CYA and Aquarite

[bethsg]

Ok, I know this question has been answered before, but I can't seem to find it or recall. Why does the Aquarite suggest CYA to be at 60-80, 80 is best, with our FC only being at 1-3. Doesn't FC have to higher with higher CYA?

[tphaggerty]

Good question. I have an Aquarite and keep the CYA at around 60+. I have found that I have to keep my FC up in the 4 to 5 range in order to prevent algae growth, especially when it rains and stuff gets washed into the pool. If I let it drop to the recommended 1 to 3, the pool becomes easily "upset" by extra bather load or bioload from stuff blowing in. Then I have to shock with bleach or superchlorinate to prevent or beat back cloudiness.

Keeping the FC at 4 or 5 isn't an issue (I run at about 35% for about 12 hours total a day into a 28k gallon IG pool), it is just an interesting question about whether the 1 to 3 recommendation is sufficient.

[p.p.h.]

I wouldnt run it with that low of chlorine. I ran mine with 80ppm cya and FC at 5 for a long time with no problems but as soon as I got kids in the pool for a long time, their eyes started burning and the water would get a slight cloudiness and I could smell the chlorine alot. My CC went up past .5 after one weekend. I shocked it and now I keep my FC at 8-10ppm and no more burning eyes and no more cloudiness of chlorine smell after alot of swimmers. Next season Im gonna run a lower amount of CYA maybe 30-40 and see if I can get away with running a FC of about 4-5ppm.

[Poolsean]

I would suggest that the FC/Cya combination is not causing the burning eyes. This is purely coincidental. What was your pH level?
It's possible for the CC to increase and cause the cloudiness and maybe some irritation, but it's not the whole cause of it.
I would also suggest boosting the chlorine level of the pool whenever you have an idea that the pool will be used for any extended lengths of time by alot of kids. Cloudy water and increased CC will result whether this was a salt pool or regular bleach pool.
Your increase to 8 - 10 ppm, while working for you, is not necessary. Just maintain the lower chlorine residual as you have been, and boost it up prior to parties. No need wearing out the cell prematurely by maintaining a higher residual, which ultimately means higher output = shorter life.
Keep your cya at 60 - 80 ppm, maintain 3-5 ppm ( I actually maintain 2-3ppm) and boost your system prior to a party.
Thats MY version of the bbb approach to keeping the water clear.

[waterbear]

I do the same thing that Poolsean said with my Aqualogic and I have not had any problems! His advice is excellent! My CYA stays between 60 and 80 and I run the FC in my pool at around 2-3 ppm and 3-4 in my spa. If I know the pool or spa is going to get some heavy use I add a bit of bleach to boost the FC beforehand and I have yet to have had the need to shock ( based on having CC over .5 ppm)

[pj1016]

I agree; I keep my CYA around 50, and the FC around 3-5 via the Aquarite SWG.

pj

[tphaggerty]

Evan,

When you say "a bit of bleach", what exactly does that mean. I have been running my Aquarite at 60-80 CYA and FC 2 to 4 (awaiting Ben's kit for more precise measures). I have had several "upsets" this season already, one due to a high & long bather load, the other due to rain and junk blown into the pool.

In both cases, I recovered using bleach to shock back to clear water. But I now find myself running more on the FC 4 to 5 range to avoid getting in that situation to begin with. Which I think is OK, but is not the range recommended by Aquarite.

[waterbear]

Evan,

When you say "a bit of bleach", what exactly does that mean.
I normally run my pool at 2-3 ppm FC and my spa at 3-4. If I want to bump it up for expected heavy useI raise the FC in my pool to about 5 ppm and my spa to about 6-8 ppm by using BleachCalc to see how much bleach I have to add based on my current FC level. Usually in the neighborhood of 4 cups for my pool and 2 oz for my spa.
I have been running my Aquarite at 60-80 CYA and FC 2 to 4 (awaiting Ben's kit for more precise measures). I have had several "upsets" this season already, one due to a high & long bather load, the other due to rain and junk blown into the pool.

In both cases, I recovered using bleach to shock back to clear water. But I now find myself running more on the FC 4 to 5 range to avoid getting in that situation to begin with. Which I think is OK, but is not the range recommended by Aquarite.

hope this helps. BTW, I very rarely have to do this....only if I KNOW there are going to be a lot of people in the pool or spa, such as at a party.

[waste]

When I am caring for one of the ~50 SWCG pool's we've sold, I tie the CYA to the salt at a ratio of 1:100 to get a cya level 30-40. The Goldline/ Hayward models we use indicate when more salt is required and add an appropriate amount of cya when we add the salt. If anyone is interested in reading my rant on the cya levels for salt go to the "CHINA SHOP" (off topic and general intrest area) and look for the post I started. I'll try to link it in a minute.

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=1409