Test results on new pool in Tucson

[CarlD]

Why guess? That's why we test.

[Wilco]

Ok.didnt budge the chlorine level, but brought the cya down to about 40. Smells more chloriney

[Watermom]

Adding bleach cannot drop the CYA level. It would probably be a good idea to watch these testing demo videos:> http://pool9.net/K2006-vid/ and then try your tests again.

[Wilco]

Maybe apples and oranges, second test was with 6 way strip. Will do full Taylor tomorrow I guess

[CarlD]

6 Way strips do NOT give a good CYA reading. The color in the very center MAY be correct if you're super-careful, but the color of most of the pad usually isn't.

[Wilco]

Ok.test strip (6 way) foes seem yo consistently show cya of 40-60, while the kit shows about 100. Have hit it w bleach and had cl up to 6 and ph at 7.2. How aften do I need to add bleach generally to keep from porpoising?

[PoolDoc]

=> CH=380 is not really a problem; just run your TA lower. (http://pool9.net/alk-step/

=> With a high CYA, consider establishing a borate level > 60 ppm. The primary downside of a high CYA is that IF you get algae, it can take extreme levels of chlorine to eradicate it. Adding borates doesn't kill algae, but it does make your pool less susceptible. http://pool9.net/borates/

=> As mentioned, it IS typical to lose CYA over the winter. But you probably want to avoid this. Bacterial decomposition is the reason for this loss, and it can have hard to predict effects. Most often, the CYA is converted to nitrogen gas (no problem!) or nitrates (minor problem). But in a significant percentage of cases, the conversion is to ammonia, which is a big problem, and tends to ruin your spring start up.

=> In Tucson, I'm guessing you plan to run the pool all winter, and leave it uncovered. I'd highly recommend keeping 4 gallons of bleach on hand (stored in a cool place), and dumping all 4 gallons into your pool at the FIRST sign of algae or biofilm.

Good luck!

[Wilco]

Ok. Just retested and can't even detect cl levels, and ph down to 7.0. Seems like I will have to pour a gallon of bleach in a day at this rate. Where is all the cl going???

[PoolDoc]

1. Did you use OTO drops to test?

2. What time of day did you test?

3. Regardless: add 2 gallons of bleach in the LATE evening and then test with OTO the following EARLY morning.

4. Post dimensions (shape, max length, max width, shallow depth, deep depth) AND reported gallons.

[Wilco]

Yes I used the Taylor kit for test. I then added a box of borax and one bag of shock. Retested an hr later at 4 pm and got ph of 7.2 and cl of 4 ppm. Just seems like cl disappears.