Buying big bucket of CYA or just as much as you need.

[Gretzky99]

I bought 8 lbs in June for my 30,000 gal pool to bring the level from zero to...i think 50? I forgot.
Now it is at 30..maybe a bit less. Only one more month left in the summer. Does the level stay consistant over the winter? Should I just buy a bigger bucket so I have some for Spring if I decide to add a little now.

[Watermom]

CYA levels sometimes remain the same through the winter but not always. There is no way to tell. If you decide to buy some more CYA now, whatever you don't use will keep til next season. I often keep a container from one year to the next and it is just fine. I keep it in the basement where it is cool.

[JimK]

I usually buy it in quantity because its cheaper per pound that way. I've never had an issue keeping it over the winter for use the next season.

Your cya may or may not stay level over the winter. There are bacteria that will eat it. I've had some winters where cya didn't drop much if at all, and others where cya was completely gone by spring.

If cya does get eaten up over the winter, be aware it will take alot of chlorine to burn up the byproducts when you open in the spring.

[Watermom]

If cya does get eaten up over the winter, be aware it will take alot of chlorine to burn up the byproducts when you open in the spring.

This is not always true. I typically open to clear water and no CYA but do not have the big chlorine demand. This has been true for my pool for many years. Not sure why, but glad!

[JimK]

This is not always true. I typically open to clear water and no CYA but do not have the big chlorine demand. This has been true for my pool for many years. Not sure why, but glad!

Interesting. I wish I could say the same. No cya in the spring means lots of CL for my pool in the spring. At least thanks to the people here I now know what's going on. The first year it happened I couldn't figure out where the cya went and why I my pool was eating CL like candy!

I just had a thought....do I remember correctly you don't cover your pool in the winter? I wonder if that makes the difference, perhaps allowing the byproducts to be broken down by the sun and released into the atmosphere?

[Watermom]

You are remembering correctly. I do not cover my pool in the winter.

[Gretzky99]

Thanks all..I'm sure it's okay to keep chemicals in the shed..?...I thought using the HTH stabilzing chlorine tablets would help keep the level up...but it has rained quite a bit lately and when it didn't the water level dropped and i had to put the garden hose in.

[JimK]

Thanks all..I'm sure it's okay to keep chemicals in the shed..?...I thought using the HTH stabilzing chlorine tablets would help keep the level up...but it has rained quite a bit lately and when it didn't the water level dropped and i had to put the garden hose in.

I keep my chemicals in the shed, making sure containers are closed tightly. The only exception is muriatic acid, which I keep in a covered plastic garbage can outside the shed. The reason for this is fumes from the bottles was escaping and starting to corrode the metal shelving in the shed.

[mas985]

According to chem geek there are two things that will degrade CYA, certain bacteria and shock levels of chlorine. Bacteria can occur during winterizing and the shock levels are often present at opening.

If interested, you can read more about it here: Degradation of CYA

[JimK]

According to Chemgeek there are two things that will degrade CYA, certain bacteria and shock levels of chlorine. Bacteria can occur during winterizing and the shock levels are often present at opening.

If interested, you can read more about it here: Degradation of CYA

Interesting. I didn't know shock levels of CL also degraded CYA.

Always learning something here.