Pool stabilizer. Best way to increase CYA.

[FLHOKIE]

What is the best way to increase CYA? It is 55 and needs to be about 75. Other readings: FC=5.5 pH=7.8 Acid Demand=2 TA=80 CH=425 (tap water=100). salt=3300.

I plan to let FC drop to 4 and then add stabilizer but not sure what stabilizer to use. pool calculator says I need to add a quart of stabilizer.

 

[dmanb2b]

Liquid stabilizer is quickest, but most expensive. Powder form works just as well and cheaper, just switch the pool calculator to weight to detrmine amount add it to a sock and hang in front of one of your returns

 

[anonapersona]

I found that I preferred the HTH stabilizer because it was easier to dissolve when hung in a sock in front of a jet. It was gone in an hour or two, with a gentle squeeze of the sock now and again. The other brand from a pool store was much harder baked and took a long long time to dissolve. I cannot recall the brand, but there were instructions regarding adding acid to the pool to reduce the pH to some lower value.

 

[UnderWaterVanya]

The powder in a sock in front of a return is the most commonly recommended method. Other options include using dichlor shock powder or trichlor pucks. In both of these cases you'd have to watch the chlorine levels since you don't want to over do it. Both would also help bring the pH down so you could kill two birds with one stone but it's really a matter of what you want to babysit. If you put the powder in a sock, you need to squeeze it several times a day to speed it up - but it's a once and done thing - you know how much to add and you add it all at once and eventually it is ditributed into the pool.

With Trichlor or Dichlor you have to calculate how quickly you can add these to avoid over chlorinating the water - and driving the pH too far down - but with a puck feeder that's not too hard for the Trichlor at least. For Dichlor over time that means adding about 4 lbs of dichlor; for Trichlor it's more like 59 oz - which is a little more than 7 of the 8 oz pucks (the weight varies so check if you use this method). Personally, I would probably just load the tablet feeder with 7 of them and let them slowly dissolve while watching the pH and overall chlorine levels but this is just preference not a strong recommendation.

No matter what method you choose you can use your test kit to keep on top of it and ensure you aren't flying blind.