No CYA

Pool store guy says my CYA measured at 30 ppm. I just got my K2006 kit today and tested on my own, because I didn't believe him. What I got was not 30 ppm. I filled the tube to the top and could still see the dot at the bottom, although it was obviously cloudy. I don't want to keep retesting since there aren't many CYA tests in the smaller kit, but I can if you think that is my best bet right now.

If I don't retest, I plan to add CYA. Only problem is that we suspect there is a leak in our skim line, so often we only run off the main drain. How do I add the CYA if I can't add it to panty hose in the skimmer?

The easiest way is probably to use dichlor. On your pool, 1 pound -- a little more than 1 cup -- will add about 2.5 ppm of chlorine, a little more than 2 ppm of stabilizer, and lower the pH.

The best source is the 50lb containers of PoolBrand dichlor, sold at Sams Club,or the 24lb box of PoolBrand dichlor shock. Most other retailers, including Costco and Walmart, are selling 'voodoo' blends of dichlor that may contain borax, magnesium sulfate, aluminum sulfate, copper sulfate . . . or anything else they can think of to mix in.

If you don't have access to Sams, the Kem-Tek dichlor sold on Amazon is unblended:

Kem-Tek Dichlor 22 lbs

If you buy from Amazon, you may want to get the Amazon Prime service, which means any package sold by Amazon (NOT: 3rd party sellers!) will ship 2-day for free, with no minimum purchase or weight. There's a 1 month free trial, so you can cancel if it's not worth it to you. (If you are like me, and a late Xmas shopper, it's a life-saver!)

Amazon Prime

In addition to what Pooldoc said, if you already have the CYA but don't have dichlor, you can put the CYA in an old sock and suspend it in the pool in front of one of the returns and it will dissolve there.

I have been struggling to get the pH up to 7.4 as it is, so I will need to be careful with the dichlor then. I still have trichlor tabs left over from last year that I can put in the chlorinator, is that a no no with my pool readings or could that work since I already have it?

FC:1.5
CC: .5
pH: 7.4
TA: 300+
CYA: less than 30

Water is crystal clear

You can use the trichlor pucks but they also are acidic and will drop your pH so if you use them, keep an eye on it. Since you are getting a CC reading, I'd suggest taking your chlorine up to about 10ppm. You can't do that with pucks though, so either use dichlor or bleach.

I went to the pool store to pick up some CYA. I told them that I tested my CYA and it was showing up less than 30 ppm. Pool guy remembered that they had just tested my water a few days ago and got defensive. He told me that my test couldn't have been as accurate as theirs was and I must be wrong. He was trying to sell me a $45 bottle of "conditioner" which was 30% CYA. He didn't seem thrilled when I was looking at ingredients and even less thrilled when I put it back and picked up the $25 bucket of CYA. I added 27 ounces by weight in old panty hose in front of a return. I know that is not a lot, but like I have read in previous threads, this is something that I want to sneak up on, not over shoot. Thank you for all of your help! Kids are so excited to get in the pool for the first time this season!

Good for you for standing your ground!! Believe in your own test methods--your eyes are much more dependable than the test results of somebody that's in business to make money by selling you stuff based on "their" test results!! :)

If you'll give that panty hose a squeeze every now and then, it will help speed up the process. I would still give it 2 or 3 days after it's all dissolved before testing for it again , though, unless you've ordered a large size container of the reagent (which you can do, by the way--and wouldn't be a bad idea if you're gonna use trichlor for chlorination so you can keep an eye on what your CYA levels are throughout the summer).

The funny thing is, their test was telling me NOT to spend any money! But when I insisted, he did try to sell me something almost twice as expensive. I checked the pool (visually, not the levels) at nap, and about half of the CYA was gone, I will continue to monitor it though. I don't plan to use the trichlor throughout the swim season. I might use up what I have, but I plan to use bleach as my main source of chlorine. I just have the tricholor from last year when I was a dummy and did everything the pool store told me. ;) Thanks