ph mystery

[aylad]

I'd be willing to bet that you have the wrong reagent. Check the number on your old bottle...the stuff that comes from WalMart is R-0014.

Janet

[sspine]

The Taylor is 04, the hth just says Phenol red. I will get to the pool store and see if that is the answer.

With a vinyl pool, do I need to get that alkalinity down?

I will post later this weekend when I get the new reagent.

[chem geek]

Assuming your Calcium Hardness (CH) is around 150 ppm or lower (you should test it to see what it is even though you don't need it to be high), then the only problem with the high Total Alkalinity (TA) of 250 ppm would be a tendency for the pH to rise over time. If you use a pool cover regularly you may not notice that.

As for the pH reagent, you generally want to use the proper reagent for the pH test you have since the blocks are calibrated in color for that reagent. Phenol red produces standard colors so you could add more of the reagent you have to make it more intense, but the reagent also has other chemicals (like thiosulfate) to neutralize chlorine that can interfere with the test. Such extra chemicals can affect the ph reading a little.

Richard

[Watermom]

I agree with Janet.......... sounds like you are not using the right reagent for your test block.

[waterbear]

I can definitely say you are not using the right reagent, The HTH reagent is, if I am not mistaken, a rebranded Taylor R-0014.