CYA test water doesn't get cloudy...why?

Hello, Been following forum and BBB for past few years and have used Taylor and hth test kits before so I have seen the cya test water get cloudy after ading .7 ml of CYA reagent to the .7 ml of pool water to be tested.

This year, when I added the reagent, the water did not get cloudy. At all. So I thought maybe the reagent was expired (it was from last year, maybe even the year before -- I bought a biggish bottle, so I've had it for a while.) Using the new CYA reagent, the water still didn't get cloudy.

Does this mean that I have zero cya in the pool water? (seems too simple to me). Or am I doing something wrong?

Just finished opening/vacuuming a few days ago and here are the latest test results:

Alkalinity 220 ppm
Hardness 300 ppm
ph 8.2 (or higher, since that's the highest label on my testing kit)

Chlorine has been zero each time we've tested, so we first added about 3 big jugs of bleach to shock, and have since added 1/2 to 1 bottle of bleach a few times. (ok, so I'm not big on measuring or details...just now, the FC level looks like .25, according to my Taylor DPD test) The water is sparkling clear, but I want to be sure it is getting sanitized and that we don't run through major amounts of bleach because we have no cya, or add cya because I am doing the test wrong and then wind up having to drain.

I have a vinyl liner AG oval 32x16 pool that I have calculated approx 15,000 gallons with a sand filter, heater, and automatic cover.

thanks for your replies!
Maureen

It probably means that you have no cya. This is actually pretty common upon opening a pool in the spring.

You need to lower your pH and alk as both are too high. Use some muriatic acid to drop the pH to around 7.0-7.2. In a pool this size, 12 oz. of acid should drop the pH by approximately 0.2. Don't put in a huge dose of acid all at once at try and get from 8.2 (or higher) down to 7.2 all in one dose. Add some acid, then wait awhile, retest and redose til you get it there. The acid will also lower your alk some. Then, aerate the water by turning the return jets upward to create splashing and bubbling on the surface. Aeration will gradually increase the pH without raising the alk. When the pH gets back up to around 7.6-7.8, repeat the process of lowering it back down to 7.0-7.2 and then aerate it back up. It may take several cycles of this to get your alk down to a better level -- 80-125.

Hope this helps.

Thanks, Watermom! I've been pc-disabled for a bit, but see your reply and it makes sense. I know I need to decrease the pH and alkalinity, but how does that affect the timing of adding cya? Which first?

thank you for your super-prompt reply last time!
Maureen

It doesn't matter which order--the CYA addition won't affect the pH or TA readings. CYA is by definition an acid, but it doesn't seem to lower pH. The acid you'll use to ratchet the TA down with is muriatic, which is very strong and in liquid form.

Janet