Sudden loss of CYA

Jump to latest Follow Reply
F

flpoolnoob

0
Apr 29, 2013
4
Hey everyone! I have been following the instructions in the article about turning my green swamp into a sparkling oasis and I have ran into a possibly weird predicament....Once I brought the pool up to shock level I was testing the water ALOT and I always maintained a 40 ppm CYA level and followed all of the guidelines for chlorine levels, etc... The water is now crystal clear (FINALLY) but my last test results showed 0 TC, 0 FC, 7.6 pH, 120 TA, 425 CH, 5 CYA, and 4600 TDS... I know the CH and TDS are high but my question is this...
What happened to my CYA??? I thought that it only went away due to dilution? I was so concerned that I went to the local store and they tested it 4 times and got the same results...Can anyone explain what might be happening?

BTW...No noticeable splash out and definitely no refill/rain...we did swim for the first time this year between tests if that matters...

Thanks for any help!!!
 
:wave: Welcome to TFP!!!

I am a little confused, you said you are following the Swamp article and presumably the shock process as described in Pool School. Yet, the test kits we recommend do not report TDS and the minimum on the CYA test is 20ppm. So what kit are you using exactly to get your test results?

Have you seen any higher levels of CC?
 
As a home renter, I admittedly have not purchased a recommended test kit, but instead I was using the test strips left by the owner to make sure I was above shock level for FC and I was at the pool store each day during the shock to get more accurate readings (TC, FC, CC, pH, TA, CH, CYA, TDS). once I was sure achieved total algae death I started to allow the FC levels to drop and went 3 days without a pool store test, again using the test strips to watch general FC levels...The strips give ranges but appeared reasonably accurate when cross checked against the pool store test, leading me to believe that the results were reliable...When I saw that my CYA went below it's previously maintained level I went to the pool store and it was confirmed there...
 
I am not sure which is worse, test strips or pool store testing. I would certainly not trust the CYA level from either source.

You can get the CYA test in the cheaper HTH test kit from Walmart, but you will still be lacking the FAS-DPD chlorine test (which is required for the shock process, so not sure how well you managed that ... might have saved the cost of the test kit in reduced chemicals if done properly).
 
Fair points and I will most definitely invest in a good kit the second I close on my new house...but, why after so many consistent results from both tests...might it suddenly fall?

Or are you guys just politely saying that it cant fall like that without dilution and that I am using bad tests...?haha
 
CYA does not go anywhere unless you replace water. Or ... you get the magic bacteria that convert it into ammonia ... but that is something that happens over the winter sometimes and not in the middle of clearing out the pool.

So, we have no way of explaining your observations besides relying on past experience which says test strips are bad. ;)
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply