I hope I am right to separate this from my other thread about chlorine shock in fibreglass pools.
Anyway, does anyone have any thoughts or recommendations on pool testing kit? I have seen one recommended via the "Free Beer" and other threads - the ColorQ Pro7EX - but it is around £120 (yes, that's right - one hundred and twenty of my English pounds!). That said, it seems to cover tests for just about everything - chlorine, PH, worms, you name it! At the other end of the scale I have seen electronic meters for just chlorine/PH, where you just dip them in the water and get an electronic readout on ebay for about £10. I have a friend who used the "water samples in a bottle", compared against a colour chart and he seems perfectly happy with that (and his pool is always mint so it must be right).
Thanks in advance for comments and advice

I just check for Ph using the red liquid ( Phenolphthalein ? ) and chuck chlorine in as recomended on the box. I find the chlorine colour test to be so wishywashy as to be useless.
Minimal problems in 20 + yrs. cost very little.

Hi

The cheapest method is to use the bottles BUT buy them from a pool shop and every three months or so, take a sample along to the pool shop and ask them to analyse it properly - even if they charge you a fiver a time you would be quids n. My pool shop don't charge me but I buy chemicals etc there

Davexf

Don't waste your hard earned quids m8!
You have mentioned my clean pool and I have always used the cheap bottle and liquid testers.

I´ve used various kits over the years and agree that the little test bottles are as good as anything. However, for the last couple of years I haven´t used any. I´ve found that as long as you keep the pool well chlorined, you don´t need any kind of kits. If the pool begins to look a little cloudy, just give it an extra dose of chlorine, leave the filter on for 24 hours, and it will go back to normal. The PH shouldn´t change unless for example, you´ve refilled the pool and maybe the water that you put in needs to be balanced.

We have a salt water fiberglass pool, what should we use?

I used to test mine every week, but only do it monthly now unless something looks untoward. Rarely have problems (use the bottle tests about €3.50 a kit), but when I do I can generally see it in my water (if you see what I mean )

Chlorine generally lowers the Ph value of the pool.
Therefore it will be necessary to occasionally use an alkaline chemical ( incrementor? ) to bring the Ph up to an acceptable level

Hi

The bottles have a life of about 6 months - for a fiver is the cost really important. If you look after only the one pool then it perhaps a different matter to looking after 10+. However the kit can give advanced warning of a problem - simpler and cheaper to correct.

Use the same kit for Salt water pools chlorine level and PH should be within the norm

Davexf

That is the combination we have too. It is in a bad way at the moment as it has not been used for a couple of years. We will spark it up when we come over in a couple of weeks. What is the routine you use for yours re salt replacement, running pumps etc?

You are the master - I shall learn first hand when we see you in a couple of weeks, O Great Pool Guru!