leanninms

Pool store #1 uses kits where you put drops in the tubes. Pool store #2 uses strips and has a digital reader that reads them. I am not sure who is more accurate, but I do know that Pool store #2 cleared up my pool in 1/2 a day. They are a mom and pop store. The owners work there and live practically within walking distance. They have a pool and know what our tap water is like around here, etc. (We add a lot of tap water to our pools around here, so it can impact things quite a bit.) I think I might stick with them from now own. Our walmart has no testing kits or strips. I was there this morning. Plenty of chemicals, but not one tester of any kind. I bought some strips from the pool store to keep an eye on my chlorine levels more than anything else. They'll do for now. I can't go to the pool store everyday. I'm still up in the air about what type of shock treatment to use in the future. We are returning the calcium-hypo to pool store #1 this weekend. We are probably going to try a more concentrated calcium-hypo (2 lbs. for 30,000) once and see what happens. If this doesn't work, we will talk to them about liquid shock. Thanks again.

Thanks for your help. The funny thing is that up until yesterday, my TA has always stayed at about 80. Pool store #1 had me raise it last week. (10 110) It has always been on the low side with ph on the high side (7.7-7.8). I'm not sure if all the chlorine tabs raised it or not.Can you recommend a reliable test kit for me to use. The strips that I was using are instant read but the color changes as the seconds fly by and I'm never sure when to read it. When I take it out of the pool it is one color; when I walk to the shade or inside to read it, it is totally different. Thanks again!

Here is the report from the pool places. The pool is about 30,000 gallons and gunite. Pool Center #1 (yesterday morning) ph 7.7 ta 110 cyanuric acid 50 hardness under 250 (can't remember) free chlorine 3.2 available chlorine 1.0 checked for phosphates and they were not high (not sure about actual levels.) They recommended adding 1 lb. of granular chlorine (sodium dichlor) to raise available chlorine levels. Pool Center #2 (today morning) ph 8.1 ta 160 cyanuric acid 60 hardness 250 total chlorine 8.7 Told me to add 1 1/2 gallons muriatic acid and take some of our chlorine tablets out (other place said to add more tablets to keep levels up because we did not want to use the calcium-hypo shock) The pool has completely cleared up in 3 hours. This pool center said that we could use sodium dichlor long term with no problems. Pool center #1 said not long-term. We did add some water to the pool yesterday, but I don't think that should account for the different readings. I'm just not sure who to trust at this point. Yes pool center #2 cleared my pool, but do I trust them on the sodium dichlor thing? Pool center #1 said that if we used it long-term we would eventually have to drain our pool because the stabilizer would eventually be too high. We live in the south. It has not rained in a month. We are adding a lot of tap water due to vacuuming and evaporation (upper 90 degrees every day.) I'm not sure if this makes a difference with the stabilizer situation. Does this help? Around here, you use sodium dichlor or calcium-hypo. I have never seen anything liquid for shock. No one uses bleach that I am aware of. Is calcium-hypo known for clouding the water. Both places acted like they had never heard of it. Very curious.

I have had a really difficult time getting my pool to clear up. The pool center tells me that everything is balanced. Part of the problem is that when I add shock (calcium-hypo), the water gets really cloudy and stays that way for days. They told me that I could not change to sodium dichlor for shock because it would raise my stabilizer levels over time and my chlorine would not be effective. (I am in the deep south, so algae is a major problem here.) I have already had a mustard algae problem this year that I have treated. Sunday, they basically told me that the water was balanced, there was nothing else that could be done. Fast forward to today. I took a sample to another pool center that was recommended by friends. Got completely different results. Said the chlorine levels were too high, ph too high, alkalinity was okay but much higher than other pool center's results. Recommended muriatic acid. I came home, backwashed, added the acid, and two hours later, my pool looks 100% better. They said that my shock (calcium-hypo) should not be clouding the water and that I could use the sodium dichlor long term. This pool center uses a computerized testing center. I have no idea if it is accurate or not. I am terrible with reading strips, so it is hard for me to check up on these people. My question is that with these differing opinions and results, where do I go from here? I have found a calcium-hyo that is 1lb. per 15,000 gallons instead of the 1lb. per 10,000 gallons that I currently use. This would at least keep me from putting too much junk in the pool. Does anyone have any suggestions or insight? This is our second year in this house with this pool. It has looked terrible both years through 2 different pool centers. I faithfully shock weekly (necessary in this heat), add clarifier and algaecide. I also get weekly testing, but this makes no difference if the testing is not accurate. Help!