CYA level and chlorine level and pool store recomendation

[aylad]

I believe that Carl was referring to the reported CYA at 60 ppm as high--we generally recommend that people start out around 40 ppm in their pools, and only raise it from there if there is a continuing problem with chlorine consumption that is due to the sun, all other causes ruled out.

Janet

[CarlD]

Thanks, Janet. Yes I was referring to CYA=60 as high. It's not bad, you simply must compensate for it.

Carl

[Fishcrazy]

Well I recieved my test kit today and ran the following test on the pool. FC=7.5, CC=0.5, pH=6.8, TA=40.

I did not recheck the CYA and assume it to be unchanged from 35 yesterday. pH is low and Alkalinity low. Washing soda? How much? My pool is 27 round 52 inch. I have initally added algecide to the water and am wondering if I should do a periodic maintenance dose of that. If so how much and how often? Thanks

[CarlD]

Hi Fish:
1) I would add a box of washing soda, with the filter running, wait an hour, then check pH again. Your pool MAY be 6.8, but it may lower and you won't know until it's 6.9 or better. If it's still below 6.8, put in a second box. wait an hour, and test. At this point I would switch to borax instead of washing soda..your TA should be fine by then.
2) DO NOT USE THE ALGaECIDE! It will only make more problems. The ONLY algaecide we ever suggest using is called Polyquat 60%. If it says "Poly....<something unpronounceable>.... 60%" and has no other active ingredient, that's the stuff. All other algaecides cause more trouble than they are worth. If you use PolyQuat, only use about 1-2 ounces a week--that's all
3) CC=.5 means .5 or less. It should be no problem, especially if your chlorine doesn't drop much overnight. If it does, raise the chlorine up to FC=15 and it should clear it.

Carl

[Fishcrazy]

Thanks a lot Carl. I will get that started today. I sure appreciate all the advice!

[Fishcrazy]

I have been testing regular and until yesterday saw no need to add chlorine. I have been watching the FC fall from 6 at about a point a day till it hit 2.5 and decided to add some stabilized tabs through the floating chlorinator. My purpose here is to figure out how to set the chlorinator to keep the pool chlorinated at a steady level for purposes of extended times away from home. My CYA is at 35 so I can afford to use some of the stabilized tabs and I am watching the levels for any signs of increased levels. As soon as I figure out the settings for the chlorinator Im switching to bleach. Im hoping to be able to cover the pool while I am away with the pump running and the floating chlorinator loaded to keep the pool going for a couple of weeks. Am I just barking at the moon with this plan or what? I just have to be away sometimes. If this is not possible ahen any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. My alk=50 and the pH seems stable at 7.2 and CL=3 up from 2.5 over 2 days of the floating chlorinator at work. I have very little sun on the pool during the day. About 2 hours is all. My CL drops about a point a day it seems with CC=.5 or less. I only get a hint of pink with one drop clearing it. Does anyone make pucks without stabilizer in them? I dont know what I will do if CYA gets too high to use the pucks when Im away. Is there any reason that I should be concerned about the CC=0.5? It seems to be slowly disapating but traces still there. Any thoughts about covering up for 2 weeks at the time while running the pump would be appreciated.

[aylad]

There are pucks without stabilizer in them, but they are cal-hypo and are NOT going to work for what you want. They used to make a good one that was encased in plastic like a medicine capsule, and they worked great, but for some reason they did away with them and the ones they have now just go to mush after a day or so. Won't last long enough for you to do what you want to do.

Keeping the tabs in the chlorinator while you're away, but using bleach while you're at home, is a reasonable plan. Just make sure the floater is tethered so that it can't float over near the pool edge and park itself there--you'll end up with bleached liner from concentrated low pH and high chlorine. I would also consider raising your pH just a bit before you go, just to make sure it doesn't drift below 7.0 while you're gone. If the CYA gets too high, then you can either backwash/refill some of the water to lower it, or just up your chlorine levels to compensate. If you're only using them occasionally, though, I don't think you'll have a problem. The other option would be to add a dose of Polyquat 60, give it a day or so on recirculate, then shock the pool and cover it up--that's what many folks around here do when they're closing for the winter. The worst case is that you may have a little algae when you come back, but that's easily dealt with. My concern would be leaving the pump running for two weeks with no one to check and make sure the skimmer isn't plugged up with something, the water level isn't too low, etc....

Janet

[Fishcrazy]

Thanks for those thoughts Janet. I am planning to cover the pool but leave the pump on when I leave it for any extended time due to the fact that the leaves and pine needles WILL clog the skimmer for sure. Is there any reason I am missing in this thought process to disuade me from doing this? I know that if I developed a slow leak that droped the water down below the skimmer I would be hosed. Maybe a low water switch to cut the pump off in that case? Any ideas out there on the switch?

Maybe I should just do what you suggest with the polyquat 60 and raise the Cl to shock level and shut it down for the time Im away. The other possibility is the neighbor could look after it. I have not approached him about it but they would enjoy having a pool for a couple of weeks Im sure. Just dont know if I should impose on him so much.

Oh well. Any of you that have similar issues I would sure like to hear from you.

[chem geek]

When we go away for more than just a few days we usually have someone stay in our house and we have them add chlorine to the pool. With our mostly opaque electric safety cover, they only need to add chlorine about twice a week.

If we didn't have that option or a neighbor to help, we'd just use Trichlor pucks in a floating feeder. For every 10 ppm Free Chlorine (FC) added by Trichlor, it also increases Cyanuric Acid (CYA) by 6 ppm. So for a week, that's not too much CYA. The Trichlor pucks won't last for much more than a week anyway. If you go on vacation for more than one week, you pretty much have to have someone look after the pool. Those with automatic dosing systems such as The Liquidator or peristaltic pump or saltwater chlorine generator (SWCG) can sometimes go for at least a couple of weeks depending on capacity and whether they use a pool cover.

[Fishcrazy]

Thanks for the info chem geek. This floating feeder Im using is the cheapest thing I have bought for the pool so far. I wonder id there are better ones than this floating turtle or are they all this cheap. Anyhow in one day and a half the Cl level has increased 0.5 ppm. I have the floater set for a 10,000 gal pool and I hav e a 18,000 gal pool. I dont know how much control this adjustable floating dispenser will afford me but if Cl continues to rise at this rate I may have to do something different. Maybe it will not continue to rise but will reach an equilibrium at some acceptable point. We shall see in time. I plan to check the Cl levels daily.

I have read about The Liquidator and think that it may be a good solution. I however have not found a source to purchase one online or otherwise. Could you provide a link for the unit? Thanks so much for your help!