Cloudy Free Chlorine Test?

[PoolZoo82]

Hi, I have a Taylor K-2006c test kit. I am testing FC/TC with a 25 ml sample of pool water. When I enter 2 dippers of R-0870, the sample turns a cloudy light pink. This is the first time using my kit. I expected a clear pink.

Context: I have high CYA (200 ppm). Has anybody had similar experience when CYA is so high?

If the cloudiness is not a problem, can I trust the test results?

 

[drsipe]

Is there some spacific reason you are not doing the test with the 10 ml sample. This traditionally gives readings down to 0.5 ppm which is usually close enough for Pool maintanance.

Did you use the dilution method to determine the CYA levels? If you did and you truly have 200 ppm CYA, the only solution is dilution and it looks like you may need to do multiple 50% drain/fills to get that level down to within specs.

 

[PoolZoo82]

No reason on 10 vs 25. Will diluting the chlorine sample help with the cloudiness?

 

[Bperry]

No reason on 10 vs 25. Will diluting the chlorine sample help with the cloudiness?

You might post a picture of the cloudiness but it’s likely not an issue. Side comment is that tests for FC (free chlorine) and CC (combined chlorine/cloromines). The TC number is the addition of those two values (FC+CC=TC). Since you are measuring the first two directly you don’t ever need to worry about the TC..

 

[Toxophilite]

Clarity of pink isn't really what you are looking for. Light pink means your FC is probably very low.

 

[Mdragger88]

No reason on 10 vs 25. Will diluting the chlorine sample help with the cloudiness?

Using 10ml & 1 slightly heaping scoop of dpd powder will save reagents.
This is important because with a cya of 200 the minimum your fc should ever be is 15ppm so thats alot of drops.

Chlorine/CYA Chart

EDIT: You will find a simplified and standardized version of this chart at Pool School, Chlorine / CYA Chart. Chlorine/CYA Chart by Chemgeek FC = Free Chlorine in parts-per-million (ppm) CYA = Cyanuric Acid in parts-per-million (ppm) CYA ........... Min FC3 ..... Target FC ...... Yel/Mstrd...

www.troublefreepool.com

It being a little cloudy isn’t a problem.
I suggest you exchange the majority of your water to lower your cya as that is not sustainable for sanitation.

Draining - Further Reading

www.google.com

& use liquid chlorine or a swg to chlorinate with going forward

 

[proavia]

What is your CH?

I see you have a lot of notes in PoolMath, but you aren't saving your test results.
Post a full set of current test results to PoolMath and cloch the check mark to save them.

Sometimes, high CH and to a lesser degree high CYA will cause a bit of cloudiness in the FAS-DPD test.
I don't believe this causes any issues with the validity of the test. When the test goes from cloudy pink to cloudy clear the test is complete.

Use a 10ml sample for the FC test. An accuracy of 0.5ppm is sufficient and will save on reagents.

How did you determine your CYA is 200?
If the CYA result is actually 200, consider a no drain water exchange to get the CYA in the 50-60 range.
With a CYA of 200, you will need to keep FC at or above 15ppm to keep algae away.
The pH test is invalid anytime the FC is greater than 10ppm.

 

[PoolZoo82]

Thanks for everyone’s help. I started a slow drain. It’ll be a process because I’m at the bottom of a hill and I don’t have a pump…yet

But I’m making gains:

- started testing and recording in the Pool Math app
- phased out tri chlor tabs.
- added my first round of liquid bleach last night!

I used my Taylor test kit pamphlet to calculate how much to add. Net, it recommended about 64oz to add about 4ppm of FC. I tested this morning, and while I’m happy my test registered more TC (1.5 fc and 0 cc). Ii wasn’t as high as I expected. I put in the Chlorine after sundown and tested in the morning. The pump was running overnight.

Is there something that could explain the lower than expected chlorine read? Remember, my Cya is still high (working on that!)

 

[Mdragger88]

How was your water looking before the drain? Cloudy or crystal clear? Any visible algae anywhere?
Use the fas/dpd test for accurate fc & cc readings.
You want to be in target fc range for your cya
FC/CYA Levels.
You may want to do an
Overnight Chlorine Loss Test if you’re concerned you have something brewing that is consuming your fc or if you see algae/cloudy water you can just go straight to the
SLAM Process.
Also, check the dates on your liquid chlorine as well as confirming your pool volume . Liquid chlorine degrades with age & heat exposure.
Use
PoolMath to calculate additions

 

[RickRude]

My FAS-DPD tests were usually cloudy last year. My CH was 600 and CYA about 90. Honestly it seemed to stop after a while. And I did a replaster over the winter so now I have fresh water with much lower CYA and CH. But just the other day it the FAS-DPD test looked cloudy again. So I can’t figure it out.

I seem to remember finding others posting about it here in the forum, and the consensus was no biggie. And I never had issues with algae or any other chemical imbalance struggles. So I kinda quit worrying about it. Doesn’t seem to affect the accuracy of the test.