Should I increase CYA?

Jump to latest Follow Reply
B

Branch Fly

0
Aug 12, 2013
41
South Louisiana
I am a little over a week into my new AGP and I'm using the TFP method. I run my 150 sq ft cartridge filter on low for 3.5 hours in the morning and 5 hours at night. My numbers are as follows:

pH- 7.5
TA- 80
CYA- 30
Water Temp is 72

I've been using my target for FC at 5 and hitting it with no problems. My pool is getting sun most of the day. If it's sunny my FC will be 3 by night time and I'll add 23 ounces of 8.25% and get it back to 5. If it's overcast it will be stay 5 for a day (and I'll add nothing) then back to 3. Is this normal to add 23 ounces of 8.25% most days or should I increase the CYA to say 40?

Also, I'll be away for 4 to 5 days in a few weeks. Should I raise it to slam level before leaving or is there something else I should do?

Thanks in advance for the help.
 
Your FC consumption looks to be normal. You may lose 3ppm to the sun when we get into the heart of the summer. Raising your CYA level to 40 will help with burn off from the sun. I keep my CYA level at 40 and my pool gets sun 10 hrs a day.
One thing you could do when your going to be away is use some pucks in a floater. You'll get the chlorine and a small increase in CYA. Pool math will tell you how much CYA each puck would add. Just check your PH as there are acidic and can lower your PH.
SLAM level of 12ppm FC would be pushing it for 4-5 days if your losing 2 ppm a day when it's sunny. You could go a little higher than the SLAM level. The SLAM level for a CYA of 40 is 16 which could work. Do you have a solar cover ? That will help with FC loss if you go the SLAM level route. Not sure how much help but might help some. Another route would be have somebody look after the pool for ya.
 
Without knowing what size pool you have we can't say if 23oz is normal or not. If you have a 10,000 gallon pool it's on the low side of normal, but if you have a 1,000 gallon pool you're losing way too much.

It's nice to put your equipment info in your sig so that it's available every time you post so we can see what we're dealing with.

Now, having said that, I would probably raise it to about 40 or 50 ppm a little later in the year (about June) given your location. Right now it's still cool enough that 30 ppm is fine.
 
Thanks for the responses. I have a 7600 gallon AGP. I'll be sure to update my signature.

As far as a floater and the puck while I'm out of town, I can buy a 3" trichlor puck at the local big box stores. Will one be enough for say 4 to 5 days? The floater opening is adjustable. How wide do I open it?

Thanks again.
 
I highly doubt one tablet would last for 4 to 5 days.

The only way to know how far to open it is by trial and error. Put it in, set the opening, then test and adjust until you get it to hold the FC you need it to.
 
Branch Fly said:
Also, I'll be away for 4 to 5 days in a few weeks. Should I raise it to slam level before leaving or is there something else I should do?

Thanks in advance for the help.
Click to expand...

Short answer, it is pretty early in the season to be using 2 ppm in a day. Try an overnight Chlorine loss test to see if there is anything growing in the pool. You might need to SLAM it before you take off on your trip.

The trip may give you the easy choice to use tablets while you are gone to maintain the pool if you can keep the CYA a bit low until then. I suggest (this is what I'm going to do) determining how much chlorine you will need to add for the total number of days you will be gone. Then use the Pool Calculator to determine how many tablets that will be for your trip. Then, knowing that you will want to be at CYA 50 by the time it gets good and hot, like June, figure out what CYA you want to have now vs the start of your trip. So, the tablets can manage the pool while you are gone. Then, just for insurance, use liquid chlorine to bring the pool up to the top of normal range before you go, or maybe even near to shock level, given the starting CYA level. I find that when chlorine levels are high, the tablets seem to dissolve slower, maybe it is my imagination.

For me, I am nearly at CYA 20 right now (!) but I have a long-ish trip coming up and, well, gee, if I wanted to end at CYA 50, um, that'd be about right to use tablets the whole time. What a dilemma. My pool is still cool like yours, at 72 degrees and it has been holding chlorine amazingly well give that CYA -- though it had been cloudy and cold. That may change in the next few weeks. So, I'm debating; raise CYA now and have someone dumping bleach for me, or hold that for the trip and use tablets the whole time.
 

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