Can't seem to lower CYA

Hi. I've been using this forum for a few years and it has been great. Back when I started (I had been using Tri-Chlor pucks exclussively) my CYA was something like 150 or something absurd. Over the last thre seasons I have been able to get it down to 60 or so (I have a very difficult time reading that particular test. But I'd guess it is between 60 and 70). The curious thing is that it has been at that level for 3 seasons now. After switching to bleach only, and lower the water at the end of the year and adding fresh water my CYA came down to 80 over the course of the season. The next it came down to 60-70. But it doesn't seem to budge from there. Last fall I took a LOT of water out. I am adding new, fresh unstablilized water. Shouldn't it come down? It is so frustrating! I never use the pucks except for 1 week when we are out of town in the summer.

Any insights?
Jennie Menke

Hi, Jennie,

The CYA can only be in there from the pucks or adding plain CYA.....there is no other vehicle. If your CYA was 100 and you drained 30% of your water, your CYA will be 70.

I'm not sure if that's insight or not. Drain the water and/or stop using the pucks.

Almost everyone agrees the test is pretty subjective...you just get better with time. :)

We once went away for two weeks and I left floaters full of pucks. I came back to perfectly clear water, but my CYA had jumped from 30 to 60, and my pH had fallen from 7.6 to 6.8 or less!

CYA can be added QUITE quickly by pucks.

Thanks guys. That is just so bizarre -- that 4 "innocent" pucks can eliminate a years worth of hard work to get CYA down. that must be the deal.

there really isn't any other option than the pucks for going out of town, is there?

I picked up some of the Poolife Active Cleaning Capsules which is like the HTH Duration tabs that are 68% chlorine - it's calcium hypochlorite so there's no CYA in them. They come in a plastic capsule that you can put in the skimmer but there have been warnings posted on other threads that you should not put them anywhere that pucks have been as there can be a bad reaction between different types of chlorine.

Wal-Mart carries some Duration tabs but they are only 48% chlorine and some people have said they are junk. I found the poolife ones at a poolstore that carries HTH products. I bought them mainly for when I go away but I haven't tried them yet so I can't tell you how long they last.

Peter

Get a neighbor to dump a bottle of bleach in every couple days when you're gone. You don't have to be a pool expert to do that. My 70 year old neighbor does it for me.

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Originally Posted by baybum

Get a neighbor to dump a bottle of bleach in every couple days when you're gone. You don't have to be a pool expert to do that. My 70 year old neighbor does it for me.

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not an option for me. We live in the sticks. It is a major event to get someone to come every three days to feed the cats and the chickens. I have to have something besides a nightly commitment.

If you have them add enough bleach to bring it back up to shock level (based on your cya reading), you could probably just have somebody add bleach every third day. Try it yourself and see if you can maintain a chlorine reading that long.

Watermom

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Watermom

If you have them add enough bleach to bring it back up to shock level (based on your cya reading), you could probably just have somebody add bleach every third day. Try it yourself and see if you can maintain a chlorine reading that long.

Watermom

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that may work. I'll try that this year.