First Time Tester....CYA HIGH

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thecardmaker

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May 27, 2020
72
Houston, TX
Tested Yesterday 6/9/20
FC 6
CC 6
pH 7.4
TA 120
Calcium 400
CYA...above 100
90 degree water
brushed select corners as needed to remove algae (I think) & it came off easily
water is clear

I'm taking over pool maintenance and trying not to be too ovewhelmed and resort to a pool service. Told myself all I needed to do was get numbers yesterday and was happy to at least feel successful at that. Is the CYA what I need to be concerned with right now? There weren't even markings to take the measurement as high as it should have been. What I've read is that I need to dilute/drain the pool?
 
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Welcome to the forum!
Great job on getting a proper test kit.
Do you really have 6 ppm of CC? That is the test done immediately after the FC. Let us know.
100 is the limit of the CYA test, so you have to do a diluted test. Mix 50% pool water with 50% tap water. Use this mixed sample as your test water. Multiply the result by 2 for your CYA level.
Once you come back with additional CYA test result, we can discuss how much water you need to drain.
I suggest you read ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry.
 
mknauss said:
Welcome to the forum!
Great job on getting a proper test kit.
Do you really have 6 ppm of CC? That is the test done immediately after the FC. Let us know.
100 is the limit of the CYA test, so you have to do a diluted test. Mix 50% pool water with 50% tap water. Use this mixed sample as your test water. Multiply the result by 2 for your CYA level.
Once you come back with additional CYA test result, we can discuss how much water you need to drain.
I suggest you read ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry.
Click to expand...

Honestly, I don't know anything for sure. Thank you for asking.

For FC it was 3 drops x .2 = .6 Does that mean 6 ppm?
For CC it was the same result. Actually with both of them I thought it was 2 drops, but after I wrote it down and looked back at the test it looked like it needed more. I did one more drop and changed my written result each time. The pool is not in my backyard, it is at my in-laws in the same neighborhood. I will run the CYA test as you described. Maybe I should redo all the tests since yesterday was my first attempt ever. Thank you so much for your reply.
 
I'm sorry, you put 6 ppm, not 0.6 ppm.

With FC testing, use 10 ml water sample. One scoop of powder, and each drop of reagent to clear is 0.5 ppm FC.

Let us know --- take care.
 
Certainly, you need chlorine about 6-10 ppm immediately.......assuming your CYA test is right.

That said, you cannot get a result of 112 for CYA.....the test is not nearly that precise. Tell us how you arrived at that number.
 
On CYA, you typically want to round up. So lets call it 60*2, so a CYA of 120.

I'll let the experts talk to you about draining, but since you probably want a target of 50, I would expect to have to drain more than half the pool.

I'm guessing your CYA got to be that high because of puck usage. What is your long term plan for chlorinating?
 
JJ_Tex said:
On CYA, you typically want to round up. So lets call it 60*2, so a CYA of 120.

I'll let the experts talk to you about draining, but since you probably want a target of 50, I would expect to have to drain more than half the pool.

I'm guessing your CYA got to be that high because of puck usage. What is your long term plan for chlorinating?
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Thank you. I'll round up when measuring CYA from now on. My long term plan is to hope I can figure this out and avoid hiring a service. This is totally new to me.
 
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Unless you want to switch to salt water, the recommended way to chlorinate is liquid chlorine (bleach). Pucks and powder add other stuff to you pool, including CYA and Calcium, which you are high on those.
 
splashpad said:
I have some quick links in my Sig and the info is in Pool School for everything that gets suggested!
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Thank you. I read through the pool school stuff but its all so new it hasn't stuck quite yet. I was trying to get it down before starting then was so overwhelmed I thought I better just start with a test and try to refer back to things as needed.
 
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As said above, the pool is going to need to be drained. If you live on well water you may want to consider someone to RO filter the water to remove CYA and other tds instead. It might be a little more expensive than draining and trucking in treated water. If draining you have to verify water table and ensure it’s safe so that pool doesn't float out of the ground.
If you remove 1/2 the water, you’ll still be left with 60ppm CYA which is at the limit for non SWG pools. You’ll need to keep 7-9 ppm free chlorine or else pool will turn green. Using pucks going forward will just make the situation worse as each will add more cya. As also said you could convert to a salt pool as 60 cya is the normal range needed for a swg. The advantage is no more manual chlorine additions and elevated cya going forward. a swg is ~$900-1,200 plus installation cost. Many diy folks install it themselves.
 
Rossterman said:
As said above, the pool is going to need to be drained. If you live on well water you may want to consider someone to RO filter the water to remove CYA and other tds instead. It might be a little more expensive than draining and trucking in treated water. If draining you have to verify water table and ensure it’s safe so that pool doesn't float out of the ground.
If you remove 1/2 the water, you’ll still be left with 60ppm CYA which is at the limit for non SWG pools. You’ll need to keep 7-9 ppm free chlorine or else pool will turn green. Using pucks going forward will just make the situation worse as each will add more cya. As also said you could convert to a salt pool as 60 cya is the normal range needed for a swg. The advantage is no more manual chlorine additions and elevated cya going forward. a swg is ~$900-1,200 plus installation cost. Many diy folks install it themselves.
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I'm surprised by the idea of switching to salt water. Is it assumed that this problem will not be able to be cleared up? We are not on well water but water table could be an issue. If after draining we used unstabilized chlorine so we can control CYA levels would that be a possible solution? Help me understand why the mention of switching to salt water given the cost.
 
You can certainly add liquid chlorine every day to keep the pool chlorinated. That is what a SWCG does for you.

What area of Houston are you in?
 
thecardmaker said:
I'm surprised by the idea of switching to salt water. Is it assumed that this problem will not be able to be cleared up? We are not on well water but water table could be an issue. If after draining we used unstabilized chlorine so we can control CYA levels would that be a possible solution? Help me understand why the mention of switching to salt water given the cost.
Click to expand...
Here are the ways you can chlorinate your pool, and commentary on them:
  • SWCG - This makes the chlorine for you, and only adds chlorine. Easy, but there are upfront costs to buying the equipment.
  • Manually add bleach/liquid chlorine - This only adds chlorine too, but isnt quite as easy since you will have to add the chlorine daily and the jugs can be bulky if you are adding several gallons a week to your pool.
  • Pucks (usually tri-chlor) - These are easy, especially if you have an in-line chlorinator, but it also adds CYA to your water and should be avoided for prolonged periods of use.
  • Powder (can be cal-hypo or tri-chlor) - This also adds either CYA or Calcium to your water, which will build up and cause issues over time.
 
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thecardmaker said:
Thank you. I read through the pool school stuff but its all so new it hasn't stuck quite yet. I was trying to get it down before starting then was so overwhelmed I thought I better just start with a test and try to refer back to things as needed.
Click to expand...
No worries, it does eventually start to make sense :)
 
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