Does CYA "degrade" or does the test just kind of suck?

[zapados]

Does CYA "degrade" or does the test just kind of suck?

I did an AA treatment and big water removal at the start of the season. I assumed a CYA of 0 (likely it was a bit higher due not removing ALL water) and added 10 cups of CYA via sock in front of return.

A while later, real life hit me hard and I let things go. Pool was a bit green and I was going on vacation for ~1 week, so I tossed in a bunch of bleach. Came back to a pretty green pool. Figured I'd test the CYA again to make sure my chlorine was near peak effectiveness (not getting chewed up by the sun before whacking all those baddies).

CYA results are poop - filled up the whole vial and can STILL see the dot. What? I put in 10 cups early this season!! Why does this 1 test suck so bad? LOL.

I'll add more now, probably 8 4 cups when I should do 10, because I don't believe those results but do think it's a bit low due to the green I've been battling.

Thoughts?

Thank you for your help.

 

[dfwnoob]

Yes, CYA does degrade throughout the season, just much slower than chlorine.

With the CYA test, remember to glance at the tube, not focus on it. If you focus on it, you'll see the googly eye every time. Fill to a number, GLANCE down into the tube. If you see it, fill to the next amount, GLANCE again, and so on.

 

[PoolStored]

CYA results are poop - filled up the whole vial and can STILL see the dot.

CYA will degrade about 5-10 per month. Maybe on the high end if your pool water is higher than 90 Degrees.

Lighting is REALLY important. Outside, bright light, sun at your back, tube at your waste in the shadow of your body. Indoor lighting or overcast lighting and your CYA will read LOW.

Re-read these instructions:

CYA - Cyanuric Acid Test

Cyanuric Acid (CYA) is the chemical name for what is commonly referred to as Stabilizer … Read more…

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[mknauss]

A while later, real life hit me hard and I let things go.

CYA can oxidize to ammonia if a pool is left without chlorine and a bacteria enters the pool water.

Be sure your pool water will hold FC before adding CYA stabilizer.

 

[Rocket J Squirrel]

I think there's something wrong with this year's crop of CYA.

I usually have no trouble maintaining 40 ppm CYA. Until this year. Pool Math shows 30 ppm in late March, which is when I started adding CYA to get back to 40.

Since then, I have added 8 lbs. of granular CYA (from Leslie's) and 5 lbs. of trichlor tablets. Pool Math says this should have raised my CYA by 36 ppm, but my CYA stubbornly remains in the 30s range, generally around 35 if you'll permit the interpolation, and only rarely and briefly hitting 40.

My R-13 reagent is fresh and I'm well practiced at the CYA test. My pool is covered whenever not in use. So either this year's CYA is duff or something else is strangely wrong. I'm open to ideas.

 

[Kaylee34]

I have added 8 lbs. of granular CYA . Pool Math says this should have raised my CYA by 36 ppm, but my CYA stubbornly remains in the 30s range

this year's CYA is duff or something else is strangely wrong

Not just you. I've added 10 pounds since June and still kicking around 40-50 range. I've got 2 lbs soaking in a sock since yesterday evening. Different brand. We'll see if that does anything.

 

[Kellyp]

I thought it was just me, I started the season at 50 CYA. I like to keep mine at 70. I added 36 oz, then 4 lbs, then 72 oz. If my math is correct thats 10.75 pounds added. Pool Math tells me I should have raised CYA by 48. I have not cracked 60 this year. I am also very comfortable with my testing method, and I am being generous by calling it 60, the dot is very visible. Something is def up with the CYA I used.

It was not my usual brand, I normally use the clorox brand from Lowe's, this year I bought off Amazon. I won't make that mistake again.

 

[randytsuch]

I've lost CYA before, and I think its been worse when I had some algae, so maybe that was a factor.

 

[ajw22]

So either this year's CYA is duff or something else is strangely wrong. I'm open to ideas.

I think it is the unusually hot weather almost the entire country has had this summer. My pool is a good 8-10 degrees warmer then usual.

I had brought my CYA up to 60 on June 25 using stabilizer I had from last year. Now my CYA is back down around 30 and I bought more to add 12 lbs today.

We also had some heavy rains that topped the pool and required draining and some filter backwashing. But my salt hardly dropped so I don’t think all the CYA was lost in the overflows.

 

[Rocket J Squirrel]

I think it is the unusually hot weather almost the entire country has had this summer. My pool is a good 8-10 degrees warmer then usual.

I had brought my CYA up to 60 on June 25 using stabilizer I had from last year. Now my CYA is back down around 30 and I bought more to add 12 lbs today.

We also had some heavy rains that topped the pool and required draining and some filter backwashing. But my salt hardly dropped so I don’t think all the CYA was lost in the overflows.

My pool isn't any hotter than usual this year. It sits around 85-88°F as in prior years. We also get zero rain here.

My problem is not that the CYA rises and falls. It's that it simply does not rise.

 

[mknauss]

I am using PuriTech CYA I got off Amazon a couple years ago. It adds exactly how much CYA it should to the pool.

 

[Rocket J Squirrel]

I am using PuriTech CYA I got off Amazon a couple years ago. It adds exactly how much CYA it should to the pool.

Which does not contradict my theory that this year's batch of CYA is less potent than prior years'.

 

[Kaylee34]

Haven't rechecked my CYA since adding the 2lbs but I will tonight. Have about a pound left of this batch which was from HD.

Had a little Clorox CYA that was there when I bought the house last year. I used that up at "opening" in May. Can't find it locally now but I know it worked well.

I had 8 lbs from Amazon I bought this spring. Gave 4lbs to a friend when they did a fresh fill of their above ground July 4 weekend. That should have given them 50ppm according to poolmath. I tested their pool a week after and they were at 20 ppm. Gave them the rest of the box and haven't been by since to retest so don't know where they're at.

Also going to recheck my local ACE Hardware. Last time I was in there, they had a very dusty 50lb box for $70. Going to snag it if it's still there.

 

[deanr]

CYA can oxidize to ammonia if a pool is left without chlorine and a bacteria enters the pool water.

Be sure your pool water will hold FC before adding CYA stabilizer.

I learned that the hard way, second year opening the pool I got with the new house. No measurable CYA when I opened, and it took almost 14 gallons of 12.5% CL before the FC started to hold and I could start the SLAM.

Now, I measure ammonia when I open so I know if I'm going to have a problem. Takes about 10ppm FC for every 1ppm NH3 to clear it up.

 

[Kellyp]

I think it is the unusually hot weather almost the entire country has had this summer. My pool is a good 8-10 degrees warmer then usual.

My water has been 4 or 5 degrees warmer this summer than any previous year, but like RJS, I never got to 70ppm CYA despite starting at 50ppm and adding 48ppm. The highest I got was 60ppm and that is a generous reading.

 

[Bperry]

Does CYA "degrade" or does the test just kind of suck?

I did an AA treatment and big water removal at the start of the season. I assumed a CYA of 0 (likely it was a bit higher due not removing ALL water) and added 10 cups of CYA via sock in front of return.

A while later, real life hit me hard and I let things go. Pool was a bit green and I was going on vacation for ~1 week, so I tossed in a bunch of bleach. Came back to a pretty green pool. Figured I'd test the CYA again to make sure my chlorine was near peak effectiveness (not getting chewed up by the sun before whacking all those baddies).

CYA results are poop - filled up the whole vial and can STILL see the dot. What? I put in 10 cups early this season!! Why does this 1 test suck so bad? LOL.

I'll add more now, probably 8 4 cups when I should do 10, because I don't believe those results but do think it's a bit low due to the green I've been battling.

Thoughts?

Thank you for your help.

If the water is green, you need to worry about adding more chlorine and add the CYA later.

 

[Jsf721]

Guys, if you are local, I have a bunch of CYA laced pool water that is perfectly balanced other than my CYA is approaching 80 ! I plan on dumping about 3,000 gallons tonight First come first served.

 

[Bperry]

Guys, if you are local, I have a bunch of CYA laced pool water that is perfectly balanced other than my CYA is approaching 80 ! I plan on dumping about 3,000 gallons tonight First come first served.

If you stop using the trichlor, it’s probably not needed to dump water. It’ll degrade over a few months and splash out along rain will help you out for free.

 

[AUSpool]

Which does not contradict my theory that this year's batch of CYA is less potent than prior years'.

I‘m not sure that the potency of CYA can change. Its either cyanuric acid or its not. It doesn’t have a variable concentration value like bleach. It has a cyclic structure made up of alternating carbon and nitrogen atoms with two isomer forms. But I don’t believe either of these two forms is less or more ‘potent’ as the first reaction in the degradation of CYA is the cleavage or breaking of the carbon/nitrogen ring. The cyanuric acid molecule is really quite stable and has quite a low toxicity level that is very close to magnesium.

Edit. I guess there is always a chance that there is some kind of contamination or substitution at the packing stage with something like salt or bicarb but you’d think we would notice a difference in the way the CYA clumps and dissolves.

 

[AUSpool]

I've lost CYA before, and I think its been worse when I had some algae, so maybe that was a factor.

I have always held the thought that algae may directly consume CYA but I haven’t read anything to support that theory.