What to do first? CYA > 200 ppm

[PoolLizard]

Okay, I just completed a cpmplete test of the refilled pool water. Here are the results:

FC 0.5 (10 ml sample)
CC 0.0
pH 8.0
TA 100
CH 100
CYA <30

So, I guess I'll start adding dichlor now.

[PoolLizard]

At 10:00am I added four 1 lb bags of dichlor to the pool.

At 11:00am the water test numbers are:

FC: 10
pH: 7.4
TA: 100
CH: 90
CYA Not tested. I'll wait until tomorrow to test that again. I'm waiting on my 8 oz bottle of R-0013 to arrive in the mail.

So, looks like I need to up the CH a bit.

[PoolLizard]

Okay, 6:00pm water test:

FC: 5
CC: .5
pH: 7.4
TA: 90
CH: 90
CYA: <30

Gonna add some cyanuric acid. All I have at the moment is 20 oz of hth stabilizer, adding that now, will get more later.

[PoolDoc]

Just a heads up: 11lbs of dichlor into 27K gal should give you 24 ppm CYA. But check the Costco dichlor, and make SURE it's undiluted (55% or 61% available chlorine). If it is, you might want to use the dichlor to raise your CYA, rather than buying CYA.

Dichlor, at $2.50/lb (Sams Club price) = $5/lb as stabilizer without considering chlorine. But hard-to-dissolve HTH (or other brand) stabilizer is often sold at $5/lb or MORE. When you consider that a pound of dichlor has about the same chlorine as a $2 0.75 gallon jug of Walmart bleach . . . using dichlor is a very cheap and easy way to add BOTH chlorine and stabilizer.

The primary CAUTION here is that this applies to pure undiluted dichlor, purchased at a good price. That rules out most Lowes, KMart, Walmart and pool store offerings. It also rules out Costco in MY area, but apparently their stock varies from store to store.

The secondary CAUTION is that this "good deal" ONLY applies while you still NEED stabilizer. Using dichlor, after you have enough, chlorine may be an OK deal, but once your near the "TOO MUCH" level, dichlor is a "bad deal"

[PoolLizard]

My "shock" (Di-chlor) from Costco says this on the label:

ACTIVE INGREDIENTS:
Sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione.... 58.2%
OTHER INGREDIENTS.................41.8%
TOTAL INGREDIENTS.................100.0%

How do I know if it's UNdiluted dichlor?

I now have an 8 oz bottle of R-0013 reagent, so I'm going to keep testing the CYA level about every other day while I'm adding the dichlor. I don't want to overshoot the target and have to refill the pool again. Taking it cautiously while still maintaining the FC at 7 - 10 ppm.

Is this stuff a good price? Even at their sale price, it seems a little pricey to me.
http://tinyurl.com/l5fk6mv

[PoolDoc]

It's heavily diluted dichlor -- pure dichlor would be:

Sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione.... 98% (or higher)
OTHER INGREDIENTS.................2% (or lower)
TOTAL INGREDIENTS.................100.0%

If you look, you'll probably find the "available chlorine %" -- I'm guessing it will be in 25 - 35% range, instead of 55 - 61% as it should be.

Here's what I've been posting for dichlor:

PoolBrand granular dichlor 50lbs @ Sams Club => ~$2.50/lb (Jul 2013 in Chattanooga)
PoolBrand dichlor bagged shock 24lbs @ Sams Club => ~$2.50/lb (Jul 2013 in Chattanooga)

Kem-Tek dichlor 22 lbs @ Amazon => ~$3.60/lb (Jul 2013)
Kem-Tek dichlor 12 lbs @ Amazon => ~$4.00/lb (Jul 2013)
Kem-Tek dichlor 5 lbs @ Amazon => ~$4.50/lb (Jul 2013)
Kem-Tek dichlor 2 lbs @ Amazon => ~$6.50/lb (Jul 2013)

Nava dichlor Chlorinating Shock 1lb @ Amazon => ~$4.99/lb (Jul 2013)

Keep in mind that Amazon products normally ship free; and that in many parts of the country, you will not have to pay sales tax. Shipping + tax can increase the cost from other suppliers by 15 - 40%, so compare delivered cost, not nominal price.

The prices above compare very favorably to 'wholesale' prices. My local SCP (wholesaler) would match the Sams Club price for me if I asked, but I don't, because he'd lose money doing so -- I just buy from Sams, myself.

Pool Water Products is a wholesaler in the S. Florida, perhaps the MOST competitive pool pricing market, with many pool stores selling commercial bleach. PWP's Sept 2013 sales flyer shows per pound prices for dichlor, ranging from $2.65/lb (50#) to $3.40 (12x2# case). As you can see, Sams Club -- selling retail -- is cheaper. Amazon is only slightly more, but if you don't pay shipping or tax for delivery to your location, will be about the same price.

For reference, 1lb of dichlor di-hydrate (55% avail. chlorine) is approximately equivalent to 7/8 gallon of 8.25% household bleach in chlorine content.