I'm getting ready for the CYA stage of my Baqua to BBB (hopefully tomorrow).

On the Recommended Pool Chemicals portion of the site, it says "Solid stabilizer is best added by placing it in a sock in the skimmer basket"

I'm confused on a few things:

1) The pool store strongly advised me to do this sparingly as granular CYA gels up and can plug the basket; he said it's better to do it over the course of a few days directly to the pool;

2) He also recommended I use a "sweat" sock to minimize the chance of plugging if I do it all at once.

Can anyone comment on this? I presumed skimmer sock was what was meant by this site. I'm adding about 63 ounces by weight.

I prefer to put CYA in a sock and place the sock in the skimmer. Some people put the CYA in a sock and hang the sock in front of a return. It is possible to add it to the skimmer, but you need to add it very slowly if you go that route. After adding CYA, you need to not backwash/clean the filter for a week (unless you hang the sock in front of a return, which is the advantage of that approach).

Never put CYA directly into the pool. CYA is acidic and very slow dissolving, that acidity against the surface can damage the pool surface.

we are also about ready to add cya. I have woman's trouser socks and will put one in each skimmer. Is this acceptable?

Also, once i add it I avoid backwashing for a week. Is that a week from when it fully dissolves?

When can i begin to check cc levels? do i have to wait a week for cya levels to be measurable? When can i begin to balance the chemicals so I can swim the dogs safely?

Sorry for the peppering of questions, but we are wanting to do things correctly. Pool is clear today and a lovely sight!

As I understand it: if you dump it in the skimmer you need to not backwash for a week because the CYA will be in the filter dissolving and would be backwashed away with whatever else the filter has caught. If you use the sock method you can backwash freely because the CYA has to (mostly) dissolve before it leaves the sock.

If it is placed in a stocking in the skimmer would you still have to avoid backwashing for a week?

There is a debate about the no backwashing thing. If you pour directly into the skimmer then absolutely no backwashing. If you put it in a sock in front of a return then absolutely backwashing is fine. The question is sock in the skimmer and backwashing. Some people say it won't come out of the sock until it is dissolved and others say it breaks into smaller and smaller pieces and comes out of the sock before it is completely dissolved. Personally, I use a sock in the skimmer and don't backwash for a week because why risk it.

The week starts when you first add the CYA.