Proper method of adding CYA?

[RobbieH]

My pool is at 0 CYA. It's going to take 11 lbs of granulated CYA just to bring it to 30. I want to start by adding 5 lbs of CYA, check after a week, then go from there. My understanding is to put it in warm water, stir it around, remove strainer basket, and pour in, still in granulated form. Is this correct? 5 lbs into my sand filter isn't going to hurt anything, right?

 

[ROB N]

From what I know (which is not much). You should put CYA into a Stocking or sock and hang it in front of a return. You can squeeze it every now and then to help with the dissolving...

 

[RobbieH]

I'm still googling and reading up. Looks like this converastion can be the source of heated debate.

My returns are probably going to just push the sock away and let it hang against the side of the pool. I'm now considering putting the CYA in a sock and putting that into the skimmer basket, so as to not block up the pump basket.

I can't get the stuff to dissolve in a bucket of warm water like the instructions say.

 

[orthofish]

I just put mine in socks and dangle in front of the return with a rope. You can tie the rope off to a chair or something. Squeezing them occassionally will help.

 

[chem geek]

I use an old T-shirt that I put in the skimmer and then add CYA to it. That usually gets it all dissolved overnight (I keep the pump running for this process). Note that I have floor drains and the skimmer has a bypass line into the pool which is important so that plugging up the skimmer doesn't cause any problems.

 

[RobbieH]

I have the same, a floor drain and a bypass, so I should be good. It seems to be dissolving pretty quickly. It has taken the pressure in the filter up pretty high, will that go down as it dissolves in the filter or am I stuck with it? I certainly don't want to backwash after getting it in there!

 

[JasonLion]

Adding CYA can sometimes have a temporary effect on the filter pressure. Most likely it will come down by tomorrow.

 

[RobbieH]

Great news! Thanks!