Hello all. I'm so happy that I came across this site. It's provided me with a glimmer of hope in an otherwise dismal summer for my pool. I'm new to pool ownership as it came with the house when I bought it last fall. I've battled heavy algae for most of this summer. In working with my local pool store I've managed to dump all sorts of chemicals into the pool with little results to show for it. I've also replaced equipment and replaced the sand in my filter twice as per their recommendation. As a final effort we decided to add 6kg of power chlor over the course of two days. I was excited when I saw the algae disappear however it came with a major drawback as my CYA level is now 180-200ppm depending on who is doing the testing. The pool store failed to mention that this would happen. In fact they are still unsure of where the CYA came from even after I showed them the warning on the bag. Had I known then what I do now I would not have proceeded with stabilized chlorine to solve the algae issue. It is what it is now. I'm currently at a FC level of around 15ppm and I'm starting to see some algae forming again. My question is, what is the best way of getting my CYA levels in check? Pool store is telling me to use CYA removers but the pool school on this site says dilution is the only way? I'm looking at 25hrs of pumping to remove 7000gallons of water (Pool is 10400gal). Is this the only way? Do I need to remove/replace at the same time? Is the pool safe to use if I don't bring these levels down? I apologize for the long first post. Feeling a bit frustrated. I also have little experience with forums of any kind so hopefully not breaking any rules of etiquette. Thank you all in advance.
New to pools CYA reduction
- Thread starter juswannaswim
- Start date
- Jul 21, 2013
- 65,062
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Welcome to TFP.
CYA removers do not work. They just drain your wallet.
You need to drain the pool or do a water exchange to lower the CYA. Read Draining - Further Reading
With CYA 200 you need to replace about 90% of your water.
You need a good test kit. Taylor K-2006C or TFT Test Kits people have found ways to get them into Canada.
After you lower CYA you need to follow the SLAM Process using liquid chlorine to get rid of the rest of the algae.
I suggest you don’t get advice from your Pool Store anymore.
www.troublefreepool.com
www.troublefreepool.com
CYA removers do not work. They just drain your wallet.
You need to drain the pool or do a water exchange to lower the CYA. Read Draining - Further Reading
With CYA 200 you need to replace about 90% of your water.
You need a good test kit. Taylor K-2006C or TFT Test Kits people have found ways to get them into Canada.
After you lower CYA you need to follow the SLAM Process using liquid chlorine to get rid of the rest of the algae.
I suggest you don’t get advice from your Pool Store anymore.
Pool Care Basics Archives
Your one-stop shop for all things TFP to include: ABCs of Water Chemistry, Recommended Chemicals/Levels, Test Kits, Troubleshooting, and much more!
www.troublefreepool.com
Algae Archives
www.troublefreepool.com
Everything you need to do is listed above!
I see you also have a inline chlorinator - not sure if you are using pucks or not but ditch those and stick to liquid chlorine once you get CYA under control.
I see you also have a inline chlorinator - not sure if you are using pucks or not but ditch those and stick to liquid chlorine once you get CYA under control.
Thanks ajw22. I guess I was hoping for some way of doing this without a full drain. It is what it is. I’ve got the Taylor kc-2006 kit already so I’m good there. My CYA level is much higher than the kit can measure unfortunately. I’ve read over the how to drain your pool section and I don’t really think that draining while filling at the same time is an option. Do you think I can shut the pool pump down and let it drain over the next couple of days while shutting the draining down overnight? Once the water is gone I would fill the pool via hose in a similar manner. Is this a good idea? I guess I just have visions of another algae filled pool before I have time to do the slam process. Especially with the heat wave we are about to go into here. Thanks again for your reply. My two boys are pretty disappointed they can’t use the pool.Welcome to TFP.
CYA removers do not work. They just drain your wallet.
You need to drain the pool or do a water exchange to lower the CYA. Read Draining - Further Reading
With CYA 200 you need to replace about 90% of your water.
You need a good test kit. Taylor K-2006C or TFT Test Kits people have found ways to get them into Canada.
After you lower CYA you need to follow the SLAM Process using liquid chlorine to get rid of the rest of the algae.
I suggest you don’t get advice from your Pool Store anymore.
Pool Care Basics Archives
Your one-stop shop for all things TFP to include: ABCs of Water Chemistry, Recommended Chemicals/Levels, Test Kits, Troubleshooting, and much more!
Algae Archives
I do have an inline chlorinator however I’ve pulled out the pucks and it’s been empty for about a week now. The pool store told me to fill and leave at position 6. When I went back a few days later they couldn’t understand why my chlorine and CYA had gone up after leaving the tarp off and exposing the water to the sun. I told them it’s the chlorinator lol. I sure wish I did more research before getting into this situation. Live and learn I guess. Thanks for the reply!
- Jul 21, 2013
- 65,062
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
For CYA > 90ppm, repeat the test adjusting the procedure as follows:
- Fill the mixing bottle to the lower mark (15 ml line) with pool water.
- Continue filling the mixing bottle to the upper mark (30 ml line) with tap water.
- Shake briefly to mix.
- Pour off half of the contents of the mixing bottle, so it is again filled to the lower mark (15 ml line).
- Continue the test normally from adding R-0013, but multiply the final result by two.
If you need to dilute the pool water further then apply these ratios:
| Pool water | Tap or distilled water | Multiply result by |
| 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 1 | 4 | 5 |
Note that when doing a diluted test not only do you multiply the range of the test you multiply the error rate of the test, so results are a ballpark - not an absolute.
See CYA Testing for tips in how to read the test results.
The longer you leave the pool with low water the more chances of the pool or liner getting damaged.
Get it drained and refilled as quickly as you can.
Ok, I’ll get the pump running tonight. It will likely take until Thursday to drain completely as I can’t really run it overnight. Pump does about 300gal/hr. I’ve spoken with the city and down my basement drain is the place to put it. I’ve also got a water truck coming on Friday to refill. I’ll do some more reading and hopefully I’ll be prepared to get this back on track come Friday afternoon. Hopefully the pool is ok to be empty for a day of something goes sideways.
- Jun 24, 2021
- 15,880
- Pool Size
- 29000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
I would not completely drain the pool. You are at risk of the walls colapsing.
I would consider a no drain water exchange. Read all the precautions here:
www.troublefreepool.com
I would consider a no drain water exchange. Read all the precautions here:
Draining - Further Reading
www.troublefreepool.com
Perhaps I should leave the 12” in there then? That would constitute a 75% drain/replace as it’s 48” deep. Is this advisable?I would not completely drain the pool. You are at risk of the walls colapsing.
I would consider a no drain water exchange. Read all the precautions here:
Draining - Further Reading
- Jun 24, 2021
- 15,880
- Pool Size
- 29000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
Hi. I will run the test later if I can. I’m at work for the day. I had the pool store run a test on Monday though and they showed 180ppm CYA and 17ppmFC. I’m not sure leaving 18” of water is going to get me where I need to be with CYA? That only 63% swap. Wouldn’t my CYA still be high at 67ppm or so?
- Jun 24, 2021
- 15,880
- Pool Size
- 29000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
Hg433
Well-known member
With so high CYA reading from pool store, it may be worthwhile to do multiple drain, one right now, and another right before Friday before the tank arrives. And have new start as a blank slate.
Hi. Thanks for the reply. I’m not sure what is meant by a multiple drain? My plan right now is to drain about 32” out leaving 16” in the pool. At that point I’ll add the garden hose to match the discharge rate and hopefully maintain the 16” depth while exchanging water. I’ll do this for as long as I can before the water truck arrives. Likely about 6 hours. I’m hoping this will allow me to exchange enough water to drop my CYA level to proper range. Does this sound reasonable or am I way off base?
- Jun 24, 2021
- 15,880
- Pool Size
- 29000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
Perfect. It’s nice to have a plan. Thank you for you help and patience! Fingers crossed this all goes well.
Update. So the pool is about 65% drained and I am now doing a swap for the last bit. I’ve left 16” in the pool and I’m feeding as I’m filling for the next 6-8 hours. I’ve got a water truck coming this afternoon to refill the pool. My plan is to first check cya levels and get to 40-50ppm if possible. Next I’ll check chlorine levels and add liquid chlorine to 10% of cya level. Is there anything I’m missing as a first to do sort of thing? Am I able to accurately check these levels right after the water truck fills the pool? Obviously I’ll start the pump and filter as soon as levels are above skimmer height. The last thing I want is to have an algae battle on my hands as that is what started this whole process. Any advice is welcomed and appreciated.
- Jun 24, 2021
- 15,880
- Pool Size
- 29000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
Add 2.5ppm of chlorine now, add it slowly and brush a lot to get it mixed while you are pouring. This will help stave off algae.
When full, turn on the pump and add 5ppm of liquid chlorine. Let the pump run for 4 hours, then test.
Post a full set of results. Then do this test tomorrow night. Link-->Overnight Chlorine Loss Test
Ok great. Thank you. Calculator shows to add about 382mm of liquid chlorine for the approximately 13000 litres still in the pool to bring to 3ppm. I’ll do that now and update later. Thanks again!
So the water truck is running behind today and is still 6 hours away. I was going to add the liquid chlorine to get to the initial 2.5ppm as suggested when I realized I won't be able to stir it up as I'm still exchanging the last bit of water. Am I better off just chlorine when the water truck is filling the pool? I figure there should be enough flow to sufficiently mix it in at that point? If this is correct, what ppm am I aiming for at this point without knowing where my cya levels are at? I assume there will be some residual chlorine in the water that didn't end up getting exchanged as well however I would think it best to go higher ppm for now until the rest of the tests can be conducted and adjust from there?