Trouble with CYA test - water remains clear

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J

jcmccorm

0
Aug 1, 2016
5
Madison, Alabama
Hey folks, I just got a new vinyl pool liner and filled the pool up with tap water (city water). It filled up last night and I performed the first test just now (next afternoon). Everything looks good except for the CYA.

When I mix the pool water with the R-0013, wait 30 seconds, mix and then pour into the tube, the mixed sample is perfectly clear. There is no amount that I can pour in there to make the black dot fade out. This would mean that my CYA levels are through the roof right?

The R-0013 reagent is only 3 years old (or so) so I'm not sure that it's gone bad. Surely the water from the city should have 0 CYA right?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Cary
 
Thank you for your response.

You are correct and I have made an error. I *assumed* that the CYA levels indicated on the side of the tube went *up* as the level goes up. They go *down* though. This would indicate that my CYA level is close to zero, which is what I would expcet. My bad. Sorry folks. You'd think I'd never done this before. <sigh>

Cary
 
Time to get some stabilizer in a sock in front of a return. If you knead the sock it will dissolve quicker. Still need to give it a few days from the time it fully dissolves from the sock until you retest.
 

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Kiss4aFrog said:
Time to get some stabilizer in a sock in front of a return. If you knead the sock it will dissolve quicker. Still need to give it a few days from the time it fully dissolves from the sock until you retest.
Click to expand...

I second this post!! This is what I did (I actually put two socks in one on each return jet) and even kneaded both for about 5 mins each, they were both dissolved in about 20-25 mins.
 
If it's in the skimmer basket it's going directly to the filter and sitting there until it dissolves into something small enough to pass through. IF . . . you need to do a backflush within a couple days of adding the CYA some of it might be going out the discharge pipe. If you put it in front of a return it's likely at the bottom of the pool and you're not going to lose it. Can take up to a week for it to completely dissolve which is why they recommend waiting a week to re-test CYA. That way you're not going to get a false reading and saves on using up the reagent.
 
I don't backwash as I have a paper cartridge filter and I remember not to open it up and hose it down (which I only do a couple of times per year) within a week or so of adding CYA.
 

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Kiss4aFrog said:
Time to get some stabilizer in a sock in front of a return. If you knead the sock it will dissolve quicker. Still need to give it a few days from the time it fully dissolves from the sock until you retest.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I didn't think of that. Won't I get stabilizer from using regular shock?

I know I need it, but the reason I replaced the liner when I did was because I got into trouble with CYA. It was too high. I started the process of replacing water but decided that if I need to replace a *lot* of water then I may as well pull the trigger on the new liner. I'm gun-shy of CYA now :) and was thinking that I could eventually get it where it needs to be with shock and then switch to bleach. Too slow?

Cary
 
thinking that I could eventually get it where it needs to be with shock and then switch to bleach. Too slow?
Click to expand...
You can certainly do that if you dose, test, and manage your pool correctly. We don't find folks that always do that very well so TFP "official" suggestion is to adjust CYA with CYA and adjust chlorine with chlorine. Moving two parameters at once seems to cause issues but you are certainly welcome to so that if you feel you can do it properly.
 
Using the shock to add to your CYA is a slower process but it's a good way to use up any you have on hand. If you don't already have it I sure wouldn't buy it, just get dedicated stabilizer.

You don't need to worry about getting into trouble with it as long as you understand where it's coming from and that it takes a while for it to dissolve and show up on a test.
 
Kiss4aFrog said:
Using the shock to add to your CYA is a slower process but it's a good way to use up any you have on hand. If you don't already have it I sure wouldn't buy it, just get dedicated stabilizer.

You don't need to worry about getting into trouble with it as long as you understand where it's coming from and that it takes a while for it to dissolve and show up on a test.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much guys!

I should have said as much but yes, I have shock on hand and want to use it up. After my CYA debacle, I'm sticking to the TFP way when the shock is gone.

Cary
 
I did something similar... My CYA was <20 and I had extra tabs (maybe 12-15 3" tabs) so I used them up. Then retested after about a week or so after using the last ones and it wasn't as significant a change... Maybe 20 instead of <20.

But now that those are gone, I do ha e dedicated CYA and liquid chlorine.
 
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