Clear, but no chlorine???

[FormerBromineUser]

also: just tested TA and pH: pH off the chart (but you mentioned this would happen w/ high FC), but
TA went from green to blue to pale yellow (after 14 drops). ???

Did you dilute the pH sample? If so, what IS your pH?


I asked Mary Jo also to test her TA because her jets have been set to bubble on the surface since opening. (She has very strong flow from her jets and I had her reposition them). As far as I understand, yellow would be your endpoint for TA with high FC.

[mary jo]

OK- tested pH with diluted sample (5:1) and got 7.6 but how do you calculate correct pH from there?
Took TA reading again and went from green to blue to yellow w/ 14 drops=140.

[PoolDoc]

Don't even worry about the TA, till everything else is OK.

[FormerBromineUser]

I was just concerned because of the potential for aeration raising her pH with those jets hitting the surface. Seems like it's okay.

[PoolDoc]

Manage the pH; don't worry about the TA.

[Watermom]

When you use dilution to test pH, you test it as normal. In other words, you don't have to multiply the result by anything. Just read the test.

[FormerBromineUser]

Just to explain why I asked you to test TA and pH:

I hadn’t seen a pH test result on your thread for a while. After seeing your pool the other day, I got to thinking that MAYBE your pH had risen. There was a potential for the “raging waves” (as your kids call the jet action on the pool surface) to have aerated the water. Lots of splashing does it too

Aeration raises your pH. Chlorine loses effectiveness at high or low pH levels. IF your pH had risen due to aeration (and chlorine additions), then getting pH back in range would be VERY important. Does that make sense?

[mary jo]

Yes, that makes total sense to me. What's strange is that this entire year the pool's pH was constantly low- even with the "raging waves" going constantly 24/7 and lots of splashing kids in constantly. What doesn't make sense (and I'm not sure I need to know- but I guess I want to know now) is testing pH using diluted water and not having to compensate for dilution.

[FormerBromineUser]

Did you use distilled water? Next time you test pH, try it with 1:1 dilution instead of 5:1. The less dilution, the more accurate. If that doesn't work, go to 2:1.

I'm not sure many people (except chemists) understand how to compensate for dilution in a pH test.

[BigDave]

pH doesn't test how much of something is in the water but rather the relative acidity / alkalinity of the water. Distilled water has no acids or bases in the water so it has little effect on pH.
We use dilution for testing pH because high chlorine causes the pH test to read falsely high.
The limit for the Taylor pH test is 10ppm chlorine. In your water, I'd dilute 2 parts distilled to 1 part pool water, test that mix and call it a fair approximation of your pool's pH.