CYA and Alkalinity

[Mamak23]

Hello! I am new to this site and just looking around it is awesome! I had pool water tested today at local pool store and the readings were as follows:

Free Chlorine 0.3
Total Chlorine 4.18
Combined Chlorine 3.88
CYA 89
PH 7.4
Hardness 308
Alkalinity 113
Adjusted Alkalinity 83
Copper 0
Iron 0
Phosphate 494

I have an above ground 15x30 oval pool, 4 feet deep.

I was reading about CYA and realized it's high. I have chlorine tabs and a frogger system but I do not want the CYA to go up any higher...not sure what to do???

Also I'm not sure what the difference is between alkalinity and adjusted alkalinity. The readout I was given says adjusted alkalinity is low but alkalinity is fine. Please help!

 

[Mr Bruce]

Pool store testing is terrible. If it were me I would do the following in order.

Remove tabs and frogger
Order a test kit (see sig)
Fill out your signature
Add half a gallon of bleach a day until your test kit came (with the pump running)
Read this Pool School - Getting Started
Post results when kit arrives.

 

[Texas Splash]

Hello and welcome to TFP! If you want the down & dirt of it all, I'll be glad to try and help. Here we go:
1. You MUST test your own water. Those readings are practically useless to us because we know pool store testing is almost always inaccurate. Shameful but true. See the TF-100 link in my sig below.
2. Tablets and supplemental systems (i.e. Frogger) introduce other products to your water that cause more problems (high CYA, metals, etc) than the little amount of sanitation they profess to achieve. I would suggest removing those from service and relying solely on regular liquid bleach (chlorine) for your sanitary needs.
3. When CYA exceeds about 80 ppm, we start to suggest a partial drain of water. Water exchange is the only way to reduce CYA.
4. With the TF-100, you will be able to accurately test FC, CC, pH, TA, CYA, and CH. That's all you need.

Everything you need to do to treat your water starts with the correct test kit and some very basic household chemicals. I would also recommend clicking on the links you see below in my sig as you will refer to them daily. Great to have you with us.

 

[Mamak23]

Thank you so much! I am so stressed because the kids want to swim but I've been messing with chemicals for days. I wish I would've known about this site before i started. Also wish I would've known that the frog system is a scam before we bought it...shame on us! I feel like I'm just learning to care for a new pet!

 

[Texas Splash]

You're not alone. We were all there once, that's why we do this ... to help.