it seems to me like there are a ton of issues with CYA

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wayner

wayner

LifeTime Supporter
May 31, 2012
829
Toronto, ON
Pool Size
100000
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Jandy Aquapure 1400
I too am having problems getting enough CYA in my pool this year - I have added way more than in past years. I haven't been around these forums for too long but it seems to me like there are a ton of issues with CYA - has that been the case every year? Or is there something environmental going on? Or is it like Woodstock "The brown acid is bad, man!".
 
Please be more specific. Are you saying you are having to add CYA to maintain a specific level? Help us understand better.

While I don't think there is anyone on the forum that is employed by a CYA manufacturer, we sure like specifics so we can identify any trends that might be worth noting.

TFPC is all about repeatability in testing, accuracy in testing and an understanding of what the test results mean.
 
Last year I bought 4lbs. from a pool store and put the whole bucket in my pool and got zero results. I waited the recommended time to (two weeks) to test and still nothing. I waited another two week and it actually went down. I went to another pool store chain and bought a bag of CYA an put it in the pool and two weeks later my CYA was up 10 points. This was 6 weeks after the initial batch. Some don't agree but I think I got hold of some bad CYA maybe you did as well. Since then I have only bought the bag CYA and have seen upward movement every time.
 
My data point is, unfortunately, not very exact since I wasn't expecting any problems. My pool opened in 2007 or 8 - I can't remember the exact year. I have a Jandy Aquapure SWCG and after my pool was opened each year I would generally just have to add a couple of bags of salt and a few pounds of CYA. Then, assuming no issues with the SWCG, I had very little to do all summer - I would use test strips once a week or so and occasionally take a sample to the pool shop. (A couple of years ago I replaced the salt cell which seems to correspond to a 5 year life span)

This year I did what I described above but the pool shop said no CYA. So I added another 1.75kg bucket of CYA, still nothing so then another 800g or CYA tabs (blue pucks) and bought myself a Taylor test kit, which I got late last week. I still get no discernible CYA - my wife took a sample to the pool shop and they also said still no CYA. So last Friday/Saturday I added another 1.75kg of CYA. In a few days I will test to see if I am making any progress. But I have added a ton more of CYA than I have ever had to add in the past and the testing still shows no CYA. I am now loggin my tests and chemical additions in a spreadsheet.

My SWCG is on the fritz as well, but that is a separate issue.
 
But I have added a ton more of CYA than I have ever had to add in the past and the testing still shows no CYA.
Click to expand...
The most logical thing I can draw from that is inaccurate testing which pool stores and strips are well known for.

I would suggest not adding more CYA until you find out what happened to what you have already put in. It doesn't just go away. I think you will find the error in either the poor testing or, less likely but still possible, bogus CYA that someone is selling you.
 
So I put the 1.75 kg of CYA in two socks hanging over the water returns. It was dissolved by Saturday morning. When would you suggest that I retest for CYA? This Saturday after a week to dissolve?

I don't want to test too often as my Taylor kit is only good for about 6 tests and I have already used one. I guess that means I should by some more reagents - but they really should put more of the CYA reagents in the kits, especially in the Canadian kits that sell for $130+
 
This is one of the reasons that we recommend the TF-100 the quantity of reagents makes more sense ... although I know that does not help out neighbors to the north.

Test it again Saturday. What is the volume of your pool (add it to your signature)?
 
So you expect that stabilizer to add about 18ppm of CYA?

I have to agree with Dave that you are kind of acting blindly if you are trusting test strips and/or pool store testing for you CYA results.

You would be well served to invest in one of the Recommended Test Kits and start trusting your own numbers.
 
I have bought a Taylor kit and my initial test showed 0 CYA, or at least less than 30. Perhaps I have always been running blind and I was always low on CYA but it never caused me issues in the past.
 

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OK, was the test cloudy at all or crystal clear?
I would test on Saturday and see where you are at, although if you were very low, then you still may be too low to get a good reading.

Ideally you want to get up closer to 70ppm eventually.
 
The test water was still very clear - not quite crystal but it wasn't close to obscuring the black dot even at the top reading level.
 
My CYA is getting hard to get the numbers up also this year. So far i have added 3 gallons of the liquid and 10lbs. of the granular. At a 60 now with all of that added in a 17,200 gallon pool.
 
Are you buying all your CYA from the same source? Most dry CYA is 99%+ strength, but some is diluted to only 50%, and I think I recall a situation a few years back with bogus CYA on the market that tested out at 0%.
 
I too add and add CYA, and the Taylor kit always says "30 ppm"...I really despise this test. Can't there be a color-change style test, rather than this vague "obscures the black dot" test?

Attached are photos of this test at 30ppm, 40ppm, and 70ppm levels on the tube. At the desired 70ppm, that black dot just stares you in the face, I can never hope to achieve 70ppm, it seems.

Is there an easier-to-read test? BTW: The evil pool store test says I am fine at 70ppm, but I just don't trust them, as they give poor chemical advice in general.
 

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