Hello Hatt2014,
Unfortunately you have not used the testing kit correctly.
The only test that is a color match test is the ph test and it requires 5 drops of the reagent.
All other tests, except the CYA test will cause the water sample to change colors, so you will know precisely how much of that chemical is in the water.
For The Chlorine Test:
The reagents for chlorine tests have yellow caps
- Fill the round water collection tube to the 10ml mark.
- Add 1 heaping or two level spoons of the DPD powder -R-0870 to the water sample and swirl until the powder dissolves. The sample will turn light pink to a deep pink depending on the chlorine content of the water.
- Add reagent R-0871 dropwise, swirling the sample after each drop, until the sample turns from pink to clear.
- Divide the total number of drops needed to turn the sample clear by 2(or multiply by .5). This will be the free chlorine in the water. For example, if the total number of drops is 5, you have 2.5 ppm of free chlorine.
- After the water has turned clear, take the R-0003 reagent and add 5 drops to the sample and swirl to mix.
If the sample turns pink again you have combined chlorine present. - Take the R-0871 reagent again and add it drop wise, swirling the sample after each drop, until the sample turns clear again. If it takes more than 1 drop to turn the sample clear you will need to shock/SLAM the pool water.
- Discard the sample and rinse the comparator tube out with pool water.
The PH Test:
The reagents for the ph tests have red caps.
- Fill the comparator tube to the 44ml mark
- Add **5 ** drops of reagent R-0004 to the sample. Cap that sample and shake to mix.
- Compare the color to the PH color chart on the comparator and record.
- Discard the sample and rinse the comparator tube with pool water.
The Total Alkalinity Test:
The reagents for the TA tests have green caps.
- Fill the comparator tube to the 25ml mark.
- Add 2 drops of reagent R-0007 and swirl to mix.
- Add 5 drops of reagent R-0008 and swirl to mix thoroughly. The sample will turn green.
- Add reagent R-0009 one drop at a time, swirling to mix after each drop, until the sample turns from green to bright red.
- Count the number of drops and multiply by 10. This is your Total Alkalinity reading
- Discard the sample and rinse the comparator tube out with pool water.
The Calcium Hardness Test:
The reagents for the CH tests have blue caps.
- Fill the comparator tube to the 25ml mark.
- Add 20 drops of reagent R-0010 and swirl to mix thoroughly.
- Add 5 drops of reagent R-0011L and swirl to mix thoroughly. The sample will turn red if calcium is present.
- Add reagent R-0012 one drop at a time, swirling after each drop until the sample turns blue.
- Count the number of drops and multiply by 10. This is the Calcium Hardness reading.
- Discard the sample and rinse the comparator tube out with pool water.
So try again and let’s see what you come up with.
j
Ugh ok thanks!!! No where on the instructions says to make it clear dang it haha!!! I will try it again following your directions! So if it give an option between 10 or 25 ml test sample, choose the 10?
Yes. Choose the 10ml sample. That will read chlorine levels down to 1/2 ppm (.5 ppm) and won’t use nearly as many drops of the R-0871 reagent.
j
Hi,
The CC reading of .5 ppm shows that that there aren’t enough organics in the water to promote algae growth.
I’m confused about the total alkalinity and calcium hardness numbers.
Your test shows TA=170 and CH=300.
But the test results sheet you posted from the pool store shows TA=95 andCH=168.
And draining the water you drained after that pool store reading should have lowered the calcium number.
I’m the first to say that pool store tests aren’t the most accurate but I’ve never seen them that far off from the Taylor test kit results.
And nothing in the TriChlor or Cal-Hypo you’ve been using would affect the total alkalinity. Using Cal-Hypo will continue to add calcium to the water but it’s not an issue at this time.
Please test total alkalinity and calcium hardness again. If you readings of TA-170 and CH-300 are correct, then CH number isn’t an issue but we’ll need to drop the TA number.
Other than that you’re just going to need to keep enough chlorine in pool to keep the free chlorine at 8 ppm.
You said in an earlier post that you were using TriChlor tablets in a floater. If that is what you’re using, the Cal-Hypo tablets aren’t recommended for floaters.They’re made for an inline Cal-Hypo feeder.
Also, in an earlier post you asked how you could test CYA without going to the pool store. Your K-2006 test kit has a test for CYA.
j
I will do them again… I took out the chlorine tabs because they were 99% trichlor. So just been using shock every 5 days for chlorine. I haven’t used any liquid chlorine. I’m sorry I’m new and trying to learn all this pool stuff! Y’all should do a webinar called “pools for dummies “ and explain all these chemistry lingo!! Haha!! The calcium I did drops till turned blue and took 30 drops and I’ll attach that pic. And I’ll send the pic for ta as well. But doesn’t let me send them together.
I get confused too, I don’t understand why my numbers jump all over the place…
I run my sand pump non stop. At night (sometimes during day) I put my robotic cleaner in and let it run. I have a skimmer connected to the side with one hose plugged off. I will backwash the sand about every 4 days. Our pool is heavily used daily for several hours. I have not used any chemicals except shock since I started working with you guys. The shock I use is called refresh, I get it from the local pool store.
After 23 drops to get to blue.
For the TA, first drops turn it green, it doesn’t turn blue, what do I need to do there?
That is my fault. In my earlier instructions I said the water should turn blue. That was incorrect. The water will turn green. Go back to my instructions for total alkalinity above and follow them but the water sample will initially turn green instead of blue.
I researched Refresh pool shock and that research shows that Refresh is 68% calcium hypochlorite (cal-hypo).
The pool store tests results that you posted initially showed that the volume of your pool is 11,000 gallons. If that is correct, 2oz of Refresh shock will add 1 ppm of chlorine to the water.
You should be adding chlorine daily.
Every evening before sundown you should check the chlorine levels with your test kit. You would subtract the chlorine level the test shows in the water from the 8 ppm of chlorine that should be maintained in the water. Then you would add enough shock to bring the level back up to 8 ppm.
For example, if the test showed 1ppm of chlorine in the water you would subtract that number from 8 and you would need to add 7 ppm of chlorine back to the water.
In this example you would add 14oz of the Refresh shock to the water. You should dissolve the shock in buckets of water and pour that water into the pool in front of a return jet. And let the pump run at least 2-3 hours to distribute the chlorine.
You would repeat that every day.
Let me know what the new total alkalinity number is.
j
Oh boy that’s a lot of chlorine!!! I will see what I can do with the tests!
That’s great. The total alkaline level is 120 ppm.
The CYA test picture shows a CYA level of 50 ppm. That means that the free chlorine level you need to maintain is now 6 ppm.
So you would take a free chlorine reading every evening and subtract the ppm of chlorine that is in the water from 6. Then add enough shock to bring the level back to 6 ppm, adding 2oz of shock for each ppm of chlorine needed
j
I have the intex 2600 I believe is the number, is that pump efficient enough for this pool? I think it’s like a 10 inch tank
I’m afraid we’re going to need more information to answer this. I’m assuming you have the combination Intex filter tank and pump.
The only intex system I can find with the number 2600 is the Intex QX2600. But it has a tank size of 14” or 16”.
If you can provide the exact model number or maybe a SKU number such as 26675EG or 26679EG we can better help you there.
That last test result from the pool store shows two things:
- The numbers are good.
- The results are very close to the results you got with the K-2006 test kit. And my experience is that the K-2006 test results are more accurate than any pool store results.
So now you know that you can test your water yourself and be confident of the results.
Going forward, if you plan to stick with the Cal-Hypo sanitizer, you don’t have to keep buying the shock. You can buy a pail of 65% Cal-Hypo and use it to add chlorine to the pool daily.
Remember this…you aren’t adding stabilizer (CYA) to the water anymore. Now when you backwash the filter you are removing CYA from the water. If you backwash every 3-4 days I would check the CYA level monthly and make sure it hasn’t fallen below 40 ppm. When it gets down to 40 ppm you can drop the chlorine level maintained from 6 ppm to 4-5 ppm.
When it gets to 30 ppm discontinue the Cal-Hypo and go back to the TriChlor tablets until the CYA levels get back to 40 ppm, then you can go back to the Cal-Hypo
j