CYA is a CURSE!

[Mike Stevens]

After having a small 7,000-gallon fiberglass in-ground pool for a year and being sold a bill of (expensive) goods by Leslie's when I first opened the pool, I am still left with SUCH frustration over ONE thing: cyanuric acid! I've had to partially drain/refill my pool three times already due to CYA being too high. WHY don't places like Leslie's tell you that there are OTHER ways to add chlorine besides stabilized tablets? Why do tabs contain so much CYA? It's infuriating.

I am at my wit's end trying to find a way to keep the CYA in my pool from rising. I'm experimenting with liquid chlorine, and with keeping stabilized tablets to a minimum in the pool. (Leslie's told me initially to fill the tab feeder all the way to the top!) I just discovered there are NON-stablized tablets on the market, hard to find but just ordered a bucketful.

Does anyone have an idea of exactly what I should be doing to chlorinate my pool with only the minimum CYA being added? I've looked high and low and can't find a definite answer. I'm flying blind trying all different combinations of CYA and non-CYA options.

 

[kul]

Welcome. Use liquid chlorine. If you have a SWG use that. Don’t use chlorine tablets or “shock”
Pool Care Basics

 

[mknauss]

Does anyone have an idea of exactly what I should be doing to chlorinate my pool with only the minimum CYA being added?

Welcome to the forum.

How to Chlorinate Your Pool

Before chlorinating your pool, you should know these simple tips. Learn the best way to add chlorine to your pool.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

I just discovered there are NON-stablized tablets on the market, hard to find but just ordered a bucketful.

Use these wisely as well. They are likely bound by calcium and will increase CH levels in the pool. Too much calcium is just as bad as too much CYA. The only way to remove it is through reverse osmosis or water exchange.

If the tablets are cal-hypo, don't use them in the same tablet chlorinator that was used for trichlor.

As mentioned, we recommend the use of liquid chlorine or installation of a salt water chlorine generator.

 

[Donldson]

Why do tabs contain so much CYA

The short answer is that there's only 3 things you can bond chlorine to and create a solid and stable form. CYA, cal-hypo, and lithium. Cal-hypo usually does not dissolve correctly, though there's been some advancements. It still adds CH to the water, so you still run in to problems over time. Lithium used to be cheap, but that's never going to be true again unless solid state batteries become so cheap as to replace lithium-ion in everything (unlikely). So that leaves CYA. Trichlor is the only chlorine chemical that can easily be formed in to a puck that dissolves slowly and predictably. But for every 2 ppm FC it adds it also adds 1 ppm CYA. There's no way around that, unfortunately. It's part of the molecule.

 

[mknauss]

I just discovered there are NON-stablized tablets on the market, hard to find but just ordered a bucketful.

Do NOT place those in the feeder that trichlor was in - an explosion will occur.

 

[Mike Stevens]

Ugh, I should have done more research on the cal-hypo tablets...raises calcium, etc.! Cancelling my order! I don't have a SWG so I guess I am stuck with liquid chlorine which is fine but what happens when no CYA is being introduced at all? If CYA never goes away even with evaporation, do I even need to worry about it? (Leslie's last test said my CYA is at 100.)

This is where I wonder if I should just use liquid PLUS an occasional tablet and/or shock to get the best balance of CYA. It's so confusing.

 

[mknauss]

You need a proper test kit.
CYA leaves the pool with overflow due to rain and draining/backwashing.
It slowly degrades, especially with water temperatures over 90F.

 

[Mike Stevens]

CYA leaves the pool with overflow due to rain and draining/backwashing.
It slowly degrades, especially with water temperatures over 90F.

Well, that's something at least...I'm in Texas and lately the water has been around 92 during the day in our well-over-100-degree weather!

 

[Mike Stevens]

Let me ask this, then...how much liquid chlorine (the pool kind) should I be putting into my pool (7,000 gallons only, in-ground, fiberglass) and how often? For the past week I have been putting in 12 ounces a day and no other sources of chlorine, and my test strips still show barely any chlorine. Used the chart on the bottle as a guideline but still no improvement.

 

[mknauss]

You need a proper test kit to know what level of CYA you have, and how much you may need to drain to get to manageable levels.
Test Kits Compared

What Are My Ideal Pool Levels?

Use our tool to find ideal chemical levels for any swimming pool. Check TFP recommended levels on pH, free chlorine, cyanuric acid, and more.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Bperry]

Let me ask this, then...how much liquid chlorine (the pool kind) should I be putting into my pool (7,000 gallons only, in-ground, fiberglass) and how often? For the past week I have been putting in 12 ounces a day and no other sources of chlorine, and my test strips still show barely any chlorine. Used the chart on the bottle as a guideline but still no improvement.

The strips will cause you trouble over the long run. They aren’t very accurate and sometimes go bad but don’t tell you they are bad. Get the test kit TFP recommends and do things right. Don’t go back to the pool store unless you like emptying your wallet for useless stuff.

Your pool will consume 2-4ppm of chlorine per day. Replenish what was lost with the chlorinating liquid. You can get it at Home Depot for cheaper than the pool store.

 

[jeffchap]

Does anyone have an idea of exactly what I should be doing to chlorinate my pool with only the minimum CYA being added? I've looked high and low and can't find a definite answer. I'm flying blind trying all different combinations of CYA and non-CYA options.

Congratulations! You have discovered the entire reason this forum exists. The whole basis for the TFP method is maintaining the proper FC/CYA ratio.

FC/CYA Levels

But just as you can't trust the pool store to understand and tell you this, neither can you trust their testing. So as advised already, get one of these test kits and be prepared to NEVER drain your pool again.

Test Kits Compared

Use PoolMath to determine exactly how much liquid chlorine/bleach to add daily to achieve and maintain your target FC from the chart above. When in doubt, go high. It's safe to swim with FC up to 40% of CYA.

Once your test kit comes in, perform the following test and post the results. It's likely your going to need to drain and refill one more time to get your CYA to a manageable level. In Dallas in the summertime 50-60 would be good.

CYA
FC
CC
TA
pH

In the meantime, take a look at our Pool School articles for a detailed explanation of what we do here.

Welcome home, my friend.

 

[Mike Stevens]

Very helpful comments. So the TF-100 test kit is better than a Taylor test kit? Concerned that the bottles store on their sides rather than upright, and the container looks sort of cheap, and I daresay, how come it's only available here?

 

[jeffchap]

I believe the TF-100 uses Taylor reagents, but in a larger quantity for less money.

 

[Bperry]

Very helpful comments. So the TF-100 test kit is better than a Taylor test kit? Concerned that the bottles store on their sides rather than upright, and the container looks sort of cheap, and I daresay, how come it's only available here?

They are the same thing except the TF 100 has larger quantities of reagents that you tend to use more. It’s a small business created just for that purpose

 

[mknauss]

Consider the TFPro. A great value with the SmartStir.

 

[Mdragger88]

Very helpful comments. So the TF-100 test kit is better than a Taylor test kit? Concerned that the bottles store on their sides rather than upright, and the container looks sort of cheap, and I daresay, how come it's only available here?

Www.Tftestkits.net is a small business started years ago by a member here to give homeowners more of the Taylor reagents used & needed most for less $$ than the Taylor k2006 kit includes.
They used to be available on Amazon but now are only available on their website.
TFP & tftestkits.net are two separate entities.
Tfp is a 501c3 non profit informational website that is funded solely by donations & run by volunteers. There is a tfp store but it only sells t shirts, coffee mugs, stickers & stuff like that. Trouble Free Pool Store
Here’s more info about tfp & how it operates

Become a TFP Supporter

Help Support TFP Trouble Free Pool is run by a dedicated group of volunteers that … Read more…

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Consider the TFPro. A great value with the SmartStir.

This would be my choice, but unavailable when I purchased my kit. I got the TF-100, a Speed Stir, and a tackle box to hold everything. Piecing that together today would be real close to the cost of the TF-Pro kit.

TF kits do use the same Taylor reagents used in the K-2006 and K-2006C kits. The latter is a great kit, but you end up paying more for reagents you won't use.

I'm a bargain hunter and I have shopped around for deals. I buy bulk FC reagents so I can test freely and experiment and I have to reup my pH reagent more frequently. Although I usually purchase these from Amazon (read free shipping), I still purchase a full refill kit every other year from TFtestkits (in March when they're on sale) because it's the best value.

I have no horse in the race, so I wouldn't recommend the TF-based kits if they weren't the best value.

 

[Mdragger88]

Fwiw - i have never had an issue with the bottles being stored on their side. I like the tf100 flat case for my personal storage situation. When my case gives out I may upgrade to the tfpro- haven’t decided yet. I have alot of tackle boxes so there’s many options
One other thing
Not mentioned yet is that tftestkits ensures you will receive fresh reagents & stores them properly. If not they will replace them. The same cannot always be said with Amazon as lots of things are stored in warehouses & different sellers have different practices.
I generally get my refills from tftestkits unless I run across a really good deal on large bottles from a known seller on the Amazin
I am sure that if another test kit came along that did what the k2006c & the tf100/pro do & was a good value it would be recommended here as well. Until then - those are the options.
You won’t regret taking control over your testing & taking the pool store out of the equation.