Should BBB instead be called BBBCYA???

Jump to latest Follow Reply
V

VegMaPa

0
Jul 26, 2012
58
I am confused. CYA is in those Bromine tabs (?), and it is hard to control the levels of CYA isn't it? Or is it hard to control because the bromine masks it at some point?

By going with the BBB method from what I am reading everyone is saying add CYA... I thought to only add the 3 B's for maintaining unless something is wrong.

Had a New water fill on Wed, today is Sat. REady to put bleach in. 84oz of bleach from poolcalc site?

Anyone NOT using CYA? Or waiting till chlorine gets to acceptable level?
 
I think this may be the second thread wherein you have mentioned bromine. You can have a bromine pool (not such a good idea) or you can have a chlorine pool but you can't mix the two.

Do you truly have bromine tabs?
 
I have nothing in MY pool YET. My husband purchased bromine tabs from the pool store. I have them here unopened ready to take back. I did some researching online :-D last night and have come to the conclusion that that bromine isn't as effective as bleach.

Everyone is saying with BBB method, that is all you need, unless one has problems. In my other thread, someone said to use CYA for sure? Thought all you need is BBB? I am just confused. Don't want to add CYA unless everyone adds this.... Still Convincing my husband to just put bleach in, as baking soda and borax is not needed yet. Picked up bleach last night.

:blah: ok I do a lot of this but not compared to some others here. Just read someone's post that was a book... basically wanted a pool wo spending any money :roll:

I might be misunderstood more than once here.... men and women communicate differently, I just told my husband :wink:
 
Bromine IS as effective as bleach, but its also expensive. Bromine, Chlorine, Baqua are the 3 sanitizers approved by the EPA. Bromine and Chlorine are similar and Baqua is terrible because its so proprietary. Bromine is just super expensive for pools, it has found a nice niche in spas though because it is better at high temperatures (and spas don't use as much)

No reason to start with bromine, may as well do BBB now. If you had been using bromine for 5 years, then it would be a different story.
 
Sorry. My original post should have gone in the BBB thread I guess.

By using CYA is it drastically reduding bleach usage? Is it reducing exposure to harmful effects of bleach, or is CYA just as bad?

I would spend $200 a month if it meant safer for my family. Is using the bromine just really a cost issue? I prefer safer in the body.

My friend has a Campbell Environmental System - combining copper, silver, UV method for disinfecting. Guess I should looking into this for next year. More research to do...
 
VegMaPa said:
Sorry. My original post should have gone in the BBB thread I guess.

By using CYA is it drastically reduding bleach usage? Is it reducing exposure to harmful effects of bleach, or is CYA just as bad?

I would spend $200 a month if it meant safer for my family. Is using the bromine just really a cost issue? I prefer safer in the body.

My friend has a Campbell Environmental System - combining copper, silver, UV method for disinfecting. Guess I should looking into this for next year. More research to do...
Click to expand...
If you follow the Chlorine/CYA chart, you have the same availible chlorine levels on all CYA levels. CYA isn't harmful, but it reduces chlorine loss to the sun. In exhange though, you have to keep a higher chlorine level, which makes it harder to shock. That's why we recommend staying around 40-50.

Don't do any "mineral" system. Copper can and will cause stains and they are NOT approved sanitizer systems if they don't use chlorine or bromine or Baqua to supplement. The only 3 EPA approved sanitizers for pools are Chlorine, Bromine, and Baqua.
 
A lot of newbies get hung up on the term BBB, thinking it means that those are the ONLY 3 things that you will ever put in your pool. That's not the case. You will need other things, but those are the most common things you'll use. BBB is really about the idea of taking control of your pool through proper testing and putting in only what you need. And staying away from the pool store. If you use chlorine according to the guidelines on this site, you'll have a safe clean easy-to-maintain pool.
 
Go with chlorine. As for safety, for residential pools both chlorine and bromine are safe but the disinfection by-products from bromine are worse than those from chlorine. Ans as was pointed out earlier, bromine is usually more expensive.

As for Recommended Pool Chemicals, because you have a vinyl lined pool you won't need to increase Calcium Hardness (CH) so won't need any calcium chloride. So all you'll need is Cyanuric Acid (CYA) to start off and after that you'll just be adding either chlorinating liquid or 6% regular bleach and possibly as needed some Muriatic Acid. That's all I add in my pool -- mostly chlorine and some acid. The "baking soda" and "borax" of BBB are usually not needed unless the pH is too low (uncommon when using chlorinating liquid or bleach) or unless one wants to use 50 ppm borates in their water, which is optional.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
So Everyone uses CYA with bleach? Learning the BBB method isn't all you need :wink: I'd love to see a comparision of BBB vs bromine tabs, in how the chemicals are absorbed into one's body.

Do some claim that Bromine is safer for your health?

My friend swears by her Campbell system, and she says she shocks once a week with chlorine. Seems like maintaining might be safer overall. They have had this in-ground pool using this system going on 4th year.

This is all making me dizzy :hammer:

xposting
 
VegMaPa said:
So Everyone uses CYA with bleach? Learning the BBB method isn't all you need :wink: I'd love to see a comparision of BBB vs bromine tabs, in how the chemicals are absorbed into one's body.

Do some claim that Bromine is safer for your health?

My friend swears by her Campbell system, and she says she shocks once a week with chlorine. Seems like maintaining might be safer overall. They have had this in-ground pool using this system going on 4th year.

This is all making me dizzy :hammer:

xposting
Click to expand...
:google:
 
The point to using any system in the pool is to keep the water sanitized and clear. If I read it correctly you friend uses a mineral based system and then must "shock" the pool to kill off the bacteria the minerals can't kill off and to kill off the algae. So, in truth the minerals along don't work and you must still use chlorine. I am going to guess they use other chemicals to keep their ph in line. Do they also use an algaecide?

What I do is use the amount of chlorine my pool requires to keep it sanitary and clear, period. The borax, baking soda and CYA are there to adjust the ph and protect the bleach. I directly kill and control the algae and bacterial organisms with the most cost effective sanitizer.
 
I will ask my friend about the other chemicals in her system....
~
Putting in the bleach, and the CYA tonight when the sun goes down! Finally :-D

Thanks all for the replies, it is appreciated. Off to the poolcalc to double check it is only 84oz of bleach to put in...
 
VegMaPa said:
So Everyone uses CYA with bleach? Learning the BBB method isn't all you need :wink: I'd love to see a comparision of BBB vs bromine tabs, in how the chemicals are absorbed into one's body.

Do some claim that Bromine is safer for your health?

My friend swears by her Campbell system, and she says she shocks once a week with chlorine. Seems like maintaining might be safer overall. They have had this in-ground pool using this system going on 4th year.
Click to expand...
One needs to have Cyanuric Acid (CYA) in the pool when using chlorine in order to not have it break down from sunlight quickly and in order to moderate its strength. The active chlorine level recommended on this forum is equivalent to having an FC of less than 0.1 ppm if there were no CYA.

Neither chlorine nor bromine get absorbed into the body as themselves because they are both very reactive so instead combine with or oxidize chemicals in the dead skin layer (stratum corneum). Cyanuric Acid has no significant skin absorption. The health issues are only with chlorine disinfection by-products which are much lower in outdoor residential pools. See BBB and chlorine health for more detailed info.

As for the Campbell Environmental Systems copper/silver/UV chlorine-free system, there is so much baloney on that webpage that I have dedicated an entire thread to it so that others may see how fraudulent and inaccurate it is. In fact, their NSF certification claims are false and I have reported that to NSF International.
 
Wow, great information that I am going to look into.
I am posting from walmart on my smartphit one. No CYA is here. Should I put the bleach in anyway and look for cya tomorrow, then add that? Should I adjust my bleach level?
 
Walmart was all out. Put the 82oz. of bleach in tonight though. Pool store is open tomorrow(Sunday)will then get some cya. Tomorrow night I imagine I will be putting a load of bleach in again..... glad we cleaned the filter, just read to not clean the filter for a week after adding cya.
 
You only need to wait a week to backwash a filter if you add the CYA via the skimmer (which is not the recommended manner). It is best to fill a sock or nylon with the CYA and hang it in front of your return, giving it a squeeze once in a while, especially if your in the pool.
 
A question (don't laugh) ... what is backwashing the filter anyway? We have a ClearWater Filter, that we are supposed to take out and clean weekly(?). I didn't get instructions with this system or the pump, so we are just winging it.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply