Best Pool Test Kit: Taylor K-2006C vs TF-100 vs Strips vs Digital

A test kit is the cheapest piece of pool equipment you’ll buy, and it decides whether you spend money wisely on everything else. Wrong chlorine numbers lead to algae or wasted shock. Wrong calcium or pH numbers lead to scaled salt cells and heaters, which is an expensive problem in hard-water Texas.

Here’s how the main options compare, and which one we’d put in a Texas pool owner’s hands.

The short answer

• Best kit for most Texas pool owners: a FAS-DPD drop kit, either the Taylor K-2006C or the TF-100. Both read high chlorine accurately, which strips can’t.
• Salt pool: get the salt version of either kit (Taylor K-2006-SALT or TF-100 Salt).
• Strips: fine for quick daily checks between full tests, not for decisions about shock, acid or calcium.
• Test calcium hardness monthly in hard-water areas, because scale on salt cells and heaters is the expensive Texas failure.

Quick comparison

Option	Method	What it tests	Resolution / range (per maker)	Typical price	Best for
Taylor K-2006 / K-2006C	FAS-DPD titration + color comparators	FC, CC, pH (+ acid/base demand), TA, CH, CYA	Chlorine 0.2 or 0.5 ppm per drop; CYA 30–100 ppm	K-2006 from about $140 at Taylor; K-2006C varies by retailer · check current price	The standard reference kit
Taylor K-2006-SALT	Same, plus salt titration	Above + salt	Salt 200 ppm per drop	About $205 at Taylor · check current price	Salt pools
TF-100	FAS-DPD titration (Taylor-style reagents)	FC, CC, pH, TA, CH, CYA	FC to 50+ ppm at 0.5 ppm resolution	Roughly $80–$110 · check current price	Best value drop kit
TF-100 Salt	Same, plus salt	Above + salt	—	Roughly $100–$130 · check current price	Value pick for salt pools
AquaChek 7-in-1 strips	Reagent strip, color match	FC, TC, bromine, pH, TA, total hardness, CYA	FC 0–20, pH 6.2–8.4, CYA 0–300	About $20–$30 per 100 · check current price	Quick daily checks
LaMotte WaterLink Spin Touch	Photometer + reagent disks	Up to 10 parameters per disk	NSF-certified ranges listed by LaMotte	Pro-level; priced for stores and service companies	Pool stores and techs

Prices are typical ranges when we checked; Taylor’s own store lists its prices directly. Check current price before buying.

Why FAS-DPD matters, especially in Texas

Most cheap kits measure chlorine by color: add a reagent, compare the shade of yellow or pink to a chart. That’s fine until chlorine is high, when the color saturates and every reading looks the same.

FAS-DPD works differently. You turn the sample pink, then count drops of a titrant until it clears. Taylor lists 1 drop = 0.2 or 0.5 ppm depending on sample size. Because you’re counting drops instead of matching colors, the test keeps working at high chlorine. TF Test Kits says its FAS-DPD test reads free chlorine “even up to 50ppm+.”

That matters for Texas pools in two ways.

Cyanuric acid creep. Trichlor tablets add stabilizer (CYA) every time one dissolves, and Texas pools go through a lot of tablets in summer. As CYA climbs, the free chlorine level you need to keep algae away climbs with it. Without an accurate CYA test, you can’t know your target. The Taylor and TF-100 kits measure CYA by turbidity (how cloudy the sample gets), and Taylor’s kit reads 30 to 100 ppm.

Algae treatment. Clearing a green pool means holding chlorine high, often well above what color tests can read, and checking it repeatedly. Only a titration kit gives you a real number in that range.

Calcium hardness, salt cells and hard water

A lot of Texas fill water is hard. Compilations of USGS groundwater data put the Texas median around 250 ppm as calcium carbonate, with central Texas counties like Bexar, Travis and Hays higher still. Your own utility’s annual water quality report will list your number. Hard water plus high pH plus heat means scale: on tile, on heater exchangers, and on salt cell plates.

Two testing details to know:

• Strips usually read total hardness, not calcium hardness. AquaChek’s 7-in-1 strip lists “total hardness” from 0 to 1,000 ppm. Total hardness includes magnesium. The Taylor and TF-100 kits use an EDTA titration for calcium hardness, which is the number most pool chemistry targets use. Taylor lists 1 drop = 10 ppm.
• Salt pools need an independent salt test. Hayward’s AquaRite troubleshooting guide tells owners to verify salt with an independent test before adding salt. Salt-cell readouts drift as cells age and scale. Taylor’s K-2006-SALT and the TF-100 Salt add a salt titration. Taylor lists 1 drop = 200 ppm.

If you’re on a salt system, read our salt chlorine generator guide for why scale control matters so much for cell life.

The kits, one by one

Taylor K-2006 and K-2006C

Taylor’s Complete FAS-DPD kits are the kits most pool references are written around. The K-2006 tests free and combined chlorine, pH with acid and base demand, total alkalinity, calcium hardness and cyanuric acid. The K-2006C is Taylor’s “Service Complete” version, which comes with larger 2 oz reagent bottles for people who test often. Taylor listed the K-2006 from about $140 and the K-2006-SALT from about $205 on its own store when we checked.

Check current price on the Taylor K-2006C · K-2006-SALT

TF-100 and TF-100 Salt

TF Test Kits sells the TF-100 as a larger-volume FAS-DPD kit, packaged with plenty of the reagents you use most. It covers pH, FAS-DPD free and combined chlorine, total alkalinity, calcium hardness and CYA (using a view tube with a black dot), and the Salt version adds the salt reagents. TF Test Kits suggests adding a magnetic stirrer like the Taylor SpeedStir if you’re new to testing. TF-100 pricing was in the $80s and the Salt version around $105 in listings we checked.

Check current price on the TF-100 · TF-100 Salt

AquaChek 7-in-1 strips

Strips are fast and foolproof to use: dip, wait about 15 seconds, compare to the bottle. AquaChek’s 7-in-1 reads free and total chlorine, bromine, pH, total alkalinity, total hardness and CYA. They’re a good daily “did anything crash?” check, especially in peak summer when you’re testing often.

They’re not the numbers to dose from. Color steps on strips are coarse, and reading them depends on light and eyesight.

Check current price on AquaChek 7-in-1 strips

LaMotte WaterLink Spin Touch (and pool store testing)

LaMotte’s Spin Touch is a photometer that reads a full panel from a single reagent disk filled with less than 3 mL of water. LaMotte markets it to service techs, pool operators and retail stores, and lists NSF-certified ranges for pH, free chlorine, combined chlorine and CYA. It’s the kind of instrument you’ll see on many pool store counters.

For a homeowner, it’s hard to justify the cost of the meter plus ongoing disks. But it’s worth knowing what’s behind a store’s printout. LaMotte’s quick-start guide notes the meter isn’t recommended for samples with medium to high color or turbidity, which is exactly what a green or cloudy pool sample looks like. If a store test of a cloudy pool doesn’t match your drop kit, trust the kit and retest when the water clears.

How to test in a Texas summer

1. Take the sample from elbow depth, away from return jets and the skimmer.
2. Test in the shade. Bright sun makes color comparisons and the CYA dot test harder to read.
3. Check free chlorine and pH often in peak heat. Chlorine demand rises with water temperature and sunlight.
4. Run the full panel weekly: TA, calcium hardness, CYA and salt.
5. Retest after big water events. Heavy rain dilutes everything; refilling after a partial drain changes hardness and salt.
6. Store reagents indoors. A hot garage in August isn’t kind to reagents or strips. Replace reagents per the maker’s dates.
7. Write it down. A simple log is evidence if you ever need to make a water-chemistry-related warranty claim. Several manufacturers exclude damage from poor chemistry; see our warranty guide.

Our pick