CYA adjustment before getting rid of algae

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ashearer26

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Apr 17, 2013
8
Sherman, TX
Ok, about ready to turn my green swamp into a sparkling oasis, but I've got a question after reading through pool school, etc.

Currently, my CYA is at 10, so I know I need to add stabilizer in a skimmer sock before I get this all going. But I've got some conflicting signals here. I've read a couple places on here that you can't backwash for a week after adding solid stabilizer, which would imply that I would need to add stabilizer and let it alone for a week before I even started taking on the algae. However, the "Green Swamp to Sparkling Oasis" post seems to imply that I can drop that stabilizer in the skimmer sock and get going with it right away (of course, I would be backwashing within a few days then). Which is best?

And, if I can start killing the algae right away, should I be bringing the water to the shock level according to my CYA reading of 10 or what I hope it will be by adding the stabilizer (hopefully 40). Thanks for all your help!

~Tony
 
Sounds like you're armed with the knowledge, so... measure out enough CYA to get you where you want to be. Pour it in an orphaned sock or nylon. That's right - nothing special. A sock sock, not some special gimmick the pool store sells. Tie it closed with a string and hang it over the edge of the pool in front of a return jet. Fill one of those empty bleach bottles with water to use as a weight and tie the string to the handle. Adjust pH, then start the shock process based on the FC you calculated using whatever value of CYA you dosed for. It won't show up on the test for about a week; just assume that if you added enough to get you to thirty, that its thirty, and raise FC accordingly. Don't bother testing anything but FC and CC during the process, and after a week, test CYA and see how you're doing.

And we want pictures. Lots of them.
 
Richard320 said:
Sounds like you're armed with the knowledge, so... measure out enough CYA to get you where you want to be. Pour it in an orphaned sock or nylon. That's right - nothing special. A sock sock, not some special gimmick the pool store sells. Tie it closed with a string and hang it over the edge of the pool in front of a return jet. Fill one of those empty bleach bottles with water to use as a weight and tie the string to the handle. Adjust pH, then start the shock process based on the FC you calculated using whatever value of CYA you dosed for. It won't show up on the test for about a week; just assume that if you added enough to get you to thirty, that its thirty, and raise FC accordingly. Don't bother testing anything but FC and CC during the process, and after a week, test CYA and see how you're doing.

And we want pictures. Lots of them.
Click to expand...

^Ditto (especially pictures!!), if you are using "something" that dissolves the CYA granules before they enter the 'Body of the Kirk' (ie your water) (for example a sock) then you don't have an issue with backwashing, following the Pool School instructions, it's only if you add the granules partially or totally undissolved that it would settle in the bed of your sand filter and be washed down the drain if you backwashed in the first week.
 
Ok, that makes a lot of sense. But I'm going to need to add about 3 lbs. of CYA according to the pool calculator. I'm not sure I've got a sock that big. Can I just put a portion of that in, keep an eye on it and once it's mostly dissolved, refill the sock?
 
ashearer26 said:
Ok, that makes a lot of sense. But I'm going to need to add about 3 lbs. of CYA according to the pool calculator. I'm not sure I've got a sock that big. Can I just put a portion of that in, keep an eye on it and once it's mostly dissolved, refill the sock?
Click to expand...
Yes you can indeed, remember to shoot for lower than your target, you don't want to go higher than your target then have to start draining to get it back down, for example if your shooting for 60ppm shoot for 40-50 to start then top it up a week later.
 
Since you're clearing a swamp 40 cya sounds good, high enough to protect the chlorine from the sun but not so high as to make the shock level un-reasonable. Depending on how much you have to backwash, once you've cleared the pool to the oasis level check CYA again because it may have dropped some. Then dose to your desired maintenance level.

And we want pics! :)
 
Absolutely! In fact, when it comes to CYA I'm very cautious in my additions so that I don't accidentally overshoot my goal CYA level. Its a PITA to remove once in, but you can always easily add more later in doses.
I use a small section of pool noodle (toy) to suspend my CYA sock on, and it floats around freely. I give it a good squish with my hand now and then and it gets dissolved in no time.
 
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