CYA reading

[kaguirre579]

Hello!
I’m just picked up a Taylor 2006 test kit. I’m taking over my pool. Just got rid of my pool guy. I just got through with the test. I wasn’t sure what to make of my CYA reading. Looks like it’s pretty high. What do you guys think this reading would be.

 

[TexEdmond]

Is that the level where you can't see the dot anymore?

Looks like my pool around 2 months ago... How much does water cost in your neck of the woods?

 

[TexEdmond]

just picked up a Taylor 2006 test kit.

Best money you'll ever spend.

I’m taking over my pool. Just got rid of my pool guy.

Best two decisions you're likely to make for the rest of this month.

 

[PoolStored]

Take a read --> CYA Dilution test

Likely you will need to drain a portion of your pool --> Draining and replacing

 

[kaguirre579]

Thanks yea I’m ready to tackle this thing. Get my pool on the right track. My pool guy never told me the CYA was high or anything. I don’t know if he tested for it.

The black dot disappeared, shortly after started reappearing.

I used approx 14900 gallons last month and my water bill was $88. The month before that I used 25400 and it was $144. They charge by 100 cubic feet and tiered to have high costs with more used. Not sure if that’s expensive. Probably, since I live in Southern California.

 

[kaguirre579]

Is that the level where you can't see the dot anymore?

Looks like my pool around 2 months ago... How much does water cost in your neck of the woods?

Thanks yea I’m ready to tackle this thing. Get my pool on the right track. My pool guy never told me the CYA was high or anything. I don’t know if he tested for it.

The black dot disappeared, shortly after started reappearing.

I used approx 14900 gallons last month and my water bill was $88. The month before that I used 25400 and it was $144. They charge by 100 cubic feet and tiered to have high costs with more used. Not sure if that’s expensive. Probably, since I live in Southern California.

 

[TexEdmond]

So you might already know some of this from browsing the site, but the two biggest things with CYA are: 1.) the higher your CYA is, the more chlorine it takes to reach sanitization levels in your pool. and 2.) the CYA levels basically never go down and the only way to get them quickly down is to drain / swap / refill your pool. Take a visit over to the Pool School link on the left and browse, if you haven't already. Other questions you can search for or check the Wiki.

You're in a lucky part of the world where it might make sense to leave your pool open year-round. Even if you don't, but especially if you do, you're going to want to get CYA down to our recommended levels so you can keep algae from growing. It's a really good idea to download the paid version of the PoolMath app... I've never done pool stuff before and it's changed my life. Also, there's tons more folks here on the site that know way more than me, so if you'll update your signature with all the nifty gadgets you have and your pool's setup, they'll be able to help you much better than me. Start posting your other test numbers too, and we can help you get a plan for getting the rest of your chemistry in balance when you get CYA under control. It's a good idea to document the chemistry of the water you'll be using to fill the pool as well, because that can have huge effects on your post-refill life. It's also good to know what's been done to your pool regarding metal (copper / silver) algaecides or special shocks or anything like that. Every little bit is eventually important when it comes to getting things back right and not having stains or swimmers with green hair.

Welcome to the family, and good job taking control of the pool. You'll always do a better job yourself than somebody else hired to come in every few days, and this is the right place to learn and ask and plan and share pictures of your awesome pool.

 

[kaguirre579]

So you might already know some of this from browsing the site, but the two biggest things with CYA are: 1.) the higher your CYA is, the more chlorine it takes to reach sanitization levels in your pool. and 2.) the CYA levels basically never go down and the only way to get them quickly down is to drain / swap / refill your pool. Take a visit over to the Pool School link on the left and browse, if you haven't already. Other questions you can search for or check the Wiki.

You're in a lucky part of the world where it might make sense to leave your pool open year-round. Even if you don't, but especially if you do, you're going to want to get CYA down to our recommended levels so you can keep algae from growing. It's a really good idea to download the paid version of the PoolMath app... I've never done pool stuff before and it's changed my life. Also, there's tons more folks here on the site that know way more than me, so if you'll update your signature with all the nifty gadgets you have and your pool's setup, they'll be able to help you much better than me. Start posting your other test numbers too, and we can help you get a plan for getting the rest of your chemistry in balance when you get CYA under control. It's a good idea to document the chemistry of the water you'll be using to fill the pool as well, because that can have huge effects on your post-refill life. It's also good to know what's been done to your pool regarding metal (copper / silver) algaecides or special shocks or anything like that. Every little bit is eventually important when it comes to getting things back right and not having stains or swimmers with green hair.

Welcome to the family, and good job taking control of the pool. You'll always do a better job yourself than somebody else hired to come in every few days, and this is the right place to learn and ask and plan and share pictures of your awesome pool.

Awesome. Thanks for the info. I did the diluted test and my reading was 160. How much water should I drain to get that number down?

my other readings:
FC 12.5
CC 1
PH 7.7
TA 130
CH 330

I did download the pool math app. Looking forward to using that to log my numbers.

I don’t know much about what’s been done to the pool. I just moved in 2 months ago and had no clue about pools and now I am starting to learn. Equipment is pretty old… may he original. I’ll have to update my signature with all my details. Seems like the pool guy would come and add liquid chlorine and fill the floater with tabs, scrub and vacuum the pool and be on his way. In and out in 30 min or 15 min if he had his helper with him. I didn’t know much about the chemistry so I never really asked. I’m glad I will know exactly everything after testing myself.

I’ll have to test my fill water. The pool has a fill valve but it goes through the water softener. Should I test / refill with softened water or I can run a hose from the front of the house to get regular tap water.

 

[TexEdmond]

How much water should I drain to get that number down?

I thought pool math should tell you, but I may be wrong. Otherwise, it's a pretty easy linear ratio. For example, if your target is 50ppm CYA, you'll need to drain a little more than 2/3 of your pool. Fill water should have 0ppm CYA. I was right where you were at those CYA levels. I didn't do a good job estimating how much 50% of my pool volume was, so I ended up having to do it twice. Understand if you drain twice, you're not in a linear dilution situation, because when you drain the second time you'll be draining some of the fresh water you just added... or dumping lower CYA concentrated water, whichever way you want to look at it. I used a spreadsheet to calculate diluting and filling and hit my CYA dilution number right on the mark...

Have a look at the FC/CYA chart and understand: it's WAY easier to go buy some CYA and add it to the pool via tabs or granulated dichlor / trichlor than it is to take it out of the pool. You live in an area that gets loads of sun, so you might want to start low and work your way up to a little higher level after you've got a feel for how much chlorine the sun will burn per day off your pool.

The rest of your numbers look very manageable! Do the test on your fill water so there's no surprises. Refilling with softened water might be expensive, but otherwise harmless. I'd say it depends on the hardness of your unsoftened water. Alkalinity plays a huge part too. If you've got an autofiller it's probably just easiest to go that route. Maybe try to get a test from it?

It does say you've got a 1ppm CC with 12.5ppm FC. That's just barely at the minimum for CYA160... Even though it seems high at 12ppm FC, you're not actually keeping the water clean and with 1ppm CC you might have a lurking upcoming algae bloom. Also, with FC that high, your pH levels might be different from what the test shows; it's generally above 10ppm FC that test begins to be inaccurate.

Liquid chlorine is definitely your friend from here on out. Tabs have CYA in them and slowly raise that level... DANGER! Also a few jugs of muriatic acid will likely be necessary to get your pH and alkalinity in check after you've refilled.

 

[TexEdmond]

At CYA 160, it'd take 7 more gallons of bleach to get from where you are to shock level of chlorine.

I don’t know much about what’s been done to the pool.

That's okay. The biggest deal right now is planning where/how/when to drain and refill so you can get functional levels of chlorine in the pool. If you're draining upwards of 70% of your water, the good news is any copper or other nasty stuff dissolved will also go way down in concentration.

 

[kaguirre579]

At CYA 160, it'd take 7 more gallons of bleach to get from where you are to shock level of chlorine.

That's okay. The biggest deal right now is planning where/how/when to drain and refill so you can get functional levels of chlorine in the pool. If you're draining upwards of 70% of your water, the good news is any copper or other nasty stuff dissolved will also go way down in concentration.

Wow, great info. 2/3 of the pool! Wow! Thats going to be a lot of water. I think I'll need to call my water company. I think they only let me drain and fill the pool a certain amount. I heard they only let you do a drain and fill once every year or 2. But I will need to call to verify. Also we are planning to plaster the pool before next summer. i think it has the original plaster from 1997. Not sure tho but it looks old and is discolored. Hopefully I can do a partial drain and fill and still be able to do a drain and fill when we do the plaster. I'll find out tomorrow.

 

[kaguirre579]

So, with my water company I have a budget for water usage. If I were to drain and fill the pool 2/3 I would get heavily charged for excessive usage. I'm allowed a complete drain and fill once every 5 years. I would have to submit a form and they will not give me an excessive charge up to 15000 gallons. I think my pool is just under that so I should be ok there. I need to save that for when we plaster the pool and do a complete drain and fill. I may be able to do a smaller portion every month over time depending on my usage. I think it will be about 6 months (maybe less) before we plaster the pool. Hmm, Can I manage by doing a slam to get the CC down and just watch / adjust the other levels for now?

 

[Newdude]

Hey Kaguirre !!! You’re sure are stuck between a rock and a hard place. If you do multiple drains, each subsequent drain removes new fill water too. They become increasingly less efficient. Each monthly drain will only lower your exorbitant FC / bleach demand by 10% (or so, however much you drain each time). So you’ll be saving on the water bill by spending a small fortune in bleach, diminishing slightly each time you drai

Or you drain one shot and pay the water company instead.

Call and ask how much it is for a water truck. They are usually around 6k gallons and it might be worth it to bite the bullet there instead. One truck would lower your CYA by more than 1/3 and maintaining a sanitary FC with a CYA of 90(?) would be better in the short term then going for 160….. 145….. 130…. Etc, little by little.

i don’t envy your decisions but keep us posted !!

 

[TexEdmond]

A quick Google search shows your town gets... 12 inches of rainfall per year. Rats. Some members talk about diverting rainwater into their pools for refill. I recently was reminded by a guru here at the site, CYA does break down in high water temps and high sunlight exposure to the tune of as much as 10ppm per month, but it's not something to count on as a reliable strategy to lower your levels over time.

 

[kaguirre579]

Hey Kaguirre !!! You’re sure are stuck between a rock and a hard place. If you do multiple drains, each subsequent drain removes new fill water too. They become increasingly less efficient. Each monthly drain will only lower your exorbitant FC / bleach demand by 10% (or so, however much you drain each time). So you’ll be saving on the water bill by spending a small fortune in bleach, diminishing slightly each time you drai

Or you drain one shot and pay the water company instead.

Call and ask how much it is for a water truck. They are usually around 6k gallons and it might be worth it to bite the bullet there instead. One truck would lower your CYA by more than 1/3 and maintaining a sanitary FC with a CYA of 90(?) would be better in the short term then going for 160….. 145….. 130…. Etc, little by little.

i don’t envy your decisions but keep us posted !!

Definitely gonna think about this and see what my best options are. I like your idea about a water truck. I'll need to call around and see how much they charge. I'll keep you guys posted!

 

[TexEdmond]

(Don't be afraid to ask for a deal if you wanted two loads of water)