Need help, CYA level to high

[Dstant_Thunder]

Hello Pool Forum Folks:

I've had my pool for 1 year now, my pool is a free form pool with a rough total water capacity of 16,000 Gallons. The pool measures 32 feet by 19 feet. It's a new pool and I have taken care of it daily. I go to the pool store weekly for testing. I then also do my own home test using my "Taylor 2006C" test kit. My pool has all "Hayward" equipment. It has two pumps and cartridge filter and Ozone. I use "Leslies pool chemicals". My pool was built by "Blue Haven". I live in Northwest Florida.

My problem - Since testing for the past year and reviewing my test results which I keep in a book. I noticed my "CYA" levels creep from 0 to now up to 100! To be honest, the pool store I go to never mentioned to me to do anything about it, and I didnt pay attention it!!!!!! Yesterday I removed about 6 inch's of water from the pool and refilled it. I then ran all the pumps for 4 hours and retested the water. The "CYA" did not go down at all and stayed at 100. I know you are the experts and I trust what you tell me. Please help me and tell me what to do. I'm a disabled vet and have PTSD very badly, so I panic easily. Needless to say I'm panicking and not sure what to do. Thank you in advance for your assistance.

POOL STORE RESULTS: 4/16/22
Free Chlorine - 3.51
Total Chlorine - 3.6
PH - 7.8
Total Alk - 72
Calc Hardness - 190
CYA - 95
Iron, Copper, Phos, TDS all within range

MY TEST RESULTS:
Free Chlorine - 2.8
Combined Chlorine - 0
PH - 7.8
Total Alk - 100
Calc Hardness - 160
CYA - 100

 

[Texas Splash]

Okay my VET brother, certainly we trust YOUR test results before the store. Also, the CYA needs to be addressed first. Your CYA has probably been much higher than 100 which is why you see very little change. With summer coming, a CYA of 50 would be ideal. Can you exchange half of your water? That's enough to make a dent but also keep the pool stable. I would start there. After you exvhange the water, be sure to add a lot more chlorine to keep algae away. Try to keep the FC around 8 for now if you can.

 

[cowboycasey]

You have the best test kit, no need to go to the pool store for anything

Take 1/2 cup pool water and add 1/2 cup tap water, use that to do your CYA test. Then take your results and double it, that is your CYA level..

 

[Mdragger88]

Leslie’s doesn’t mind your high cya & low free chlorine levels & never mentioned it because it allows them to sell you more potions when things inevitably go awry.
As stated above- you have the best kit available & your repeatable, frequent testing with it is the best thing for your pool.
Doing the diluted cya test as outlined above will give you a better idea of where u stand & how much water you need to exchange.
I don’t know what products you have been adding to your pool but there have obviously been some stabilized chlorine involved. Your pool needs to go on the liquid chlorine diet now & stop using stabilized chlorine products or you will just repeat this cycle
Rule #1 Always Follow the FC/CYA Levels lest nasties will grow.
No need to panic - there’s a solution for everything & we got u!
Here’s some more info on caring for your pool

How to Chlorinate Your Pool

Before chlorinating your pool, you should know these simple tips. Learn the best way to add chlorine to your pool.

www.google.com

Recommended Pool Chemicals

Which should I buy? TFP's recommended pool chemicals are cheap, easy, and won't unbalance your pool water.

www.google.com

Non-Recommended Pool Chemicals

These pool chemicals should not be added to your pool. Save your money and frustration and avoid these chemicals!

www.google.com

 

[BowserB]

What "Leslies pool chemicals" do you use? It sounds like you're using pucks to chlorinate. It you continue, the CYA will continue to rise. Immediately switch to liquid chlorine. Since after draining and refilling you still show CYA at 100, as others have hinted, your CYA is likely well above 100. For today, go to Walmart and get about 8 gallons of 10% liquid pool chlorine. Add to your pool until you get to at least Splash's suggested 8ppm. Even in the "north" of Florida, you're probably into algae season by now. I'm in southeast Texas at a comparable latitude, and my neighbor has algae already. Good luck to you from another fellow VET (Vietnam 1st Infantry Division '67-68).

 

[Kiss4aFrog]

You might want to add you pools info into your signature. It makes it easier for people to find that info and it posts automatically. See - - >Create Your Signature - Further Reading

Have you tried the dilution test yet ? Results ? 1/2 cup pool water and 1/2 cup tap water for the CYA.

 

[Dstant_Thunder]

Greeting's Everyone: 1st I wanted to thank everyone who attempted to help me with my above issue!

I wanted to reply and give an up-date to my previous post and try to answer questions in the order I received them about my pool and issue:

1. I was told to remove half my pool water to lower my CYA level - I was only able to remove about 7,000 Gallons. My pool is 16,000 gallons. My pool is less than a year old and I was told if I did this it could void my warranty, also my local water department wasn't to happy about me doing this. However I tryed my best. (I also did the 1/2 cup test on my CYA - I feel my corrected reading was 150). Since removing the water amount above - my reading is now 90.

2. Two people told me to raise my chlorine level to 8 ppm. I'm confused on this as I know the scale is from 1 to 4 ppm? Can someone explain? However I did go purchase liquid chlorine for the pool. It is now in the pool and water is circulating as we speak.

3. Someone asked what products I was using and why go to the pool store - Like I mentioned my pool is new - It was built by "Blue Haven" and they require you to do testing at a name brand pool store for your warranty. If not it would be voided, and you must keep records. I'm sure every pool company is different and I'm just telling you what this one requires. As far as what chemicals I'm using they are as follows - Muriatic Acid, Baking Soda, 4 in Chlorine Tabs, granular shock, calcium.

Update to what I have accomplished:

1. Removed roughly 7,000 gallons of water which lowered my CYA level to 90

2. Ordered the new "HASA" liquid feeder 96300 to change from using tabs to liquid chlorine. I am worried about the heat affecting the liquid chlorine while it is in the liquid feeder. I live in northwest Florida. I do rememebr telling my pool contractor about wanting to use liquid chlorine for my pool and he told me I couldn't because of the heat, so hence using the tabs!!!!

Thank you again for the assistance.

 

[Mdragger88]

Thunder,
In the future You can do the no drain water exchange to lower cya further & avoid any issues/dangers from draining.
Section 3.5

Draining - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

The recommendation you received here to increase your fc level is based on the scientific principles that as cya increases the effectiveness of fc decreases (as a portion of it is bound by the cya) & therefore needs to be maintained at a corresponding higher level to maintain sanitary water conditions. See the FC/CYA Levels. The industry fc “recommendation” of 1-4ppm is based on antiquated practices that largely ignore this fc/cya relationship. This is why you were led to believe it was fine & no one said a thing until now.
Here’s some deeper info on the subject

CYA - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Remember- Clear water doesn’t necessarily equal sanitary water or else there would only be boil water alerts when the water looked bad.

As far as having testing done at a pool store to maintain your warranty requirements- not a problem, simply a formality. Those results should however not be relied upon to maintain your pool for several reasons, here’s a few
1- their goal is to sell you products like that stabilized chlorine that got u here- based on their “free” test & corresponding readout with recommendations- aka - they have a bias.
2- they are trained by the makers of those products
3- it’s impractical to test at the pool store as frequently as you should be testing & no one cares about the state of your water like you, especially not the minimum wage clerk at the pool store.
Get the required tests & throw the print outs in the box w/ your pool warranty papers.

 

[Mdragger88]

Here’s some more detailed info & another thread discussing the fc/cya subject just today for more understanding

CYA Chlorine Relationship - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Cya for swg

Good day, I have read through all of the pool school stuff. What I don't understand is the cya vs fc. As I read it it shows that cya protects fc from degrading. However on the cya/Fc chart when you elevate Cya you also elevate FC. I must be missing something. Seems to me like if Cya...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[PoolStored]

Lots of good information given to you on CYA.

If you follow this chart for your CYA, keep your FC at the mid to high end of the target range, you should be good.

FC/CYA Levels

 

[PoolStored]

Ordered the new "HASA" liquid feeder 96300 to change from using tabs to liquid chlorine. I am worried about the heat affecting the liquid chlorine while it is in the liquid feeder. I live in northwest Florida. I do rememebr telling my pool contractor about wanting to use liquid chlorine for my pool and he told me I couldn't because of the heat, so hence using the tabs!!!!

Yes, you can use the chlorinator, you just, maybe, want to put less in and more frequently, and you may find you need to have the chlorinator add more over time if you fill less frequently. Store Chlorine indoors until you run low, add less and more frequently, you might be A-OK. Here is how LC degrades over time.

TIME	100ºF	90ºF	80ºF	75ºF	70ºF
Initial	12.50%	12.50%	12.50%	12.50%	12.50%
1 week	9.71%	10.92%	11.69%	11.94%	12.12%
1 month	6.68%	8.36%	9.93%	10.57%	11.11%
3 months	4.27%	5.72%	7.48%	8.40%	9.28%
6 months	3.23%	4.41%	5.95%	6.84%	7.78%