Preliminary test review - Aqua Check Trutest

[MostlyLurkingGal]

Jetsetter 225 gallons
Threw in 2 TBS MSP Friday night.
Today (Sunday morning) my readings are as follows:
AquaChek Meter:
CL=1.9
Ph=6.7
Alk=122
Taylor Test:
CL=2
Ph=6.5
Alk=75
Strip:
CL=2
Ph=6.2
Alk=60

I don't get it...........
I just redid the aquachek meter...and now my CL says 0.9...this is ten minutes after the first test
So anyway, I don't know whether to raise my ALK or lower it.....I don't even know if it's safe to soak.....sigh

[windsurfdog]

Taylor Test:
CL=2
Ph=6.5
Alk=7.5

mlg,
Did Taylor actually show Alk=7.5 or 75?

[MostlyLurkingGal]

Sorry...guess I meant 75

[windsurfdog]

Go ahead and take a nice soak.  After soaking, add a tsp. of dichlor and enough soda ash to raise the pH to 7.4 or so.  Or, if you prefer, substitute a bit of the soda ash for baking soda to bump the TA a bit.  Either way, get in there and soak now! 8-)

[MostlyLurkingGal]

OK! Thanks Windsurfdog! I don't have any soda ash, so baking soda it is.
Is Soda ash the same as the Borax you buy for laundry?

[MostlyLurkingGal]

So what do ya'll think is up with the ALK on the meter reading?

[Vinny]

OK! Thanks Windsurfdog! I don't have any soda ash, so baking soda it is.
Is Soda ash the same as the Borax you buy for laundry?

Borax is similar but not the same.

I use borax in my pool but only need baking soda in the tub. If you alk is only 75 (or 7.5) then the baking soda may do the trick. My water starts out low PH and alk and the baking soda raises both. As a matter of fact, I changed the water in my tub last weekend, added 4 oz of baking sda and it is reading a PH of 8. I wated a few days and I just added some PH down.

[beach]

Thanks Doc for allowing me to test this AquaChek Digital reader without a big dent in the wallet!

My Setup
Sundance Optima 485 gallons with ozonator and mineral cartridge.  

Summary of my initial review
I'm noticing that Free CL and pH measurements are very accurate, however, Tot Alk readings are inflated by the Digital Reader when compared with the dealer's numbers. (ie. 115 vs 80, and 130 vs 84 - where the digital reader is the first number and the 2nd number is the dealer).  

2/25
       AquaChekDigital   AquaChekStrip    Dealer
Fre CL      0                ~0.5                      0
pH         8.1                7.9                       7.8
Tot Alk    115                80                      80


3/8
       AquaChekDigital    Dealer
Fre CL     3.0                 2.8
pH         7.7                   7.8
Tot Alk    130                 84

So overall, i like the convenience of using this digital reader, but i'm also dissapointed and confused that the Tot Alk readings are not coming close to the dealer or old school test strips show.  Since the old school test strips seem to give an accurate number for Tot Alk, i may just end up using those for ALK readings and the Digital reader for pH and CL.  I'll post back once I have a few more weeks of data.

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

I seems like every one's TA is way off with the meter. I"m going to try to call the manufacturer tomorrow and talk with them about this.... HEY! I REALLY appreciate the feedback.

[Brewman]

Please let us know what their response to this is, will be interesting to hear it from the source.

[windsurfdog]

OK! Thanks Windsurfdog! I don't have any soda ash, so baking soda it is.
Is Soda ash the same as the Borax you buy for laundry?

Soda ash is sodium carbonate--it affects pH more than TA though it will affect TA to a very small degree.  On the other hand, baking soda is sodium bicarbonate--it affects TA more than pH though it does affect pH to a degree as well.  In comparing the two, baking soda affects pH more than soda ash affects TA.

Looking at how low your pH is and how not so very low your TA is the reasoning behind my recommendations to you.  Soda ash (generically called "spa up") can be purchased from your spa dealer, a pool dealer, a big box store or from our favorite online spa chem pusherman...  I suggest you get some in order to affect you water properly.  Good luck!

[txwillie]

how does timing affect readings? The strips take time to "develop". Read them too soon, it's off. Read them too late, it's off.  I am I missing something?

txwilllie

[wmccall]

I seems like every one's TA is way off with the meter. I"m going to try to call the manufacturer tomorrow and talk with them about this.... HEY! I REALLY appreciate the feedback.

I'd say the same for me. I just  did a water change this weekend and my ALK and Ph went down as it usually does according to my reagent kit.  But the electronic tester still shows an alk above 200.   My test kit showed 70.

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

Ok, here's the story (as I'm getting it). The meter recalibrates itself each time it's used. Because everyone's meter seems to be off almost exactly the same percentage, it's a reasonable possibility the test strips are "out of wack". Question for ya alls. The meter came with a few test strips, and I also included an extra bottle of strips. Has anyone compared the reading using one of each batch?

Also, on the bottom of the bottle of test strips are some numbers. One set is the expiration date, the other, 4 digit number is the batch number. Can people please post the batch number of the strips their using?

The guy at Aquacheck is sending me a case of test strips, so, everyone that got the meter PLEASE IM me again with your address and I'll get them mailed out to you when they get here.

[Sudzz]

Interesting note about the strips being a possible cause of the high TA readings.

For what it's worth, mine tested very closely to the dealer's test on all readings.

PH  - Dealer = 7.2  Aquacheck = 7.3
Free Cl - Dealer = 1.8  Aquacheck = 1.7
Alk - Dealer = 70  Aquacheck = 64

Test strip info = 2009/10 Lot 7032

Sudzz