0 CYA and 0 Chlorine

[burgerking089]

3rd year of pool ownership but this is my first year I'm opening by myself.... and got it from a green swamp to clear water in about a week. Trying to tweak some things for next open so I can get this time down... and more importantly, cost down. As soon as I was able to get my pump going (bottom drain was inoperable in the beginning due to all the junk), I started adding bleach (liquid bleach in the beginning but needed to switch to powder because of ALDI only allowing 2 bottles per visit). I noticed my filter was all clogged up half way through so I needed to clean it out...
Q: does it make sense to have a set of filter cartridges dedicated for opening use?
Q: do you run the filter without the cartridge for a while to let the chlorine do its job first?
And when I was trying to clear the pool without any stabilizer, I maintained it around 12ppm and the chlorine was getting eaten up like crazy.
Q: does it make sense to increase CYA before and chlorine (needing to maintain at higher ppm)?

 

[ajw22]

At opening with ) FC and 0 CYA you want to add stabilizer for CYA 30 once you see the water can hold a FC level. No reason to wait.

 

[PoolGate]

It makes sense to clean your cartridges after your open is complete and water is clear and clean. A dedicated set is ok too but it is an extra expense and you'd still have to keep them clean.

No need to run the filter empty.

With no CYA chlorine will burn off very quickly. Hours even in sunlight.

 

[burgerking089]

It makes sense to clean your cartridges after your open is complete and water is clear and clean. A dedicated set is ok too but it is an extra expense and you'd still have to keep them clean.

No need to run the filter empty.

With no CYA chlorine will burn off very quickly. Hours even in sunlight.

It was painful watching the numbers go down..

 

[burgerking089]

At opening with ) FC and 0 CYA you want to add stabilizer for CYA 30 once you see the water can hold a FC level. No reason to wait.

So, you're suggesting I add stabilizer before adding chlorine right? Or both at the same time?

 

[ajw22]

So, you're suggesting I add stabilizer before adding chlorine right? Or both at the same time?

If you open the pool to 0 CYA & 0 FC then add 10 ppm of chlorine and test after 30 minutes and see that it has at least 3 ppm of FC. As long as your water holds chlorine then you can add stabilizer.

 

[burgerking089]

If you open the pool to 0 CYA & 0 FC then add 10 ppm of chlorine and test after 30 minutes and see that it has at least 3 ppm of FC. As long as your water holds chlorine then you can add stabilizer.

Since the part of the water in the pool will remain there next year's open, is it common to open to a higher CYA? FC will be all gone I'm assuming.

 

[ajw22]

Since the part of the water in the pool will remain there next year's open, is it common to open to a higher CYA? FC will be all gone I'm assuming.

You would expect there to be some CYA in the water from the prior season. If you are opening to 0 CYA then it is wise to check that something did not eat the CYA during the winter. Read Ammonia - Further Reading