CYA 230, replaced 1/2 of water...now 217???

[Donna's Poolboy]

I'm not the expert on this forum, but on the Chlor Brite website, it says: "Has a built-in stabilizer (conditioner or cyanuric acid)." As you probably know, cyanuric acid is CYA. Depending on how much you used when you shocked the pool, you may had added the CYA right back in.

I have a high CYA level right now (it's a little over 100). Using only bleach, I've been keeping the free chrloine level at 10 ppm and the water has stayed clear.

You say your chlorine level is 10 ppm. Is that total chlorine or free chlorine?

[waterbear]

two observations.
Pool stores will tell you that high cya levels are not a problem so they can sell you all sorts of copper algecies and clarifeirs when your pool turns green and they don't want to lose the very lucarive profits they make on trichlor and dichlor!

Testing for CYA is not accurate at levels much over 80 ppm and the sample needs to be diluted and tested to get an accurate result. If you dilute a sample of your pool water with 3 parts distilled water and multiply the test results by 4 you will get a more accurate reading on your CYA level. (assuming your cya is above 200 ppm). Also, from what I have heard, cya CAN deposit on the pipes and in the filter when the levels are very high and it is possible that as the levels drop more is redissolving into your water!

[CandyMoss]

Donnas Poolboy: OH NO! So much for trusting the pool store and not reading the labels. Why would the pool store reccommend this knowing that my CYA is high??? Oh yeah...to make a buck...they're gonna make more than that when I visit them tomorrow As for the 10ppm level - it's Free Chlorine.

waterbear - thanks for the dilution suggestion - I'll try that and see where it ends up. Either way - it looks like I just spent a bunch of cash on water and accomplishing nothing.

What still puzzles me is that my water is crystal clear.

[waterbear]

As far as chlorine levels go I can tell you that in the State of Florida is is permissable to keep a public pool open with FC levels up to 10 ppm!

[Donna's Poolboy]

- it looks like I just spent a bunch of cash on water and accomplishing nothing.

What still puzzles me is that my water is crystal clear.

Spending a bunch of cash and accomplishing nothing is the reason I found this forum...probably the reason A LOT of people wound up here!

I don't know what to tell you as far as the rash/itchy skin. If your water is clear and you're running 10 ppm then you're doing something right! In your first water test, your CL level was 1.3 ppm. After the drain it was 10. How long have you been running it at the higher level?

You probably don't want to hear this, but you might have to do another water drain. I read on here that someone used a large piece of plastic while draining and refilling. The new water was kept separate from the old by the plastic. That way he was draining only water with high CYA while still adding new water. It also kept from "floating" the pool. (That's assuming your pool is in-ground.)

[rbonin]

candy - you have gotten some good advice from these folks. Don't fear the higher CL levels required when your CYA is high. Without this higher level I would expect a green pool, so I too cannot offer an explanation as to why yours is clear. I agree that you need to get your CYA down (to reduce CL costs if nothing else) and there is no way to do this other than a water drain and replace. Try the dilution idea to get a good CYA level reading that you have confidence in, and if it is over about 60ppm, consider another water change. I would not drain more than 1/3 of your volume at one time, to avoid the possibility of "pool floating".

Also, stop using stabilized chlorine... it will just lead to a reoccurrence of this problem. Plain unscented bleach works great.

~Rick~

[rbonin]

Also, from what I have heard, cya CAN deposit on the pipes and in the filter when the levels are very high and it is possible that as the levels drop more is redissolving into your water!

waterbear, are you saying that the pool store guy that I called a knucklehead might actually have a point ? Maybe changing his sand would help reduce CYA? Please say it ain't so .

~Rick~

[waterbear]

waterbear, are you saying that the pool store guy that I called a knucklehead might actually have a point ? Maybe changing his sand would help reduce CYA? Please say it ain't so .

~Rick~

Like I said I have heard it from a few different sources. Don't know if it's true but it certainly might be. This case here is either proof or is just inaccurate testing because the sample wasn't diluted and the concentration was so high.

[CandyMoss]

I tried the dillution method waterbear suggested, by taking 1 part pool water and 3 parts distilled water. The CYA then came to 35, then multiplied by 4, so according to this reading my CYA is 140. This is way more in line of what I would've expected after the water change. I'm still puzzled by the pool store's reading, but it makes sense if high CYA becomes inaccurate to read.

Thanks everyone - I'm taking my first "test-swim" this weekend, in 10ppm of FC, so I'll let you know if the initial problem, the rash, is solved....if I don't return though...I hope it's not from Chlorine Intoxication

[rollinrock]

I'm new her too but last year I had the same problem and emptied pool to no avail. I went to a different pool store and guy said to put in 10 to 15 gals of bleach. I did that and no problems since.