cya and covered pool

[mfederwi]

Was wondering if I could keep my cya level lower than the typical recommended level if my pool is covered the majority of the time with an automatic pool cover. I thought with less sun maybe there was less need for cya. No SWG, just use liquid chlorine. Current cya level is about 20.
Mark

 

[JasonLion]

If the pool is covered essentially all of the time, yes it is reasonable to keep the CYA level a little lower than normal. I suggest a level around 30, though anything from 20 to 50 is fine.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

I keep mine lower but not quite *that* low.
My CYA hangs around 50-55 cause I have a SWG. The recommendation is more along the lines of 70 with a SWG.

 

[dfahrion]

As an owner of a pool with an autocover I've had the same thoughts. However while the pool is in use/open the need for CYA isn't any different than a pool without an autocover so I can't personally see going below 30. Most of the time if we have people in the pool the pool is open and in full sun all afternoon.

Unfortunately my first opening of the new to me pool last year had CYA well over 200 and I gave up after getting it to 70 and used it at that level, this year I'm down to 45, but mainly because of the autocover I'm planning to work down to 30 eventually, although if I have to raise the FC noticeably higher than normal just to last a full day of being open I will keep CYA higher. I figure if I maintain it at 30 I can only use 4-6 pucks a year, which will make that 40lb tub I bought before the first opening and before I knew better last over a decade...

 

[chem geek]

I have a mostly opaque automatic pool cover and the pool is used almost every day for an hour or so. I used to maintain 30 ppm, but eventually decided on 40 ppm as a reasonably sweet spot going between 3 and 6 ppm FC only dosing about twice a week. We keep our water warm at around 88ºF which leads to a somewhat higher chlorine loss though due to the cover it's less than 1 ppm FC per day.