Lowering CYA

[paulmaz]

Hi all,

The CYA in my pool is pretty high, around 70. Was 80 but we had some rain this week. The previous pool owner and pool guy used pucks all the time, and shock that had stabilizer in it.

Question. So we are due for more rain over the next few days. Would it be best for me to drain beforehand some water, and let the rain fill er up, or is it OK to let it get rained on, then drain some. It seems the later would not drain as much of the high CYA water, but just making sure. The risk I run is I drain it some, and find out the weatherman lied to me, and we get no rain.

For those in Texas, specifically South Central Texas, what CYA level do I want to maintain? I thought I saw 30-50. Is that right with the amount of sun I get?

 

[Texas Splash]

Well Paul, first off, I can confirm it WILL rain because I washed my car today. To leave or lower CYA? That is the question. For me personally, I would leave it because on my side of town I get full sun from dawn to dusk. My pool needs that protection. As long as I keep my FC around 6-8, my pool is very happy. You could leave it alone and do the same for now. It will lower over the next few months if you do nothing simply from splashout, rain, and a small amount of breakdown. Our summers are brutal, so a lot depends on the amount of sun you receive. My pool is at 60 right now, and in about a month or two I'll take it up to 70. :sun: Hope that helps.

 

[chesterton]

Guys, I hope this isn't considered Hi-Jacking since I am also in Texas and have the same concerns as you do (Full sun all day and brutal Texas heat).. My CYA is at 45 right now and I thought I would leave it at that level based off the recommendations on this site, but reading above I am rethinking this and thinking maybe letting it creep up to 60 or 70? Anyway, I will keep monitoring this thread to see what everyone recommends for paulmaz...

 

[pabeader]

It really comes down to acceptable FC loss.

 

[paulmaz]

For me, I have a bunch of live oaks, so I don't get dawn to dusk sun. But I do get a good chunk during the day. So when you say acceptable FC loss, what is that? What do we deem as acceptable?

 

[tim5055]

For me, I have a bunch of live oaks, so I don't get dawn to dusk sun. But I do get a good chunk during the day. So when you say acceptable FC loss, what is that? What do we deem as acceptable?

2 - 3 ppm FC per day seems fair. If I loose 2ppm per day I need to add 1/2 bottle of 8.25% to keep it where I want it. As this is my first summer with what we would consider "normal" CYA (I took over the pool with CYA of 250 and have been slowly working it down) I will have to see ho that goes. With the extra rain form the SC floods this year my CYA ended up at 40 with all the draining I had to do.

Give it time and don't add what will be difficult to remove later. Sneak up on the number you want. I've actully been floating tabs on top of my Stenner running to slowly bring the CYA from 40 to 50.

 

[paulmaz]

Thanks everyone. I think I got the idea. Will hold on my current CyA. I took out the floater with the pucks in it, so no more CyA shold be getting added. If it starts getting low, I have a bucket of pucks I bought last month before I knew anything about TFP and CyA!

 

[kimkats]

Good ideas.....now if you travel quite a bit you will want to keep your CYA a little lower so you have room to use pucks while you are gone.

Do NOT use powdered "shock" or such. ONLY liquid bleach/chlorine.

Everything has it's place in a pool. We teach know what you put in your pool and what it does/adds.

Kim:cat:

 

[paulmaz]

Thanks! So, again, a month ago, when I knew nothing, I bought a 25 lb. bucket of Powder Pro Plus from Leslies. It is just 73% Calcium HypoChloride. I used about 1/3 of it before I found this site. Question. This does not add CyA right? Just calcium, and that is bad, but to use this once in a while (at least until it is gone) is that OK?

 

[Pool Tool]

Correct, CalHypo will not add CYA just Calcium. Depending on CH levels and your CSI (calculated in PoolMath) you may or may not have a use for the calcium. You have a plaster pool, so you will need to keep your CH within the suggested ranges.

Seems like you are picking it up fast, but the nice thing is that folks are very eager to help with any questions you might have.

 

[Texas Splash]

And like we always say .... "Every pool is different." What works for a TFP pool around the block may not work for you based on the amount of shade, pool angle, water factors, type of pool, etc, etc. The TFP 30-50range is a good baseline and guide for a majority of folks. But there are some locations, based on their relationship to the angle of the sun in the summer months, that may need a little extra help. Just like Tim above, I too can count on adding exactly 1/2 gallon of 8.25% bleach to my pool each day - cloudy/rainy days less of course. Eventually, you'll find your pool's sweet spot as well. The Poolmath Calculator is a great tool to help with that as well so you know how much bleach is used to match 2-4 ppm.