CYA high SWG - How did I get here?!

[greggjess]

Since it make 0 sense to jump that much and I'm a newbie to testing....I'm going to test a couple more times before I go all drastic draining the pool.

I was looking at the PoolMath app again and I would have had to add something like 7lbs of stabilizer to get to 140 CYA. There is no way I did that!!

 

[mknauss]

You are the only person adding chemicals to the pool?

 

[DanF]

Wouldn't a simultaneous drain/refill cause me to lose some of the fresh water with the over CYA'd water? I guess if I use our submersible pump vs pool pump it wouldn't be mixing as much uh?

Placing the submersible pump in the deep end and filling in the shallow end (with a garden hose) minimizes this.

Duh moment - of course I need to use the submersible pump because how else would I get below the skimmer. I can be slow but I get there eventually

No worries. If you require the pump to be running (since you have a SWCG) you will need to drain/refill at the same time, as the pump will run dry if the water level goes below the skimmer.

I was looking at the PoolMath app again and I would have had to add something like 7lbs of stabilizer to get to 140 CYA. There is no way I did that!!

Only 3 possibilities:
-Your CYA was higher than 80 to start with
-Your CYA is lower than 140 now
-You added more than 21 oz of stabilizer.

 

[greggjess]

You are the only person adding chemicals to the pool?

Yes, only me.

 

[greggjess]

Only 3 possibilities:
-Your CYA was higher than 80 to start with
-Your CYA is lower than 140 now
-You added more than 21 oz of stabilizer.

I completely agree with this! I had been consistently testing CYA at 80. After a 60ppm test I definitely added 21 Oz (I measured it with a digital scale). After the add I got a 100ppm test. Used dilution on a 2nd test and got the 70ppm x2 = 140ppm.

I'll do another test this evening!

 

[greggjess]

2 tests with 2 different bottles of my CYA tester.....both were in the 70-80ppm range. So I have no clue what I did before. Maybe it was too cloudy? It was a very rainy week.

I'll do my full round of testing over the weekend as usual and check it again.

 

[Jonsstihl]

the guy that sold me my pool mentioned that backwashing from the skimmer would lower the CYA level more than just backwashing from the main drain. I have no idea if this is true and I haven't tested the theory. his comment came from me mentioning that my cya levels went down drastically over a couple of backwashes.

just got the pool in early august and just trying to understand more about CYA levels and thought the comment was relevant to this discussion.

 

[reggiehammond]

Makes no sense.

 

[Mdragger88]

2 tests with 2 different bottles of my CYA tester.....both were in the 70-80ppm range. So I have no clue what I did before. Maybe it was too cloudy? It was a very rainy week.

I'll do my full round of testing over the weekend as usual and check it again.

Not sure how things have turned out for u but here’s a couple future tips-
1. Try to do it on a really sunny day - outside with your back to the sun to ensure the most accurate results
2. Pour the solution back in to the little squirty bottle & perform the last part again (the pouring into the tube).
You can do this as many times as u need to. I try to get an average out of 3 or 4 pours into tube so i know my eyes aren’t playing tricks

 

[Bperry]

the guy that sold me my pool mentioned that backwashing from the skimmer would lower the CYA level more than just backwashing from the main drain. I have no idea if this is true and I haven't tested the theory. his comment came from me mentioning that my cya levels went down drastically over a couple of backwashes.

just got the pool in early august and just trying to understand more about CYA levels and thought the comment was relevant to this discussion.

Might be true if he was dumping CYA in the skimmer and then backwashes soon after. The CYA granules get sucked into the filter and then sit there while they dissolve slowly. That’s why they say to add that stuff in a sock so it dissolves before it gets in the skimmer.

 

[Jonsstihl]

all I know is that my cya levels dropped drastically and all i did was do a backwash about every 4-5 days for a 2-3 weeks. One test was within pool store limits and the next test was down to 17 ppm. started doing back washes from the main drain instead but all of a sudden I can now go more than a week between backwashes. haven`t re-checked the CYA levels. Currently trying to figure out how to get a test kit to canada. the weather has turned colder up here though so that might have influence on the backwash schedule. water temp is around 70 degrees

first time I added CYA i broadcast into the pool and brushed. have since read about the sock in skimmer and tried that method. I like it much better.

 

[mknauss]

Currently trying to figure out how to get a test kit to canada.

See these threads from members in Canada. Check to be sure it is still valid.

• Order from TFTestkits.net into Canada (Step-by-Step)
• Guide to get Test Kit in Canada
• Help with Tf-100 / tftestkits.net for Canadians

Poolsupplyhaus.ca (by Ottawa Pool Works) have the Talyor K2006 for sale at $148.35 and they can ship within Canada. If you are in Ottawa, you can pickup, the shipping fee to Southwestern Ontario is very reasonable for less than $14, they also supply reagents too. The customer service is very helpful and answer questions very promptly.

 

[Jonsstihl]

ironically, I just canceled my paypal account because I haven`t used it in 15 years and now I find out I would need to use it with shipssy. a friend may be able to get me one from tftestkits.

 

[Mdragger88]

ironically, I just canceled my paypal account because I haven`t used it in 15 years and now I find out I would need to use it with shipssy. a friend may be able to get me one from tftestkits.

Too Funny - people act like i’m a dinosaur when I mention i use paypal whenever possible although I believe it’s making a comeback! They also giggle when they see my AOL email address

 

[Jonsstihl]

talk about a 90's flashback...

 

[Flying Tivo]

people act like i’m a dinosaur

That does not remove the dinosaur out of the equation!

 

[greggjess]

Not sure how things have turned out for u but here’s a couple future tips-
1. Try to do it on a really sunny day - outside with your back to the sun to ensure the most accurate results
2. Pour the solution back in to the little squirty bottle & perform the last part again (the pouring into the tube).
You can do this as many times as u need to. I try to get an average out of 3 or 4 pours into tube so i know my eyes aren’t playing tricks

UPDATE!! I do not know what I did on those couple tests where I was over 100. I tested a few more times with this advice - sunny, back to the sun, pour/empty a couple times. I was consistently getting 60ppm so I put the recommended CYA in to get the pool to 70ppm (after I fixed the gallons in my PoolMath app). Last week it was at 70-80. I usually test on the weekends so I'll do it again tomorrow/sunday.

Now I'm playing with my SWG % to find the sweet spot to maintain chlorine. I'm pretty close there now that swimming is almost done for the year.

 

[Texas Splash]

Better late than never.

 

[Jonsstihl]

keep a notebook of which settings were working this year so you don't have to start from scratch next year.

 

[greggjess]

keep a notebook of which settings were working this year so you don't have to start from scratch next year.

Great advice because I've already changed the % and pump time for "winter" ha!