Hello and CYA @ 240-300

[han78216]

Thank you so much for the detailed information. I have been using 6% bleach from Walmart for a month now. I guess I will maintain the chlorine level higher and see if I can reduce CYA level by regular back washing or partially draining pool water.

[han78216]

I did a partial drain and fill on Sat. Now the CYA is around 160.
I added 6% bleach to Chlorine level at 14ppm.

So far it looks pretty good.... And kids are playing in the pool without any complaints.

I might have to do another partial drain because I broke off the pool sweeper connection.
Not sure how to re-pipe under the water.

[PoolDoc]

Ok, good.

Remember that CYA=160 is still high. Folks in dry areas have been able to run levels as low as 5% of CYA successfully, but that means a MINIMUM FC level of 8 ppm. Whether you need higher levels or not depends on how much goo gets in your pool -- it appears that in areas like mine, where there's algae in every puddle and on every leaf, you probably need more chlorine.

[JimK]

Ok, good.

Remember that CYA=160 is still high. Folks in dry areas have been able to run levels as low as 5% of CYA successfully, but that means a MINIMUM FC level of 8 ppm. Whether you need higher levels or not depends on how much goo gets in your pool -- it appears that in areas like mine, where there's algae in every puddle and on every leaf, you probably need more chlorine.

Sounds like your area is similar to mine. What CYA and FC levels do you maintain (or what % of CYA do you keep FC) in your own pool?

Thanks Ben.

[PoolDoc]

I've never really had a personal pool.

My sons swam in a variety of institutional pools while they were competing, and we had access to others as a family. What we all prefer are 25 - 50 yard pools for SWIMMING, and ocean, lake or stream water for PLAYING. My wife would -- she thinks -- enjoy a pool to puddle in, sort of a summer time 'cool tub', but the rest of us get antsy if there's not something to DO, and she wouldn't enjoy it, if we were all trying to escape. We had an Intex one summer for testing, and none of us really liked it -- because we are all actual swimmers, anything less than 50' feels 'tiny'. My sons glide 15' - 20' from the push off, so in most pools they can only take 1 - 2 strokes before they have to turn.

Also, prime pool time, I've always been working 70 - 90 hours per week, and dragging my family alone. Add in summer league swimming, with 2 meets and 4 practices per week, and USS long course (50m) swimming . . . we had ZERO time for personal swimming till fall.

We've occasionally had access to some pretty exotic home pools, and have enjoyed those when we had the time.

My commercial pool customers? I've run them every which way I could, trying different things to get the best results. Currently, my sole remaining local customer is at CYA = ~95ppm (the inspector will dock 2 pts for 100 ppm) and FC = 7 - 15 ppm (accepting the 2 pt penalty).

[han78216]

I took some water to local pool store for testing. Somehow, they came out with CYA=70.

Not sure what that means... I'm going to retest today.
If it's really 70 then I should be able to test without diluting the water first.

[PoolDoc]

It means -- if it's accurate -- that you have enough CYA in your pool without adding more. One way to check is dose with chlorine in the evening, wait, test, and then retest in the AM. If the chlorine doesn't drop much, then you don't have any unusual chlorine demand. Wait again till the following evening, and test again: if it doesn't drop more than 1/3 - 1/2 during a sunny day . . . you have a fair bit of CYA in the pool.

[aylad]

If it's any help, I am in Northwest Louisiana and my pool gets full sun from sunup to sundown and has a pretty heavy bather load from mid April through beginning of Sept--we also have a very warm, humid climate (today's high is 96 degrees, so far)....I keep my CYA at 80-90, and my chlorine in the 8-12 range. No ill effects on the kids, no faded suits or liners, no skin or eye irritation reported.

Janet