CYA Accumulation

[Billism]

Hi all. I am building a pool and so I am starting to research how to maintain it myself. What I have read about pool chemistry all makes sense to me except for the following question I have...

I understand that CYA is a chlorine stabilizer that you need for an outdoor pool. I also understand that you need the right balance and if you have too much CYA, you get chlorine lock. Also, the only way to lower CYA is to do a partial drain and then dilute with fresh water.

My question(s):
Using the chlorine tablets seems like the way I will probably go. Won't using chlorine tablets as the main chlorination method eventually accumulate too much CYA, since you cannot reduce CYA without draining? How do people use chlorine tablets as their main chlorination method without draining from time to time? Or am I missing something?

 

[Sunnydaze]

My question(s):
Using the chlorine tablets seems like the way I will probably go. Won't using chlorine tablets as the main chlorination method eventually accumulate too much CYA, since you cannot reduce CYA without draining? How do people use chlorine tablets as their main chlorination method without draining from time to time? Or am I missing something?

Yes, using tablets exclusively will cause your cya to rise and get out of control. Some people can get away with it if they get a lot of fresh water replacement. Such as rain, backwashing, vacuuming to waste, draining for winter, etc. Even then, they're not maintaining the proper chlorine level because their cya is a moving target and adding chlorine via tabs is a guessing game. You can use tabs until your cya is where you need it and then use liquid chlorine. It's the best way to manage a pool. It removes all the guesswork that tabs inherently have.

Eta: most people who use tabs exclusively end up with green pools. And they look for other solutions such as algaecides, phosphate removers, ionizers, snake oil, etc to get their pool under control when all they really needed was to reduce their excess cya and maintain chlorine levels properly.

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum.
A good read.

How to Chlorinate Your Pool

Before chlorinating your pool, you should know these simple tips. Learn the best way to add chlorine to your pool.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[V___25]

Won't using chlorine tablets as the main chlorination method eventually accumulate too much CYA, since you cannot reduce CYA without draining? How do people use chlorine tablets as their main chlorination method without draining from time to time? Or am I missing something?

You aren't missing anything. People who continually use tablets do have high CYA and would need to drain to lower it. However, people who exclusively use tablets often times don't follow TFP methods and follow pool store protocol. There, tablets are the norm and high CYA isn't recognized as a problem until over 300 or something crazy because they don't acknowledge the FC/CYA relationship that we all know and love.

 

[Mdragger88]

Won't using chlorine tablets as the main chlorination method eventually accumulate too much CYA, since you cannot reduce CYA without draining? YES

How do people use chlorine tablets as their main chlorination method without draining from time to time? THEY DON’T

Save the tabs for vacation or a slight increase in cya from time to time.
Liquid chlorine or a saltwater chlorine generator for daily chlorination is the way to avoid too much cya & maintain the proper fc/cya ratio at all times FC/CYA Levels
Tabs do multiple things at once which sounds great but can complicate matters quickly -
*They add fc (which gets consumed daily)
*They add cya (which remains until water is exchanged)
*They are acidic (which lowers ph & can tank TA in short order)

It’s best & simpler to adjust all these parameters separately with individual chemicals (liquid chlorine/swg, granular stabilizer, & muriatic acid)
so you know where u stand & things don’t vary so wildly.

 

[Mikey0214]

Hi all. I am building a pool and so I am starting to research how to maintain it myself. What I have read about pool chemistry all makes sense to me except for the following question I have...

I understand that CYA is a chlorine stabilizer that you need for an outdoor pool. I also understand that you need the right balance and if you have too much CYA, you get chlorine lock. Also, the only way to lower CYA is to do a partial drain and then dilute with fresh water.

My question(s):
Using the chlorine tablets seems like the way I will probably go. Won't using chlorine tablets as the main chlorination method eventually accumulate too much CYA, since you cannot reduce CYA without draining? How do people use chlorine tablets as their main chlorination method without draining from time to time? Or am I missing something?

I am in the same exact situation.

My pool will be getting wrapped up here in Pennsylvania sometime before Memorial Day. My question is the individuals using liquid chlorine , on average how many gallons of liquid chlorine are you guys going through during the northeast season (Memorial Day to Labor Day)?

 

[Sunnydaze]

I am in the same exact situation.

My pool will be getting wrapped up here in Pennsylvania sometime before Memorial Day. My question is the individuals using liquid chlorine , on average how many gallons of liquid chlorine are you guys going through during the northeast season (Memorial Day to Labor Day)?

I can't speak for the northeast region but the idea is to replace what you lose daily. If you lose 3ppm of free chlorine daily, you add 3ppm back. 3ppm of 10% liquid chlorine in your pool is about 3 and a 1/2 quarts or 110 ounces. If you needed that daily, that's about 6 gallons a week. These numbers are just an example.

 

[Casey]

I am in the same exact situation.

My pool will be getting wrapped up here in Pennsylvania sometime before Memorial Day. My question is the individuals using liquid chlorine , on average how many gallons of liquid chlorine are you guys going through during the northeast season (Memorial Day to Labor Day)?

I'm in PA and when my 13,500 g pool was on the liquid diet, it consumed 1/2g every day or so. Pools are like a pet. They need fed daily. So start wrapping your head around that.

As far as using pucks... yes they not only drive your CYA up, they are also slow dissolving and can not keep up with the chlorine demand the pool can have because of the rising CYA levels already mentioned and because they are slow dissolving. They are also acidic and can make your pH bottom out if you're not careful in watching the pH. I see so many people elsewhere who dont even test their water or use unreliable strips or say... I just look at the water n it's perfect. Most pool stored people dont even know what crystal clear water looks like.

 

[kimkats]

There is another way to add chlorine to your pool! A SWG aka Salt Water Chlorine Generator as seen here:
SWG How It Works - Further Reading The higher up front cost pays off in the end with the added bonus of not having to buy and carry jugs of chlorine.

Kim

 

[Billism]

Thanks all for the replies. It is helping. Using liquid chlorine seems like the best way to go, if not using a salt water chlorine generator. However, I must admit that the thought of having to keep literally gallons of liquid chlorine around, and apply it every evening, seems quite tedious and time consuming. Not everyone has the time to easily stay on top of this regiment. I am wondering if using the 3" tablets as the main chlorination method, and chemical adjustments a few times a week maybe, and accepting the issues resulting from that, is an acceptable compromise. One of the largest issues is partially draining the pool after some time to bring down the CYA level.

I have read much about how CYA accumulates and how you have to dilute after a while, but I haven't read anything about how frequent that is. Is this like a once a year kind of thing, or a once every 2 or 3 years kind of thing? It might be an acceptable compromise I am thinking.

 

[Mdragger88]

It all depends on how much rain/overflow you get, if u vac to waste & replace water on a regular basis, how often you backwash & replace water etc.
Tabs aren’t evil - they are just mostly misunderstood & used improperly. Their blind use leads to many issues listed above. The issue I have with them is what @Casey mentioned - the fc need rises with every dissolved puck (because you’re constantly adding cya) & so it makes it hard to consistently follow the FC/CYA Levels as you are always behind- if u turn the feeder up to dissolve them faster & get more fc you just fast forward this merry go round ride .
Then there’s the ph effects. They may be wanted at first but then u are on that merry go round too with ta & ph & adding baking soda all the time. Chronically Low ph will wrinkle liners, harm equipment & is very uncomfortable to swim in (burns eyes, irritates skin).
My friend gave me a bucket of tabs (because his pool died ) & I tried to use them to get my cya up & supplement my swg - they tanked my ta in short order & I religiously maintain/test my pool.
Generally my ph & ta stays the same ALL the time once it’s set but those few tabs on a fairly regular basis over a week or so messed it all up & I had to add baking soda to my pool for the 1st time in many years.
I do use them in a floater For vacation as insurance against power failure - but they are usually only partially dissolved upon my return so they have less of an impact than if they were in a feeder.

 

[V___25]

I thought too that it would get old adding LC to the pool every day but I really don't mind it. It's just part of my morning routine. I don't test the water every day because I generally know the pool pretty well. But every morning when I let the dogs to run and feed them, I turn on the pump and add the LC before the sun gets over the pool. I feed the pool at the same time I feed my dogs. It works for me but may not for everyone. Do you have kids at home you can enlist to help with pool maintenance?

 

[Newdude]

Do you have kids at home you can enlist to help with pool maintenance

+1. Last time my 8 year old thought the color changing was the coolest thing ever. This time I'm gonna try and hook my AP Chem student. She asked me if I knew about litmus tests the other day. Pfffffft. Guess strips are for amateurs !!!!! I'll teach you titration.

 

[V___25]

+1. Last time my 8 year old thought the color changing was the coolest thing ever. This time I'm gonna try and hook my AP Chem student. She asked me if I knew about litmus tests the other day. Pfffffft. Guess strips are for amateurs !!!!! I'll teach you titration.

My son is 10 and and the color changing is still the coolest thing. Wait til this kid meets the new speed stir. He hasn't seen it yet but I have a feeling I'll never test pool chemicals myself again.

 

[arvil]

Yeah, my granddaughter also thinks the titration tests are cool.
My pool went in 2003. Of course, the store said pucks are all you’ll ever need. Mid-second season got mustard algae even with high FC levels. Found this forum, got the TF kit, found my CYA was like 150. Changed out about half my water, and changed to BBB method. Each spring opening, CYA and borates are both zero. Bring up CYA with pucks, add borax, balanced with muriatic acid, then switch to hypochlorite for the rest of the season using pucks only for makeup CYA and vacations.

 

[jimbethesda]

The golden rule is if sounds too good to be true it is. The other golden rule is every rule has an exception. Why am I saying this? Because salt chlorine generators sound too good to be true, but it for sure is an exception.

As a moderator says often, if someone said I can’t have a salt chlorine generator anymore, I would fill my pool with dirt and plant a garden. And I love my pool!

 

[merc123]

I’ve used tabs in an above ground. The first year it worked great. Second year was ridiculously high CYA leading to partial drain. This year I used the tabs to introduce more stabilizer into the pool after partial drain for winter.

In 24 hours I went from 30 to 50 CYA using the tabs. I have a 5 pound bucket of tabs and will be going back to chlorine liquid this year instead.