CYA Question - New to pools and SWGs

[il_signore97]

Hi all,

Having never had a pool before, this is all new to me. You have a great site here and I've done a lot of reading. Thank you all for the great information.

I just purchased a small above ground pool for the kids (and to try my hand at this before making the leap into a full in-ground pool at some point in the future). The pool is a 12' diameter round, steel frame, vinyl liner, ~2400 gal, with a small Intex SWG. The SWG is capable of producing 4 g/h (or 0.212 lbs / 24 HR) of chlorine output.

So far, I've filled up the pool, added the salt, added some CYA to start with, and have just started the SWG (24 HR after adding everything else). The SWG manual states that a runtime of 6 hours is sufficient for my pool size.

My question is about CYA. In the Intex manual, it very clearly states that CYA should be added up to 10 ppm, with a maximum level of 30 ppm. This is completely contrary to anything that I've read on this site (or anywhere on the internet for that matter)!!!

Why would Intex make that recommendation, and should I ignore it and target a more acceptable level of 60-70 ppm CYA?

Also, should I add bleach as the initial sanitizer to raise the levels quickly or just let the SWG do it's thing overnight?

Thank you for your insight.

Jeff


PS - waiting for a proper test kit but according to the strips, TA is somewhere around 120, pH was 7.2 from my city water supply but the CYA lowered it to ~6.9 (very hard to tell with these terrible test strips), CH is about 250-300.

I will have better numbers once the proper test kit arrives. I just want to make sure I don't have too little sanitizer in there in the meantime to prevent algae growth.

 

[cowboycasey]

Welcome to TFP

Intex says that because the whole pool industry has said that for years and years.. They also say to keep your FC between 1 and 3... You can run a SWG with CYA that low but it will have to run forever because the sun will eat the chlorine faster than the SWG can make it..

If you run your SWG about 6 to 8 hours with a CYA of 70 you should be good to go.. Try to keep your FC level at or above 5 to 7 FC.. SWG are great at keeping chlorine levels, always use liquid chlorine to raise FC then let the SWG take over..

This is how much your cell can make in your pool in 24 hours, ignore PH and salt in that effect as you have a SWG..

 

[il_signore97]

Welcome to TFP

Intex says that because the whole pool industry has said that for years and years.. They also say to keep your FC between 1 and 3... You can run a SWG with CYA that low but it will have to run forever because the sun will eat the chlorine faster than the SWG can make it..

If you run your SWG about 6 to 8 hours with a CYA of 70 you should be good to go.. Try to keep your FC level at or above 5 to 7 FC.. SWG are great at keeping chlorine levels, always use liquid chlorine to raise FC then let the SWG take over..

Thanks for the welcome and for the advice! Both are much appreciated.

I've added concentrated bleach (8.25%) as per the pool calculator as well as enough extra CYA to bring it up from the original 30 ppm to the targeted 70 ppm.

I'm guessing I'll have to keep the bleach handy for a couple of days until the rest of the CYA dissolves and begins to protect the chlorine. It's ridiculously slow to dissolve, even inside a sock within the skimmer basket.

Thanks again,
Jeff

 

[cowboycasey]

Some of that CYA breaks down really fast, the other seems like it stays around forever

 

[LoneWolfArcher]

Thanks for the welcome and for the advice! Both are much appreciated.

I've added concentrated bleach (8.25%) as per the pool calculator as well as enough extra CYA to bring it up from the original 30 ppm to the targeted 70 ppm.

I'm guessing I'll have to keep the bleach handy for a couple of days until the rest of the CYA dissolves and begins to protect the chlorine. It's ridiculously slow to dissolve, even inside a sock within the skimmer basket.

Thanks again,
Jeff

Be careful with bleach. Unfortunately, most bleach in the laundry aisle now has additives. It is better just to have a few gallons of "Pool shock" or another pool LC on hand.