Thank you everyone...after reading some of the other posts about CYA, I am beginning to wonder if this is just a false read...nothing, I mean nothing has changed with my pool over the past week. With the rain, I can see where I would need some chlorine and that the TA might be off...but, I have done nothing different with my chemicals or my cleaning that would account for a CYA change of what was 60 on 4/27 to 110 as of today.
Pool Store Analysis - I am confused!!
- Thread starter Dawnm00
- Start date
I agree; probably nothing has changed in your water, but the pool stores' readings are wildly different. This is why we recommend getting a good kit and testing the water yourself.
One or both of your readings (4/27 or 5/17) could be very wrong.
One or both of your readings (4/27 or 5/17) could be very wrong.
How about you take a new sample to the same store and see what they say now. If they ask, tell them that you drained a little bit of water and wanted to see if there was any effect on CYA.
That is probably what I am going to do. One more question for you "experts"...I know what I need to add bleach-wise for my FAC...what about a TA level of 60 - how much baking soda do I need to add? And is there a "home chemical" for Calcium Chloride - I need to work on my CH total of 190. If there is, how much do I need to use?
svenpup
LifeTime Supporter
Dawnm00 said:
In cold weather areas you can get Calcium Chloride ice melt as a non-pool store option. In Texas you will most likely have to bite the bullet and go to the pool store. On the bright side, once you get the pool balanced and are under way with the TFP method, Calcium Chloride and CYA are pretty much the only thing you will need at the pool store.
If CH is low you can use Cal-Hypo for your chlorine source for awhile. I like to have some on hand as it keeps for a long time and if you need to shock the pool it is easier to scoop a few lbs out of the big bucket instead of running out to the store for 5 or 10 jugs of bleach.
I just got 73% Cal-Hypo (ZapIt) at Warehouse Pool Supply but last year I was using 63% Cal-Hypo (Power Powder Pro Plus I think it was called) from Leslies. Easy enough to keep a 50# or 100# bucket in the pool supply shed to have on hand in case the bleach runs out and I need chlorine right away. while it is pricy in teh 1 lb packets, it is pretty reasonable in big buckets and it keeps well.
I just got 73% Cal-Hypo (ZapIt) at Warehouse Pool Supply but last year I was using 63% Cal-Hypo (Power Powder Pro Plus I think it was called) from Leslies. Easy enough to keep a 50# or 100# bucket in the pool supply shed to have on hand in case the bleach runs out and I need chlorine right away. while it is pricy in teh 1 lb packets, it is pretty reasonable in big buckets and it keeps well.
Cal Hypo is a good choice to kill two birds....maintaining your FC and raising CH.
Baking Soda raises TA - you don't need to go too high - 70-90 is fine.
You do need your own test kit - since your FC was 0, you need to know if your FC is holding overnight, and you need an FAS-DPD test to determine that.
(We have had reports of stores that don't test the CYA at all and they simply enter the value of the last test taken. I agree, either one of your last two tests could be wrong.)
Baking Soda raises TA - you don't need to go too high - 70-90 is fine.
You do need your own test kit - since your FC was 0, you need to know if your FC is holding overnight, and you need an FAS-DPD test to determine that.
(We have had reports of stores that don't test the CYA at all and they simply enter the value of the last test taken. I agree, either one of your last two tests could be wrong.)