At the risk of sounding harsh, if you can't afford to spend $50 on a good test kit, a must have tool for a pool owner IMO, then you can't afford a pool.

Frankly, I'm confused by the posts that say they can't afford, or don't want to spend the money on the K2006, but will waste much more than that buying whatever the pool store says they need and doesn't work or makes things worse.

I wish I had known about this site when I became a new pool owner. If I had bought the k2006 to start with instead of relying on store testing, and followed the advice here I would have saved a ton of money. Better late than never I guess.

The good folks here spend a great deal of time trying to help us pool owners (for FREE, unless you subscribe...not a requirement). I completely understand their frustration when the advice they give is ignored or mixed with advice from pool stores, then the poster complains that it's not working as expected.