CYA: is the sock method only needed for sand filters?

[MostlyCanuck]

Preparing for first opening, brand new pool w/out any CYA yet. Purchased a pail of dry stabilizer.

Instructions say to pour slowly in skimmer (which I will avoid as I read a few stories of folks getting skimmer line plugged with powder) OR to predissolve in pail of warm water and then pour into skimmer. Pool School and everyone else here always talk about sock in front of skimmer instead.

Going back to older posts, I think I read that the sock method is needed just for sand filters to avoid losing the cya that you are introducing through backwashing. Is that right?

In my case, with a cartridge filter, there's no backwashing concerns. Are there any issues with predissolving with warm water and pouring in skimmer? Sounds a lot less labour intensive than leaving socks hanging in front of returns for a few weeks (I have 3 returns and I'm going to need about 15lbs of cya...that's a lot of sock-time I think)

Thx for sharing your thoughts on this!

 

[cowboycasey]

it will work..

I did the bucket method this year with hot water and let it sit in the bucket 24 hours and then mashed it up with my hands for about 5 minutes or so... got rid of almost all of it and then I poured it into my skimmer and I also have a cart filter.. Worked perfect...

 

[Newdude]

hey MC !!!

I think I read that the sock method is needed just for sand filters to avoid losing the cya that you are introducing through backwashing

That’s some of it, yes. When it gets sucked up in any filter before fully dissolving it can be stuck there for a week or more and any backwashing dumps it right out.

But the other issue is to the pump (and heater if applicable). Adding Cyanuric Acid directly to the skimmer is sending an Acid slurry through your brand new equipment. So we recommend the sock method to let it dissolve a good deal first. The premix way will work, but add the mix sloooooooooooooow so it can mix with a lot of pool water on its way to the equipment.

Sounds a lot less labour intensive than leaving socks hanging in front of returns for a few weeks

It’s a day or two, not weeks. I let mine sit for a full day and then they would squeeze out in 5 mins the next day. It would have taken me the same 5 minutes to pour a premix slowly into the skimmer. Your choice.

 

[MostlyCanuck]

hey MC !!!

That’s some of it, yes. When it gets sucked up in any filter before fully dissolving it can be stuck there for a week or more and any backwashing dumps it right out.

But the other issue is to the pump (and heater if applicable). Adding Cyanuric Acid directly to the skimmer is sending an Acid slurry through your brand new equipment. So we recommend the sock method to let it dissolve a good deal first. The premix way will work, but add the mix sloooooooooooooow so it can mix with a lot of pool water on its way to the equipment.


It’s a day or two, not weeks. I let mine sit for a full day and then they would squeeze out in 5 mins the next day. It would have taken me the same 5 minutes to pour a premix slowly into the skimmer. Your choice.

Sorry, to be clear.. it takes you a couple days when you do it with one sock for a small top-up dose, I imagine? Looking at Pool Math to get my water from 0 to 80, I will need ~13lbs of the stuff... Assuming you can put ~1lbs in a hanging sock, that's 13 socks full of stuff spread over 3 returns, meaning I need to do the sock method in front of each return about 5x, and if it takes a couple days per sock to fully dissolve, that's about 10 days of hanging and squeezing socks!!!

I will totally do this if there is a downside to just predissolving and pouring in, but my quick math made me think perhaps the sock method is great for top-up doeses but less optimal for start-ups.

I do hear your concern about sending too much straight to the equipment though.. if that's a real concern that I would for sure avoid.

 

[MostlyCanuck]

it will work..

I did the bucket method this year with hot water and let it sit in the bucket 24 hours and then mashed it up with my hands for about 5 minutes or so... got rid of almost all of it and then I poured it into my skimmer and I also have a cart filter.. Worked perfect...

I didnt realize it would take so long to dissolve. did you use warm water?

 

[cowboycasey]

I did but after about 2 hours it is cold.. The 24 hours seems to be the sweet spot for it breaking down and easily mashing up...

 

[Newdude]

Sorry, to be clear.. it takes you a couple days when you do it with one sock for a small top-up dose, I imagine?

I had a 35k pool and my startup dose was around 15lbs each year. Socks didn’t quite cut it. Lol. So i used the sleeves (2) from a long sleeve T-shirt effectively making very large socks with 7.5lbs each. I always had a T-shirt to donate to the process each year to the wife’s enjoyment.

do hear your concern about sending too much straight to the equipment though.. if that's a real concern that I would for sure avoid.

The problem with recommending this way to all is that ‘slow’ is too subjective to the pool owner. It’s hard to nail down an exact pour rate and be on the same page. The sock (or larger if need be) method is guaranteed to not harm anything.

I would put one large cantaloupe sized ‘sock’ in each skimmer and walk away for a day. (Hanging in front of a return would do the same thing). Whatever dissolved did go right into my equipment but left on its own it was a very small fraction of the CYA mixed with gallons upon gallons of water. The next day it would be squeeze easily and come out quickly in the shallow end. That came out in a dense cloud so I made sure to do it away from the skimmer to give it plenty of water to mix with.

 

[cowboycasey]

I have also done the sock method or shirt and it is easy, takes the same 24 hours of sitting in the water and you squeeze it till its all gone, takes about 5 minutes or 2 minutes a couple times during the next day...

 

[MostlyCanuck]

thx guys - good advice. i will try a combo of these methods and fit as much as possible via the larger shirt sleeves as suggested in front of the 3 returns, and also dissolve and pour super slow via skimmer the rest. sounds like a plan!

 

[Newdude]

You can also use knee highs or panty hose, but that opens a new can of worms. Either the Mrs understands why her stuff went missing, but is still upset about it, or she doesn’t believe the story at all and good luck with THAT !!