101 CYA Drain water only option?

[Steveharney]

Hello TFP members, this is my first post although i have researched and found a lot of valuable info in my short 2 years as a new pool owner.

I left on vacation for a week with my pool pump running at 100% . (Wife turned on while I was gone) Chlorinater was running and just filled up. I returned to a pool that had 8.9 FC and 8.9 TC level ,153 TA, PH 7.2 ,CH 350, CYA of 101. The water was crystal clear before I left and now is cloudy. Assumed that the high level of the trichlor raised the CYA . After researching a bit is my only option to replace 50 % of the water?

Additional info . I have struggled with the chemistry since the pool builder tried to remove some streaks in the finish caused by original application of the hydraazzo finsh. The method they used was an in pool acid wash for 14 days . We did this despite my fear of additional problems i read about on forums Here. I was given assurance from the top people at Hydrazzo(CL industries) that this was not a problem. This happened at the end of the season in 2016. Pool was closed immediately after this. The opening of 2017 was disastrous . Huge amounts of scale . WE scrubbed on the pool most of the summer and finally got pool builder to drain pool and acid wash and sand off. refilled pool end of 2017. I have fought high TA the entire time I have owned the pool and the stabilizer (cya) but been able to keep the PH pretty stable . Mostly years 1 and 2 adding Acid and this year adding soda.

any comments are really appreciated !

Thanks
Steve

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Steve, welcome to TFP. Sorry to hear about these problems you're having.

I question your test results accuracy. There are only two test kits we *trust* and I'm sorry to say the ColorQ isn't one of them.
We need to know:
FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA

Your CYA may very well be much higher than you report. And that will truly mess up trying to keep your pool clean and clear, not to mention TroubleFree. We don't advocate for the *continual, regular* use of pucks and a chlorinator for just this reason. Those pucks add about 6ppm of CYA for each 8ppm of FC they contain. OUCH!

Please consider obtaining either the K-2006C taylor kit or the TF-100 test kit. I personally prefer the TF-100 kit as it is a better buy. Both available from TFTestkits.net or the Amazon. Rarely can they be found locally.
Pool School - Test Kits Compared

CYA is not what we use to control pH. Muriatic Acid is. Why have you added baking soda?

How does your water look??

Maddie

 

[Steveharney]

Thanks for the quick reply. So maybe my post was a little confusing. I've been adding soda ash to increase the pH. I add muriatic acid I need to lower it.
My numbers this eve are
FC 4.97
TCU 4.97
Ph 8.0
TA 157
Ch 351
Cya 102
I have a Taylor system I double-checked the color IQ the first few checks to confirm it was reading similar results. Also ran tests back yo back to see if it registered same on the color q. I understand it doesn't meet the approval of the experts at troublefreepool.com so I'll start using the Taylor one for these posts.
I just added a gallon of muriatic acid to bring the PH down. The pool is very cloudy and getting cloudy here over the last 48 hours.
I will not use the pox anymore. I'm assuming liquid chlorine is best? Thanks for all your input I appreciate it

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Your high TA is causing the pH to rise.

Do you have any water features like spillover spas or fountains that also contribute to pH rise?? I'd try to limit them if possible if you have them.

Cloudy pools need chlorine. You also need to drain some of that CYA laden water and fill with fresh to lower that CYA.

Have you seen these --> Pool School - Recommended Levels

Pool School - Lower Total Alkalinity

Maddie

 

[zea3]

I don't know where Fishers is, but in most parts of the country a series of drain/refill cycles are the only practical way to get rid of high CYA. A few areas in the desert southwest have reverse osmosis pool services available, but they can cost more than a drain/refill and waste a lot of water in the process.

If you don't want to drain/refill you can try to manage the pool with high CYA using [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]. You have to test daily and stay on top of that target FC level, or the pool can turn on you quick.