Newbie ADDING CYA

[rnjng]

I had a dull pool half of last season and i just opened it for this season to find a cya of 0. That is probably why my water is dull (y/n?). I need to get CYA UP. I thought i had this stuff (chemistry)down, but after looking into this I am confused, AGAIN. Can i safley add cya to raise it? I've been adding bleach for the past 2 days and it holds over night then i lose a little through out the day. ph is at 7.2 and alk was within range when i tested. Thank YOU!!

[Watermom]

I also usually lose all of my cya over the winter and have to add it each spring. But, I don't think that has anything to do with 'dull' water. Add enough cya per package directions to get to an initial level of about 30. You can either put it in a sock or stocking and tie it in front of a return or you can pour it into your skimmer slowly while the pump is running and then let your pump run 24/7 for a few days. That is what I do with my pool. Remember, it can take up to a week for cya to dissolve, so don't backwash (if you add it through the skimmer), test for it or add any more for up to a week. Otherwise, you may think you need more when you don't.

By the way, it is normal to lose some chlorine through the day even if you do have cya in the water. That just means the chlorine is doing its job sanitizing the water. Of course, once the cya is dissolved, your cl will not disappear as fast. For this week until it does dissolve, it is probably best to test your water morning AND evening and each time dose it with bleach. After about a week, you should be able to go to only testing and dosing in the evening. Good luck. Let us know if you have any further questions and we will try and help.

One last thing, keep an eye on your ph. Don't want to let it drop below 7.0. You are OK at 7.2. I typically like to keep mine a little higher --- somewhere between 7.4-7.6.

[rnjng]

Thanks for the response. I was not sure if cya would raise/lower other readings. So i just wanted to make sure b4 i started throwing in cya. And thankyou for the help, AGAIN Watermom.

[rnjng]

I will work on the ph after i get the cya up. So i can just add enough to get to 30. sounds easy enough. here we go.

[rnjng]

So just curious, can you swim while addin stabilizer.

[rnjng]

I also added 3 gallons of bleach to shock, but they are still floating around the pool.

[Watermom]

3 gallons of bleach is a lot for a 24ft AG pool. I also have a 24' ft pool and in my pool, each quart will raise my cl by approximately 1.5 ppm. 3 gallons is 12 qts which in my pool would raise it by about 18ppm. Too high for a pool with a cya of 0. As far as swimming while cya is dissolving --no problem.

[aylad]

So just curious, can you swim while addin stabilizer.

Swimming is no problem, but if you put it in via the skimmer, make sure you don't backwash your filter for at least a week, otherwise you'll wash it all out and have to start over.

Janet