Dumb newbie question

[brg88tx]

I just signed a contract for my new pool. I'm going old school with the rainbow 320 inline feeder. I've been reading alot about trichlor (what i plan on using). The main drawback is it raises your cya over time.

My dumb newbie question is this: Why don't they make some other kind of 3 inch tablet with very little or no cya in it that you could switch to once your cya level gets too high? I know you can switch to bleach, but it would be much easier to just pop in a "cya free" tablet once your cya got too high.

Or if that's not possible, is there another chemical that lowers cya?

Please educate me.

 

[JasonLion]

Disinfecting chlorine is inherently unstable. There are very few ways to stabilize it enough to make it safe to transport. Essentially all of them are in use, each with advantages and disadvantages. Trichlor is the only one that dissolves slowly. Various attempts have been make to create slow dissolving versions of some of the other forms of chlorine, but none of them have ever worked out.

There is no practical chemical that lowers CYA. The only reliable ways to lower CYA are water replacement and reverse osmosis filtering.

 

[HotShot53]

If you don't want the hassle of adding chlorine daily or of replacing your water once your cya gets too high, it seems the best options are a chlorine injector that automatically puts some chlorine in your pool and you just have to fill it up once a week or something, or a salt water generator where it makes chlorine from having a little (barely perceptible apparently) amount of salt, and you just have to check that it's making the right amount of chlorine, and add salt 2-3 times a year. Personally I'm going to get a salt water generator, as it seems most people are happy with them, and if anything it's cheaper over time.

 

[duraleigh]

and if anything it's cheaper over time

Actually, cost analysis of an SWG has been done on this forum and they come out a little higher. The cheapest method of chlorination is plain ole' liquid chlorine (bleach).

The CONVENIENCE of an SWG is impossible to beat, however. That's where they really shine. :-D

 

[HotShot53]

and if anything it's cheaper over time

Actually, cost analysis of an SWG has been done on this forum and they come out a little higher. The cheapest method of chlorination is plain ole' liquid chlorine (bleach).

The CONVENIENCE of an SWG is impossible to beat, however. That's where they really shine. :-D

If you get the Intex SWG like I plan to, it's cheaper I think... either way I'd pay a little extra for the convenience... especially since I know I would forget to add the bleach every day.

 

[brg88tx]

i don't understand why a chemist hasn't come up with a "cya down" chemical to lower cya. i'm really doubting my decision to go with a regular chlorine feeder after reading the problem with trichlor use and high cya.

 

[duraleigh]

i'm really doubting my decision to go with a regular chlorine feeder after reading the problem with trichlor use and high cya.

Ahhh, Grasshopper, your wisdom is gaining!!

As you read and learn more here on the forum, you'll find that because you KNOW what the issues are, you can manage your pool water successfully by being mindful of those issues.

For example, you could use tabs at the start of the season and, with prudent and timely testing, stop using them when your CYA level get to say 40ppm or so. Then, you could use liquid chlorine for the remainder of the summer and use the tabs again for a period when you are away like vacations, etc.

It's not that any one ingredient or product will ruin your pool, it's a lack of testing and knowledge that will get you in trouble. That's the two key ingredients to BBB.

 

[brg88tx]

i'm gonna invent a "cya down" chemical and become a millionaire.

 

[loughps]

i'm gonna invent a "cya down" chemical and become a millionaire.

My CYA (and a few others) goes to zero over the winter. I still use bleach as my sanitizer because of the problems I had when following the pool store recommendations using trichlor. If you're willing to cut me in on the profits, I'll save you a big supply of water when I open next spring for experimentation. Dealing with the resultant ammonia in the water might not make it worth it though.

(There is a belief that it's possibly a soil bacteria that gets going once my chlorine gets down to zero during the winter, so this is all "tongue-in-cheek", lest I get a bunch of people riled up....)

-- Pete

 

[JasonLion]

A number of people have tried to create CYA down chemicals. No one has been able to do it yet. There was even one that was brought to market briefly before the problems mounted and it was withdrawn.

 

[brg88tx]

i'm gonna invent a "cya down" chemical and become a millionaire.

My CYA (and a few others) goes to zero over the winter. I still use bleach as my sanitizer because of the problems I had when following the pool store recommendations using trichlor. If you're willing to cut me in on the profits, I'll save you a big supply of water when I open next spring for experimentation. Dealing with the resultant ammonia in the water might not make it worth it though.

(There is a belief that it's possibly a soil bacteria that gets going once my chlorine gets down to zero during the winter, so this is all "tongue-in-cheek", lest I get a bunch of people riled up....)

-- Pete

pete, but you're up north, so i assume you close your pool in late fall and open it back up in the spring. us down here in se texas keep it open year round. i have heard of people letting it go to a swamp and it wipes out the cya, but i don't want to do that.