What do my chlorine levels need to be?

[apoolman]

CNK, The answer to your question is a MIN of 1.5 If your pool has a CL level lower than 1.5 then it is not safe to swim in. The NSFP reg book shows this year for 2006 for CL levels to be between 2.5 and 7.5. Your CYA should not go over 100 PPM. the only way to reduce this level is to drain water off the top of the pool and replace with fresh water. There is no chemical to reduce CYA in a pool. CYA stays at the top 3 inches of the surface of the pool on a calm steady day. Draining from a skimmer or a scum ledge is the best way to lower CYA if it gets too high.

[DavidD]

the only way to reduce this level is to drain water off the top of the pool and replace with fresh water. .... CYA stays at the top 3 inches of the surface of the pool on a calm steady day. Draining from a skimmer or a scum ledge is the best way to lower CYA if it gets too high.

That is the first time I’ve heard that. Any studies/documentation that backs this up? If this is true, it would make lowering CYA much easier. Sorry to be skeptical but sounds way too good to be true. Chemistry was a long time ago so hopefully I'm wrong in my un substantiated doubt, I HOPE!.

[waterbear]

I would be very interested in hearing any studies to back this up myself since it goes agains just about everything I know about the chemistry of solutions.

[duraleigh]

Poolman,

CYA stays at the top 3 inches of the surface of the pool on a calm steady day. Draining from a skimmer or a scum ledge is the best way to lower CYA if it gets too high

.

DavidD, Waterbear, and DavidS (that's me) are in sync on this one. I have never heard that before but would love it to be true. However, that would mean that if you did a CYA test and dipped 6 inches below the surface in a calm pool, you would get a zero CYA reading.

Lowering CYA would be a chip shot with a variety of methods

Dave S.

As an aside, the Moderator of the forum is ADAMANT about people in the profession identifying themselves as such. Your username implies that but it's not clear. Glad to have you on the forum

Dave S.

[apoolman]

Become a CPO and get the CPO Handbook!!!

http://www.nspf.com/index.html

[apoolman]

I am a CPO by the www.nspf.com

I control a private swimming pool in NW FL pandhandle. I am a tennant in my apartment complex and have a 45,000 oval VAK-PAK DE pool with scum ledge. I was informed in the CPO class that the only way to remove CYA from the pool is to exchange the water for fresh water. Of course my other comment about the top 3 inches is not to be taken in the form that if you test 6 inches down you get a ZERO readout. The 3 inches of the top of the surface is where the CYA does its job. I cannot make a scan of the page out of the CPO manual. That is against the Copyright rules. I can only tell you what is says. And I have done it before.

My scum ledge is 6 inches high. Than accounts for about 1000 Gal. so I shut off the main pump and crank up the maint pump and evac from the ledge drains instead of the main drain and it lowers my CYA level from 90-100 to about 70-80. I fill with fresh water, wait 2 days and do it again. It works.

[waterbear]

I am a CPO by the www.nspf.com

I The 3 inches of the top of the surface is where the CYA does its job.

Well, you are right about that, CYA protects the chlorine from degradation by UV rays and they only penetrate abot 3 inches below the surface of the water before they are greatly reduced!. Not much need to protect the chlorine from degredation by UV at the bottom of the pool! Once again, what you stated goes against everything I know about the chemistry of solutions.

[PoolDoc]

. CYA stays at the top 3 inches of the surface of the pool on a calm steady day. Draining from a skimmer or a scum ledge is the best way to lower CYA if it gets too high.

Uh, that's totally bogus!

As a CPO myself, and a former instructor, I can assure you that that idea is NOT from CPO training. If you got an instructor who taught you that, you got one from the bottom of the NSPF's barrel. Bad luck for you, but please don't dump his goofy ideas here!

It's also not true that

• all pools with FAC at 1 ppm are unsafe -- it IS possible to be 'safe' at that level, or that
• there's something magical about the range between 2.5 ppm and 7.5ppm, or that
• it's impossible to run a safe and sanitary pool with 150 ppm of CYA!

Please, learn more, before you try to post authoritatively. Unfortunately, having one of the nice CPO patches and certificates does NOT make you an expert.

And . . . you need to ID your connection with the industry in a signature line to EACH and EVERY post, which identifies who and what you are in the industry, but does NOT try to 'sell' your services.

Thanks,

Ben
PoolForum.com / PoolSolutions.com

[apoolman]

Did not mean to bust anyones bubbles. I shall refrain from posting about things I know nothing about.

Jake.
The wannabe CPO.