CYA & Calcium Hardness reduction or maybe not?…. 🤔

[OasisInVegas]

Hello all

New to the forum and have come to a point where i am unsure of how to proceed.

Living in Vegas with hard water has resulted in a current calcium hardness reading of 466

My cya is also high 155

The first simplest thought is just “hey, just do a partial drain and refill & both should fall back in line. FYI Calcium hardness from the tap is 163. If I do that, how much should I drain?

It’s a saltwater pool so after refill would that basically be the only other thing I’d need to replenish besides some chlorine? Or could I need to adjust ph or alk?

But then I’m not really having water issues. I don’t have any issues with cloudy water which I read is a common symptom. I do have scale buildup on some tiles in the pool but it’s not crazy. Pool is sparkling and crystal clear and I don’t generally have any issues unless a big windstorm comes through and blows a bunch of dirt/debris/organic matter into it. But after it’s cleaned/vacuumed it usually goes back in place.

I’ve also read that you can sometimes manage the high levels of hardness by adjusting other parameters? But if the cya is too high as well, maybe a partial drain & refill is best?

Idk . That’s why I’m here lol.

Please help

Other current numbers are
Free Chl 6.73. Got a little over zealous with shock last night. put a little less than 28oz in
Total Chl 6.83
ph 7.5
total alk 94 (adjusted due to the effect of cya on tested total alkalinity)
Iron 0
Copper 0.1
Phosphates 103
Salt 2830
Pentair ic40
16,000g

 

[Bperry]

Hello all

New to the forum and have come to a point where i am unsure of how to proceed.

Living in Vegas with hard water has resulted in a current calcium hardness reading of 466

My cya is also high 155

The first simplest thought is just “hey, just do a partial drain and refill & both should fall back in line. FYI Calcium hardness from the tap is 163. If I do that, how much should I drain?

It’s a saltwater pool so after refill would that basically be the only other thing I’d need to replenish besides some chlorine? Or could I need to adjust ph or alk?

But then I’m not really having water issues. I don’t have any issues with cloudy water which I read is a common symptom. I do have scale buildup on some tiles in the pool but it’s not crazy. Pool is sparkling and crystal clear and I don’t generally have any issues unless a big windstorm comes through and blows a bunch of dirt/debris/organic matter into it. But after it’s cleaned/vacuumed it usually goes back in place.

I’ve also read that you can sometimes manage the high levels of hardness by adjusting other parameters? But if the cya is too high as well, maybe a partial drain & refill is best?

Idk . That’s why I’m here lol.

Please help

Other current numbers are
Free Chl 6.73. Got a little over zealous with shock last night. put a little less than 28oz in
Total Chl 6.83
ph 7.5
total alk 94 (adjusted due to the effect of cya on tested total alkalinity)
Iron 0
Copper 0.1
Phosphates 103
Salt 2830
Pentair ic40
16,000g

If youre CYA really is that high, you need to be more agressive in keeping your FC above 7ppm. Heres the why of that.

The Free Chlorine and Cyanuric Acid Relationship

Managing your cyanuric acid and Free Chlorine levels is key to stabilizing your pool. Learn how these two items affect each other.

www.troublefreepool.com

But it looks like may be using pool store testing and weve found them to be pretty unreliable which results in them getting you to buy stuff you dont need. A CH level of 400-ish is quite good for Vegas. Heres the test kit link on why you should get your own kit.

Swimming Pool Test Kits Compared

What pool test kit should I buy? Why shouldn't I use test strips? Our recommended test kits will pay for themselves in no time!

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[OasisInVegas]

If youre CYA really is that high, you need to be more agressive in keeping your FC above 7ppm. Heres the why of that.

The Free Chlorine and Cyanuric Acid Relationship

Managing your cyanuric acid and Free Chlorine levels is key to stabilizing your pool. Learn how these two items affect each other.

www.troublefreepool.com

But it looks like may be using pool store testing and weve found them to be pretty unreliable which results in them getting you to buy stuff uou dont need. A CH level of 400-ish is quite good for Vegas. Heres the test kit link on why you should get your own kit.

Swimming Pool Test Kits Compared

What pool test kit should I buy? Why shouldn't I use test strips? Our recommended test kits will pay for themselves in no time!

www.troublefreepool.com

It (cya) has been climbing steadily. I’ve been putting it off because it hasn’t really caused any issues.

It is pool store testing, but I don’t buy products from them. I have all the supplies I need. They offer free testing, I take them up on it. If there is an alarming situation I usually treat it with about half the recommended dosage and then retest the next day to see how it looks then.

They do recommend plenty of treatments and provide dosage of what product I should be using to treat the “conditons”. But They don’t ever try to push their products. They usually just ask if I have the supplies that I need or if I need something to adjust levels.

But they are pretty good as far as when I do adjust chemistry per the recommendations, the pool looks great. If I suspect weird readings I usually have another test at a different location.

But with the cya levels so elevated and the hardness at 466 would it be simple to do a partial drain and refill? Wouldn’t keeping the chlorine that high be bad for swimmers?

I’m fine with a partial drain and refill and then adding salt and chlorine if needed.

I just need help to know If that would get things back in line. Like knowing how much water to drain? Like inches? Feet? Etc

 

[Bperry]

It (cya) has been climbing steadily. I’ve been putting it off because it hasn’t really caused any issues.

It is pool store testing, but I don’t buy products from them. I have all the supplies I need. They offer free testing, I take them up on it. If there is an alarming situation I usually treat it with about half the recommended dosage and then retest the next day to see how it looks then.

They do recommend plenty of treatments and provide dosage of what product I should be using to treat the “conditons”. But They don’t ever try to push their products. They usually just ask if I have the supplies that I need or if I need something to adjust levels.

But they are pretty good as far as when I do adjust chemistry per the recommendations, the pool looks great. If I suspect weird readings I usually have another test at a different location.

But with the cya levels so elevated and the hardness at 466 would it be simple to do a partial drain and refill? Wouldn’t keeping the chlorine that high be bad for swimmers?

I’m fine with a partial drain and refill and then adding salt and chlorine if needed.

I just need help to know If that would get things back in line. Like knowing how much water to drain? Like inches? Feet? Etc

If you want to reduce the CYA by 1/2, then you would have to drain 1/2 of the pool. I wouldn’t advise doing anything for the calcium.

But that would only be if I trusted Leslies CYA test but we dont trust them at all. I took a water sample to two different pool stores and got 16ppm at one and 34 at the other. Thats a huge difference and tons of people on this site have similar experiences. If you want some fun, take the same water sample to three different places and see all the different results you’ll get.

If you’re CYA really is 155 then the FC is safe to swim much higher than 7ppm, but like i said we dont trust Leslies. If you’ve been using tabs for a while it might be 300 so we just dont know. Best advice would be to get youre own test kit and we can go from there.

 

[MITBeta]

How is the CYA rising if you have a salt water chlorine generator?

 

[OasisInVegas]

How is the CYA rising if you have a salt water chlorine generator?

Good catch & question!

my salt cell stopped working so I had to go the old fashioned way for a couple summers. So tablets and granules with cya were used. Just put another one on last year.

Also, I still have trichlor shock left and with the price of chlorine still being ridiculously expensive, I’m still using it whenever needed as well as in when the water temp is too low to generate chlorine.

 

[MITBeta]

The recommendation you're going to get from this forum is to get yourself a quality test kit (Test Kits Compared) and then be prepared to drain 1/2 to 2/3s of the pool to get CYA into a manageable range.

 

[OasisInVegas]

The recommendation you're going to get from this forum is to get yourself a quality test kit (Test Kits Compared) and then be prepared to drain 1/2 to 2/3s of the pool to get CYA into a manageable range.

So say I drain half. That cuts current cya in half that’s in the lower range of good levels. Thatd be Great

As far as the calcium hardness, that amount would also be cut in half, but if I’m putting back 163ppm for half from fill water How do I figure out how much the end result might look like? Say I drain 8,000 gal, then replace 1/2 pool water with fresh at 163ppm added to the half remaining amount of of 233. Does that bring my total to 315 ( 233+82)? That seems too simple, but I don’t really know how to compute those numbers.

Thoughts?

FYI I’m researching test kits and hope to have a kit soon.

I have a question about test kits but I’ll make a separate post for answers.

 

[mknauss]

I have a question about test kits but I’ll make a separate post for answers.

Keep everything in this thread.

 

[mknauss]

Wait until you get a proper test kit before acting on your water chemistry.

Your fill water is about 250 CH.
8000*PW CH + 8000*FW CH divided by 16000

 

[OasisInVegas]

Keep everything in this thread.

Sorry I didn’t see your reply so I’ll include it here.

Looking at a Taylor test kit locally.
1.) do the Taylor kits reagents have normally seen expiration dates? Or are they a Julian date or a coded expiration date?

2.) i found a kit labeled:

“Service Complete” (FAS-DPD chlorine) item # 57087.
1 drop = 0.2 or 0.5 ppm chlorine, ph with acid & Base Demand, Total Alkalinity, Calcium Hardness, Cyanuric Acid

All that info is printed on a label on the front of the kit. But it DOES NOT show k-2006c

However I can’t find definite confirmation of what it is? Is it a different version of another test kit?
It has 3 red capped bottle, 3 green, 3 blue,3 white capped bottles, 2 yellow capped liquid along with a yellow flat capped powder with a spoon. It also has the black plastic round testing tubes or whatever they’re called. Along with a water chemistry book, a round dial type thingy and a dropper

Anyone tell me what this is?

Help is appreciated

 

[OasisInVegas]

Wait until you get a proper test kit before acting on your water chemistry.

Your fill water is about 250 CH.
8000*PW CH + 8000*FW CH divided by 16000

I am looking at a test kit locally atm.

I Just like to have a plan on how to handle it….. the exact numbers are probably off, but I believe the numbers are close just because they have been tested consistently and have all shown high levels of cya and calcium hardness rising over time the last couple years.

However, since the pool water looks excellent and opinions aren’t that the levels are unsafe, I’m not treating yet, other than keeping chlorine in the pool and monitoring ph/alk at the same time.

 

[proavia]

The thing about the Taylor kit is they usually come in different sizes.
Mostly 0.75oz or 2oz reagent bottles.
And many aren't necessarily geared for the residential pool owner.

Look at the TF-Pro Salt from tftestkits.net
Guaranteed fresh reagents and includes more of the reagents that we residential pool owners use.
Also, the included stirring device will make testing easier and mor consistent.
Test Kits Compared

 

[wireform]

In all this time looking you could have had your test kit in the mailbox ready for testing. I say go for the TF-100 PRO and you'll be your own pro. In return you'll receive solid information that holds water.

 

[kimkats]

Each time you put power chlorine or solid chlorine in you are adding to the CYA. You are seeing how it adds up over time. Looking at the CYA/FC chart shown on the link above you can see how the more CYA you have the more FC you have. The only way to remove CYA from the pool is to drain some water and add fresh water. As for the high CH we can help you overcome that once you get a good test kit.

Have you seen Pool Math? If not here it is: PoolMath It does all of the work for you as far as showing what happens when you add this or that to your pool.

Let us know when you get your test kit. Here is a link to help you do the test when the kit gets there: So you are new to testing

 

[Bperry]

Sorry I didn’t see your reply so I’ll include it here.

Looking at a Taylor test kit locally.
1.) do the Taylor kits reagents have normally seen expiration dates? Or are they a Julian date or a coded expiration date?

2.) i found a kit labeled:

“Service Complete” (FAS-DPD chlorine) item # 57087.
1 drop = 0.2 or 0.5 ppm chlorine, ph with acid & Base Demand, Total Alkalinity, Calcium Hardness, Cyanuric Acid

All that info is printed on a label on the front of the kit. But it DOES NOT show k-2006c

However I can’t find definite confirmation of what it is? Is it a different version of another test kit?
It has 3 red capped bottle, 3 green, 3 blue,3 white capped bottles, 2 yellow capped liquid along with a yellow flat capped powder with a spoon. It also has the black plastic round testing tubes or whatever they’re called. Along with a water chemistry book, a round dial type thingy and a dropper

Anyone tell me what this is?

Help is appreciated

Check the kit to see if it ONLY tests chlorine and nothing else. It might be right but its rare for stores to carry it.

 

[CreedenceTapes]

My cya is also high 155

Trichlor is 52% cyanuric acid by weight. So every 8 oz. puck put in a pool adds a little over a ¼ pound of cyanuric acid. That accumulates frustratingly fast.

 

[Newdude]

Put another way, every 5 pucks raises your CYA 10 in 16k gallons, and needs more FC to match it.

 

[OasisInVegas]

Sorry I didn’t see your reply so I’ll include it here.

Looking at a Taylor test kit locally.
1.) do the Taylor kits reagents have normally seen expiration dates? Or are they a Julian date or a coded expiration date?

2.) i found a kit labeled:

“Service Complete” (FAS-DPD chlorine) item # 57087.
1 drop = 0.2 or 0.5 ppm chlorine, ph with acid & Base Demand, Total Alkalinity, Calcium Hardness, Cyanuric Acid

All that info is printed on a label on the front of the kit. But it DOES NOT show k-2006c

However I can’t find definite confirmation of what it is? Is it a different version of another test kit?
It has 3 red capped bottle, 3 green, 3 blue,3 white capped bottles, 2 yellow capped liquid along with a yellow flat capped powder with a spoon. It also has the black plastic round testing tubes or whatever they’re called. Along with a water chemistry book, a round dial type thingy and a dropper

Anyone tell me what this is?

Help is appreciated

Can anyone help answer this question? I created a post specifically about it to hopefully get more views and replies. But it appears it was deleted?

Thank u

 

[Newdude]

Along with a water chemistry book, a round dial type thingy and a dropper

This to me says Taylor. Do you have a pic ?

I created a post specifically about it to hopefully get more views and replies. But it appears it was deleted

Keep everything related to 'just getting started' here. It gets too confusing when we are answering multiple threads with related questions. Then we miss a critical detail in one of them because it was mentioned in another thread.

Wanna talk about loung chairs ? Fine. Go start a new thread about them.