Wanting to start Ascorbic Acid treatment... CYA Reading 0

[IronKneebone]

Hi Folks, Getting a jump on the new swim season and having a bit of Iron discoloring on my steps. The discoloring is just on one end of the steps, where the wind seems to blow everything in the one corner of the pool. The 2 White/Clean spots are where I've dropped 2 Vitamin C tablets



The other end of the steps is nice and clean



and The rest of the pool has clean plaster



So I bought
• 3 lbs of Ascorbic Acid
• New DE Filter set
• 5 Quarts of Jacks Magic Blue Stuff


I let the Chlorine lower and lowered the PH. Then this morning I decided to let the local Pool Store check my chemicals. The reason I did this is because I haven't checked the CYA for about 5 months (Ran out of Reagent 0013 and they have been out as well). They came back with similar readings as me except they told me the CYA was 0
I bought a bottle of 0013 from them and sure enough, test reads 0 CYA
I have kept the CYA at between 30-40 forever and now it's at 0
I haven't been using anymore 12% bleach than usual ...weird

My Plan (From the forum and Jacks Magic)
Tomorrow when FC is at 1 or below
• Replace filters and add new DE
• While pump is running sprinkle Ascorbic Acid in trouble areas until stain lifts (I have 3 lbs)
• After stain lifts add 2 quarts of Jacks Blue Stuff (Sequestering Agent)
• Slowly raise FC
• PH on my pool rises naturly, so I will let nature raise PH
• Finally for preventive maintenance, add 8ounces of Jacks Blue Stuff every week for the rest of my life


So my questions;

Is it a problem having CYA at 0 if I'm not using the pool, it has good chemical reading and no algae?
Can I revisit the CYA issue later, before swimming season starts?
Where the heck did my CYA go?
Does my game plan have any flaws?


My readings;
FC 2
PH 7.0
TA 80
CH 400
CYA 0
Water Temp 58 degrees (tested CYA multiple times with water warmed to room temp)

Thanks!!!

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I would get your CYA up to a measurable level before doing anything else. If truly zero, then even 1ppm FC is way more harsh than we recommend.

Also, you should use Polyquat-60 as insurance while the FC is zero to ensure algae can't get started. Just because the water is cold does not mean that algae is dead.


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[IronKneebone]

Got it. Just bought 4lbs and have it in a sock in the skimmer. Hoping that the Zero reading is actually 15-20 and I'm just getting a super low reading.

I didn't know that bleach was harsh on anything with a low CYA reading. I just thought that the CYA helped it last longer and protect the Bleach from the sun.... good to know

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Read through some of the advanced chemistry topics. CYA protects against UV loss AND it is a chlorine buffer, meaning it bonds with the chlorine and holds it in reserve so that it only forms a small amount of hupochlorous acid which is the primary oxidizing and disinfecting form of chlorine. With no CYA, all of the chlorine turns into HOCl/OCl- which is what makes the water harsh. You need CYA to moderate the amount of HOCl/OCl- created.


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[IronKneebone]

Will do, thanks Matt