I can't get rid of CYA

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olboucha

0
Sep 9, 2016
9
Houston, Texas
I have a pool of 25,000 gallons, which started growing mustard algae at the bottom. I took a water analysis at Leslie's pool supply and I was told that the CYA was above 150, so they recommended to drain 2 feet of water, which I did, and I thought my problem was resolved. But I got more confused when my next water analysis gave me a worse report. Today, my FAC is 0, my TAC is 0, my CYA is 101, the pH is 7.8, and phosphates are 500! They recommended a product for me called CYA reducer, but I'm not sure if this will benefit my pool. Or, the second option would be to drain my pool again, which I'd hate to do. After reading some of the forums here, some of you mentioned applying free chlorine or bleach?? I have no idea if this is special chlorine, or just the regular type of bleach from the stores. I also read about the BBB method, which I'm not sure how to start applying to my pool.

I have no idea what to do next, so if someone could please direct me where to start, and what the best solution would be since I am a single woman with 2 kids and I have to work every day. Thanks so much for your recommendations. :(
 
First thing is to stop going to the pool $tore. As you have found, they are unreliable.

So what do you do? You get a good test kit. You either need to get a K-2006C or a TF-100XL Personally, I would recommend the TF. It's got more of the tests that you are going to need.

Once you get the kit, you will be able to do the tests yourself and have complete confidence that the numbers are correct. From there you post the numbers and we can help you get your pool in tip top shape.

TFPC is the new name since the idea has changed to one of only putting into your pool, what it needs. You may never need all of the Bs, so why buy them?

Yes, when we talk about bleach, we mean the stuff you get at the grocery store. Get the plain, no scents, no splashless nothing but concentrated bleach. Some stores do carry a pool chlorine, which is really the same exact stuff, just a bit stronger. If you look at the active ingredients, you'll see that they are the same.

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Here is a good place to start: Pool School - Pool School

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Also, please read and do this: Pool School - Getting Started
 
Ok, first off the only effective way to remove CYA is through water replacement, if the CYA in your water is now really down to 101, which we have reason to doubt as pool stores are notoriously bad about accurate CYA testing. You can place the blame in many places, being rushed, not caring, or just poor lighting conditions (the CYA turbidity test is best done outdoors under full sunlight). Now if do assume that the 101 CYA reading is correct and that you don't have an SWG, then you need to replace about half your water volume to get your CYA down to a more reasonable 50 ppm.

Ike

p.s.a company did come out with a CYA reducer last year, in hopes that it would really work a number of people here tried it, and the end results were not promising, most reported either no CYA reduction, or result that were within the error margins of the test, a very few reported reductions on the order of 20%.
 
You can use this http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html to see just how much water you need to drain to get to your desired CYA once you get a recommended test kit and know your true CYA. Play around with it a bit to get the hang of it while you wait. (I do hope you'll follow the advice here and order one, if you haven't already!) be sure to put in the correct pool volume at the top, what your readings currently are in the left column, and the recommended values on the right. It will calculate everything for you.
 
The CYA reducer does not work as advertised. That product has been widely discussed and experimented with here at TFP over the past 1.5 years, and it just doesn't pan out to be the panecea it claims to be.

The only two reliable ways to reduce CYA is 1), drain and refill or 2) Reverse Osmosis treatment of the pool water.
Also, CYA is very very difficult to measure accurately once it gets above 100. Yours may well be higher than the pool store told you.

The others above have recommended the best course of action. Get yourself a good test kit so you can reliably test the water and learn for yourself
how to maintain your pool. It's easy to do and you have all of the help right here at TFP you could ever need.

From your 1 post about what the pool store told you, I can promise that if you leave your pool health along with your level of enjoyment of the pool to that pool store, you will continually have problems with cloudy water, algae and other such nasties. Not to mention, the health aspects of a pool being poorly maintained.
 
First off, I want to say thank you to those who kindly answered my questions. I did drain my pool as advised and my CYA is 99 but my pool is completely green! I added 2 gallons of free bleached as advised, brushed and vacuumed it, but then the pool started turning green after 2 days. The pH is 8, phosphates went down to 100, and the FAC is 2 but I'm only using liquid bleach. I'm afraid to shock the pool since I don't want to bring the CYA higher than 100. I really don't know what route to take at this point, but I know I need to get rid of the algae somehow. Please give me your best advice.
 
:wave: Welcome to TFP!!!

You have been given the "best advice" multiple times.

1. You MUST invest in one of the recommended test kits and stop trusting the pool store testing.
2. You then replace water to get the CYA to a reasonable level
3. You follow the SLAM process to eradicate the algae: SLAM Process
4. Maintain adequate FC levels which are a function of your CYA levels (see [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]) and you will never have algae again.
 
The people that responded are here to help you. They do not make any money, unlike the pool store. Many have been in your shoes and learned from their mistakes. You don't have to worry about your phosphates if your FC is at a recommended level. Please include a signature line with the size of your pool and all the other info that you will see on others' signature. Welcome :wave:
 
olboucha said:
First off, I want to say thank you to those who kindly answered my questions. I did drain my pool as advised and my CYA is 99 but my pool is completely green! I added 2 gallons of free bleached as advised, brushed and vacuumed it, but then the pool started turning green after 2 days. The pH is 8, phosphates went down to 100, and the FAC is 2 but I'm only using liquid bleach. I'm afraid to shock the pool since I don't want to bring the CYA higher than 100. I really don't know what route to take at this point, but I know I need to get rid of the algae somehow. Please give me your best advice.
Click to expand...


SLAMMING is not a one shot deal. You need to look at the chart, find the correct FC for your CYA LEVEL (easier done if it's lower) and MAINTAIN that FC in the pool until the water is clear, AND you lose less that one ppm of FC overnight. A good test kit, with the fas-dpd for measuring levels over 10 is needed.
 

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You will be converted to the BBB method if you follow the advice given. Buy lots of bleach, you are going to need it to get your chlorine level up and to maintain it while it does its thing. Spend a couple hours at pool school.
 
Been there and done that almost. When I found this forum my CYA was just short of turning my pool green. I switched off the trichlor tabs and started using a 10% chlorinating liquid. Obviously, not as convenient on a daily basis, but eliminates problems like you are encountering.

I vacuum to waste and refill the pool water a couple inches about once a week to help get CYA down. Stuff is still hanging around although I've gotten it down to an acceptable level. Hard to get rid of it quick without large amounts of water replacement.
 
Hi guys,
I finally got my TFTest kit this afternoon. I proceeded to do the weekly test on my pool water. My pH is higher than 8.2 which is the max I can see. My FC is 2, CC is 1, CH is 550 and my TA is 200. My CYA is finally down to 70. Earlier today before the test arrived, I vacuumed the pool and noticed that there is some different colors of algae that isn't coming out, so I added some bromine and more bleach. I've been putting gallons and gallons of bleach but I can't get the chlorine any higher. I've been checking my chlorine while I was waiting for my TFTest kit to arrive and I noticed that I can't get it any higher and I don't know why. How can I keep my chlorine at an adequate level. Any one have any ideas to get rid of the colored algae that sticks to the bottom of the pool? Do I have to keep adding gallons of bleach into the pool? Thanks again for all your advice!
 
The only way to remove bromine from a pool is to drain and refill. With bromine the first X amount of chlorine you add will be consumed by the bromide oxidizing it into bromine. Chlorine and bromine also read on the same test, but in different concentrations, so it is impossible to know how much FC is in the pool. It will also interfere with your CC test. I have heard that bromine will dissipate over time. But, I don't know how long it takes or how to tell if it is gone.
 
My only suggestion at this point is to do a 100% water replacement to remove the Bromine depending on how much you added since Bromine never burns off unlike Chlorine as Bromine is a liquid at room temperature. You may want to do a search here on bromine in chlorine pools
 
olboucha said:
Well... now I am very confused. Should I do something about the pH?
Click to expand...


Not if you are planning on following the advice of this forum to remove the bromine by doing a complete (100%) water change. There is no point in fixing the pH of the water that you are about to pump out of the pool. You will need to maintain the proper pH AFTER the water exchange.
 

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