you've put something in the pool water to account for this number. In the pool it can show up as total dissolved solids (TDS) and make the water look mildly cloudy. It can also cause scaling or corrosion of metal parts. There are ways to bring that down but if your well water is highly alkaline, every time you top the pool off you're adding it back.

I would like to ask for input from the mods or Ben as to how, or even if, the alk should be managed.