CYA and safe chlorine levels

[Ilya]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum so please forgive me in advance if I'm not following the right procedure to post the questions

First off, I wanted to thank you the members of this forum as this has helped me drastically since I found it.

Here comes the story

I got a new home with a 32,000 gallon vinyl pool. As far as I know the pool was previously maintained by a pool guy as the previous owner had no clue on how to even skim the leaves...
I have a basic pool maintenance knowledge from having a 9K gallon above ground pool before. I was always using Borax and baking soda in place of PH and TA increasers thanks to the help of a friend of mine when I got the first pool. The bleach vs 3" tabs and shock was a new discovery to me on this forum as well as CYA...

My research started when I opened the pool and shocked it as I always would. Stabilized the pH and TA. I then noticed my FC level was extremely high and I gave it a few days to go down... to my surprise it didn't drop much.

I thought that maybe my test strips were expired and I tried the TC/pH reagent test I had - it also showed a pH of 7.3 but TC was way above 3ppm (it only measured to 3ppm). I then purchased Taylor K-2006 and absolutely in love with it!!!

This is how I found out (and still shocked) my pool is at:

FC: 14ppm (yeah...)
CC: less than .5ppm
pH: 7.3
TA: 120ppm
CH: 30ppm (shouldn't matter much since it's a vinyl pool)
CYA: 140ppm

My pool is crystal clear now but i'm noticing a leak and will have to fix it/replace the liner. My questions are the following:

I'm planning to replace the liner at the end of the season so I wasn't going to drain 80% of the pool (per this site's calculator) now to get the CYA down and once again at the end of the season.

1. Based on the high CYA, is it safe to swim with FC between 11-18ppm as per the minimum FC numbers from the chart on this site? I saw that recommended FC is between 1-3ppm but also understand that chlorine looses its effectiveness with a higher CYA so assuming 11-18ppm at 140ppm CYA is the same as 1-3ppm at 20-30ppm CYA?
2. Do you have any experience with the BioActive CYA reducer instead of refilling the pool?
Amazon.com : Bio-Active Cyanuric Acid Reducer - 8 Ounce : Patio, Lawn Garden
I have well water so refilling some 25000 gallons is a slight challenge I'll have to do it when replacing the liner but prefer not to do it twice.
3. Any other suggestions you could provide me with?


Thank you in advance! This forum has been a blessing so far!!!

 

[Ilya]

Forgot another question I had.

I got the dolphin nautilus plus and the manual says to not use it over 4ppm FC. Can I use it at higher FC levels considering the CYA?

Thanks


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[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!

1. Yes it is safe, but you should replace water to lower the CYA.

2. Does not live up to their claims, see many threads about it.

3. Remember pH test does not provide accurate results when the FC > 10ppm

4. Yes, it is safe.

 

[Ilya]

Welcome to TFP!

1. Yes it is safe, but you should replace water to lower the CYA.

2. Does not live up to their claims, see many threads about it.

3. Remember pH test does not provide accurate results when the FC > 10ppm

4. Yes, it is safe.

Thank you very much.


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[Divin Dave]

Hi Ilya,
wow, it certainly if you've been doing your homework in pool school. To expand on what jblizzle said.

Its safe to swim with your FC at a level of up to 40% of the CYA.
BioActive. There is not any avaialble research that proves it works. Several members here experimented with it with less than stell ar results.

Your Nautilus will be fine.

 

[Ilya]

Hi Ilya,
wow, it certainly if you've been doing your homework in pool school. To expand on what jblizzle said.

Its safe to swim with your FC at a level of up to 40% of the CYA.
BioActive. There is not any avaialble research that proves it works. Several members here experimented with it with less than stell ar results.

Your Nautilus will be fine.

Thanks to everyone for you help and answers!