Should I raise my cyanuric acid level before or while adding chlorine?

[Esand323]

I just got my pool opened for the year. We hired a local company to open it as it was our first year. We had a mesh loop loc cover on it. The water was pretty cloudy when it was opened, but the tech said it wasn't very bad and that it was rather normal. They did some treatment and then had us put in 4 gallons of chlorine in on Tuesday. We took a sample up again to have them test it today (Thursday) and the results came back that most of the chlorine was gone (see result below). I noticed the cyanuric acid was low, but they made no mention of raising it. They gave us stuff to get our pH and copper levels balanced and had us put 2 gallons of chlorine in. The water is definitely getting clearer, but shouldn't we be getting our cyanuric acid levels up?

It's an inground, 12k gallon pool.

Thanks!

 

[ajw22]

You should be testing with your own test kit. Either a TF-100 Test Kits or a Taylor K-2006C. We have seen too many inaccurate pool store tests to advise adjusting chemicals based on them.

I would not put in whatever they gave you for pH or copper. They sold you unnecessary stuff.

To raise pH we recommend you simply aerate your water/ No chemicals required. Aeration - Further Reading

Add 5 ppm of liquid chlorine a day until you get your test kit. Then post your results and we can discuss next steps.

In the meantime I suggest you read ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry and

Recommended Pool Chemicals

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

www.troublefreepool.com

What Are My Ideal Pool Levels?

Use our tool to find ideal chemical levels for any swimming pool. Check TFP recommended levels on pH, free chlorine, cyanuric acid, and more.

www.troublefreepool.com

Pool School

www.troublefreepool.com

Also please create your signature with details of your pool and equipment.

 

[Mdragger88]

You may be able to return what u bought for ph & copper & exchange it for more liquid chlorine.

 

[mknauss]

IF your copper level is 0.9 ppm, this pool should be drained and refilled with fresh water. It is likely it is already staining the surfaces.

 

[Esand323]

Thanks for the help! Unfortunately, I used what they gave me before posting here I'll order a test kit though for more accurate results. I hadn't realized that the pool store could be so inaccurate .

As for the copper. I'm not sure how it got so high. I'm REALLY hoping it's a reporting error from the store. We have a vinyl pool and I haven't noticed any of the signs of high copper. I can't figure out how it would have gone up. We closed the pool in October and the copper level was fine. We drained the pool water to below our return jets. I'm not sure how much that was, but probably roughly 18"-20". It then filled up with rain water until we had it opened this week. It's possible that they added some algaecide when they opened the pool. That's the only reasonable explanation I can think off for the copper level.

It looks like none of the recommended test kits check for copper levels. Do I need to check my copper level? I did research and see that draining is the only solution. Unfortunately, draining and refilling has quite a few problems for us. I'm hoping that since it's a vinyl pool, I can cycle new water in the pool over the next couple of weeks without staining problems and with the help of SequaSol to buy me time.

Edit
I looked over the closing and opening contract. It looks like they added algaecide when they closed it last October and when they opened it this Spring.

When they closed they added:

• 1 Qt. of Glb Sequa-Sol
• 2 Lb. of Glb Shoxidizer
• 1 Qt. of Nc Algae Break 90

When they opened it this week they added:

• 1 Qt. of Glb Sequa-Sol
• 2 Lb. of Glb Shoxidizer
• 1/2 Qt of Glb Strike Out

So it was the Nc Algae Break 90 and Glb Strike Out that rose my copper level. Ugh, I guess it's better late the never to learn this lesson.