Oto Test Kit Question

[sisie5]

HI Everyone,need help undering the oto test kit.When I tesst the cl and ph my cl is the darkest yellow,says is in the 5 cl and Br 10 question what does Br stand for ?what is the perfect reading for Cl my ph is 7.5
also i have read on here to raise ppm what does that mean.

thanks

[thilbert]

Br stands for Bromine -- another type of sanitizer. There is no way to give you the "perfect" chlorine level without some additional information.

You need to get Bens DPD-FAS kit or another drop based kit and post the numbers.

ppm = Parts Per Million

[sisie5]

here are my numbers

FC-9.5
CC-1.5
TC-5-10
PH-7.5
ALK-240
CYA-0

[CarlD]

Sisie,
What are you testing with?

A Chlorine/Bromine test of 5/10, means you use the chlorine side and you use the chlorine scale that tops at 5. So how did you do your FC and CC tests?

If your FC is 9.5, and your CC is 1.5, your TC MUST be 11.

TC = FC + CC --by definition

Either your TC test is wrong or your FC test is wrong. Sorry, but there's no other possibility.

Your pH is good but your TA (total alkalinity) is 'way too high. You need to check out the Alkalinity forum to see how to lower it...There is only one way, short of dilution.

You lower pH to 7.0-7.2, which lower TA with it, then aerate the water to raise pH (no other way of raising pH will NOT raise TA back up again). Then you lower pH again, bringing down TA some more. Aerate to raise pH...and keep this racheting process up until TA is 80-125 and pH is 7.3-7.8

But I would re-check all my numbers again if I were you--either at a different pool store or using Ben's kit (or equiv).

[sisie5]

tested again with the ps233 here are the numbers

FC-4.5
CC-.5
TC-5
PH-7.5
ALK-220
CYA-0

[Watermom]

tested again with the ps233 here are the numbers

FC-4.5
CC-.5
TC-5
PH-7.5
ALK-220
CYA-0

Sisie,
What all have you been using to chlorinate this pool with in the past? Is this a newly filled pool? What type of pool?

You will need to add some cya, (cyanuric acid) - also called stabilizer, or conditioner. Without it, you will not be able to maintain any chlorine in your pool. By the way, how does your water look?

Your alk is too high. Read at the following link for how to lower alk.

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=191

Hope this helps. Post back with any further questions.

Watermom

[sisie5]

I have a 18x33 Abg was installed last oct so I didnt get to use it last yr.
I only use bleach and so far have put in 5 gallon in the past week.the water looks great.Tried to send a pic but say the file was to big and I don't know how to resize a photo.

[sisie5]

here is the pic of my pool water

[CarlD]

Sisie,
Y',know, you COULD chlorinate for a while with Tri-Chlor pucks....They'll add CYA and lower your pH. Whenever pH gets below 7.2, start aerating your water to raise it again...the process should bring T/A down into range. Then, when either T/A or CYA is in your target range, stop using the pucks and go back to bleach.

Or you could just add CYA, get it up to your target, then work on lowering T/A separately.

[sisie5]

Carl,what are pucks?and how do you use them?Thanks for a quick responce