CYA = 0, Pool Greener than grass

[txreap]

Hello all,

Sorry, but family obligations kept me from following up on Saturday.

Am I in a holding pattern until the new reagents arrive (pd for express freight, eta 6/1)? If so, is there anything I can/should be doing in the meantime? Running to the store this morning to load up on bleach.

If CYA is actually 0, that means a lot of stabilizer required (472 oz of liquid) with local costs of ~$35/ga. At this point, and considering I'll be going back to work on Tuesday and will only be able to monitor pool early mornings and evenings, am I better off draining and refilling?

Thanks.

 

[mknauss]

Did you ever add any CYA? Can you test for that?

You can add about 5 ppm worth of chlorine each day. Best to do it in the evening.

Take care.

 

[txreap]

I added a gallon of stabilizer in around the 1st of May.

retested, result is 0.

 

[mknauss]

I added a gallon of stabilizer in around the 1st of May.

OK -- so that was enough to raise your CYA by 20 ppm at the time. If you have backwashed your filter since then it has gone down. It is too low to be detected by the test.

I would suggest adding another 20 ppm worth of CYA. You should then be able to test for it with your TF100 kit.

 

[txreap]

OK -- so that was enough to raise your CYA by 20 ppm at the time. If you have backwashed your filter since then it has gone down. It is too low to be detected by the test.

I would suggest adding another 20 ppm worth of CYA. You should then be able to test for it with your TF100 kit.

Thanks. Will pick up a bottle later this morning once Leslie's opens, or if Home Depot has some maybe sooner.

 

[mknauss]

It is up to you, but the powder is a whole lot cheaper. A $16, 4# canister of CYA powder will add 25 ppm of CYA to your pool. Adding it is easy, put it in a sock and hang in front of a return. Squeeze it a few times after it is saturated and it dissolves quickly.

Take care.

 

[txreap]

It is up to you, but the powder is a whole lot cheaper. A $16, 4# canister of CYA powder will add 25 ppm of CYA to your pool. Adding it is easy, put it in a sock and hang in front of a return. Squeeze it a few times after it is saturated and it dissolves quickly.

Take care.

Thanks. I bought both knowing that I can always use it. My concern is that with visible algae coverage (like 100%), I will be doing a bunch of backwash/waste and dumping out the stabilizer and/or diluting if I end up replenishing waste water. I am guessing we need some sort of CYA measurement before starting to SLAM, so it needs to be added today despite the possible backwash probability? The liquid conditioner was bought to obtain faster CYA measurement results in order to start the SLAM process sooner.

 

[mknauss]

A CYA of 30 ppm is needed so there is some sun protection of the chlorine during the day.

I realize you will be backwashing, nature of the beast with a sand filter. But you still need to maintain your CYA.

Take care.

 

[txreap]

A CYA of 30 ppm is needed so there is some sun protection of the chlorine during the day.

I realize you will be backwashing, nature of the beast with a sand filter. But you still need to maintain your CYA.

Take care.

Got it. Gallon of liquid added about 11AM CST. Thanks.

 

[txreap]

Hello, received updated reagents today. I do not remember my original R870 being white, ever. Anyway, worked like a champ here are the updates:

5/28 Added 1/2 GA of 10% Liquid Chlorine (only $2.98/ga at Lowes).

5/29 7:45AM CL 5.0, pH 7.2

5/29 8:30PM
CL 3.0, pH 7.2
FC 1.5
CC 1.5
TA 60
CH did not test
CYA <20 slightly cloudy (added 1 GA liquid stabilizer 5/25, added 1 lb powder stabilizer 5/28.

Noticed Pool Water is clearer such that I was able to see white drain plate in 8' deep end.

 

[txreap]

5/31 Update
Started SLAM last night round 6:30 by adding x4 121 oz jugs of 10% liquid chlorine. Brushed this morning, but no time to measure chems.

5:30PM today:

CL 2.0
pH 7.2
FC 4
CC 1.5
TA 60
CYA 10-20?

Added x5 121oz jugs of 10% Liquid Chlorine (btw, earlier i said 2.98 ea, it's 3.98 ea at Lowe's). 1st sock empty of CYA, added another and hung it by return. When I got home from work, the water had a bluish hue to it, until I brushed anyway. Will continue to post results daily.

 

[jblizzle]

Making progress now that your chlorine test is working

 

[txreap]

pH 7.3-7.4
FC 16
cc 1.5
CYA 25, good cloudiness in solution

added 121oz of 10 Liq Chl, will pick up more today. Had to backwash due to pressure reading, consequently adding water this morning as skimmer is barely getting water. Will likely add more CYA this evening.

 

[txreap]

6/1 6PM
pH 7.2
FC 13
cc 1
TA 60
CYA 30

Do I need to add more stabilizer or continue to operate at 30 for now?

 

[mknauss]

Keep the CYA at 30 until you pass the three criteria for a successful SLAM

 

[txreap]

thx!

 

[txreap]

6/2 7PM Measurements

CL 5.0+, pH 7.2
FC 13
CC 1
TA 60
CYA 25

 

[mknauss]

Looks good. CYA cannot be measured at 25. It is either 20 or 30. Scale is logarithmic. Go with 30.

No need to do the chlorine OTO test (yellow one).

Stay at it.

 

[txreap]

6/3 9:30 AM (yes, slept in and had some coffee 1st this morning)
pH 7.5
FC 18
cc 1.5
CYA 30

Will add some MA this morning and CL per PoolMath. Target FC is 24, which is what I have been using all along. Probably should have verified that earlier in the process. I am definitely seeing progress, but if someone has a different value to suggest, I am open to making a change.

 

[jblizzle]

The pH test is not valid when the FC is greater than 10 ppm

Hold on. With a cya of only 30 PPM, your FC is already above shock level and you should not raise it to double that's for sure