Aqua Chem 6-way Instructions

[waterbear]

The kit is going to be much more accurate than strips but there are a few things you should know about it's limitations.
First it will ONLY test for TC, it will not test FC or CC.
Second, The hardness test is a total hardness test, not a calcium hardness test. IMHO, total hardness is useless to test in pools. BTW, all the test strips I have seen also only test total hardness. The hardness test in this kit sometimes does not work properly if you santizer levels are on the high side.
Other than that this kit is an excellent value for the money and is probably the best kit you can get for under $20!
Third, the pH test in this kit is not neutralized for high santizier levels as well as the Taylor reagent is so if you sanitizer is much above 5 ppm your pH will read high from the interferance. The pH reagent in this kit IS better than many of the others that come with inexpensive kits, however!

Edit: You really should invest in an FAS-DPD kit such as the Taylor K-2006. You would be amazed at how much easier water testing is with a better kit!

[catnip]

Waterbear, I agree with your recommendation to move up to the Taylor K-2006. I used the AquaChem kit from WalMart for a year and found the hardness test to be difficult to read and now I understand why the pool store CH reading were so different! I've been using the K-2006 for a month now and find it easier to use, read and interpret.