Steve, Can you explain why manufacturers have to use cya in trichlor tablets? High stabilizer level problems would go away if they stopped putting it in these tabs.
The full name of trichlor is Trichloroisocyanuric acid. The CYA is a part of the trichlor molecule. Trichlor breaks down into chlorine and CYA. I have found that in South Florida where you regularly need to pump out (rain)water from your pool, the CYA levels do not increase over the long term when using trichlor tabs. In a dry area like the Southwest where you will never be pumping water out of your pool to lower the water level, the math shows you'll definitely be running in to problems using trichlor. Now, I've seen plenty of people who say you should replace 100% of your pool water from time to time, with some people saying every two years, and others saying every ten years. If you're planning to do this then you still might not have any CYA problems. I haven't done a complete water change in the 20 years I've had my pool. So trichlor can absolutely work for *some* people without the need for a complete water change, or even any water changes to reduce CYA levels. If you're curious about how this will work for *you* sit down and work out the math for your pool.
Great stuff. I have a small concrete pool ~8500 gal. We use minerals and chlorine tabs. I just started measuring CYA and it's near 75-100 ppm. Hard to really tell with that dot tool from taylor. I've been draining my pool little by little over the past few days and CYA doesn't seem to be coming down. Is this the concrete problem you spoke about? If so, will it eventually wear off? Re the mineral process...does that complicate CYA removal/chlorine levels? Thanks!
I read many scientific articles about CYA regarding UV protection vs kill times of different bacteria types. My conclusion is to use even a lower CYA than 30-50. I would suggest 20-30.
Sky high CYA is also the most common problem that homeowners DO know about. Just ask the employees at your local pool store - those poor guys have to explain it all day and then the customer still leaves with stabilized tabs. Go figure
I use pucks and may stop. I am trying to increase the clarity of my water and when I got my water tested the CYA was at 71. Their system said that was fine and their range is 30-200 for the acceptable zone so I am confused how that range is acceptable. The water testing system is called BioGuard.
In my brief (18 months) experience with two separate pools, I agree. Once I do a drain and fill, once I fix the CYA and maintain pH and Alk, and switch to liquid chlorine, other problems disappear.
Can a UV/ozonator throw off readings for the water? My c/A is about 150. It’s new pool, filled in March 2023. It’s always been high. It has average:d 80ppm for quite a while, and now it’s higher. I have a chlorinator and use the tabs. You mentioned liquid chlorine. I may decide to 1/2 drain the pool, refill and use liquid from now on.
I have an inground saltwater concrete pool in New Jersey and kept my cya at 2 ppm all of last year. It stayed clear all year by shocking it 1x/wk. I feel like I can add less chlorine during the season with a super low cya since ur chlorine level is suppose to be 7% of the cya levels (according to Bob Lowry). What do u think? Should I increase my cya to 30-50 ppm this season? This is my 2nd yr owning a pool and have learned soo much from ur videos!! Thanks!!!! :)
You will burn out your salt cell extremely fast with no CYA in a salt pool. Most salt pool owners actually go the other way and hold CYA at 70ppm versus the 30 to 50ppm which is the normal recommendation for pools
I switched to none CYA pucks this season. Still working on rate of dilution since they are slow to dissolve…… when my cya was too high, I turned the pump on high doing rain storms …… it worked ✅✅✅. Had a wet winter here in TX. Loved the video….. NST sells unstabilized pucks.
Yeah those pucks / trichlor tabs are evil. I think I calculated for my pool every single one bumps my CYA by a 1 or 2 ppm. Assuming you started with a good CYA level by adding stabilizer in new water by the end of the season you're over the max. Just jugs and jugs of bleach (sodium hypo) seems like the way to go. I just used up the last of my trichlor tabs and I'm done with them (and they are bloody expensive). I think mostly pool maintenance people love them because they can load up your floater and not worry about adding more chlorine all the time. And they get to drain your pool every year because "your CYA levels are too high!" and charge you for acid / chlorine wash too.
thanks- here in Texas my cya is in the high end of the range and gets higher by the end of the season Oct-Nov, mostly use liquid chlorine 80% and pucks 20%- mainly when we go out of town.
Some people think the high range for CYA is 100 or 150 but I would never operate my pool with CYA this high. Never more than 70 ppm and even then that is only for pools with a salt chlorinator. Perhaps you can explore cal-hypo pucks instead of trichlor pucks. These increase your calcium instead of your CYA levels. But they require a special erosion feeder. You can NOT mix trichlor and cal-hypo. They will explode.
I know this is a super late response, but at least where I am in central Texas you realistically can't use cal-hypo. The calcium level of our water is already 350-375. After a short while of using cal-hypo you end up with basically the same issue as you would with trichlor except with calcium (more than likely now both CYA and calcium levels too high).
CYA is so frustrating to control, will be moving to liquid chlorine from now on. Recently partially drained my pool to move the equipment pad - by the way thank you Steve for answering my emailed questions amazing knowledge - and finally refilled only to have my CYA increase nearly 50%. Imagine that...
Do you have a concrete pool? Concrete pool surfaces can hold CYA and release it back into the water, especially if your CYA levels were really high. Setting CYA at 30 to 50ppm and then switching to chlorine without CYA, like liquid chlorine, is definitely the way to go.
You can not always pump that much from your pool. Depending on your pool you might have to do it in stages. But yes, remove half the water, remove half the CYA
I had a pool instructor, tell me that if I didn't want to use those pucks, I can actually put in Clorox. Half a gallon for every 10,000 gallons of water. Is this true?
Yes. As long as there are no additives like fresh lemon scent etc. Bleach is the same as pool chlorine except that it is less strong. Otherwise same product and can be used safely to add chlorine to pools.
I just do a few partial refills to keep it down under 70. I may put in a salt chlorine system at some point but then I have to start adding acid. I saw the chlorine genie that generates is outside the pool and you can control how much of the hydroxyl ions go back into the pool letting you adjust ph. Problem is I think they still have a valid patent so it's quite expensive.
i wish there were tablets that can sanitize without increasing CYA or calcium hardness BUT....there's no way to stabilize chlorine without the byproduct :(
Steve, Can you explain why manufacturers have to use cya in trichlor tablets? High stabilizer level problems would go away if they stopped putting it in these tabs.
The full name of trichlor is Trichloroisocyanuric acid. The CYA is a part of the trichlor molecule. Trichlor breaks down into chlorine and CYA. I have found that in South Florida where you regularly need to pump out (rain)water from your pool, the CYA levels do not increase over the long term when using trichlor tabs. In a dry area like the Southwest where you will never be pumping water out of your pool to lower the water level, the math shows you'll definitely be running in to problems using trichlor.
Now, I've seen plenty of people who say you should replace 100% of your pool water from time to time, with some people saying every two years, and others saying every ten years. If you're planning to do this then you still might not have any CYA problems. I haven't done a complete water change in the 20 years I've had my pool. So trichlor can absolutely work for *some* people without the need for a complete water change, or even any water changes to reduce CYA levels.
If you're curious about how this will work for *you* sit down and work out the math for your pool.
Great stuff. I have a small concrete pool ~8500 gal. We use minerals and chlorine tabs. I just started measuring CYA and it's near 75-100 ppm. Hard to really tell with that dot tool from taylor. I've been draining my pool little by little over the past few days and CYA doesn't seem to be coming down. Is this the concrete problem you spoke about? If so, will it eventually wear off? Re the mineral process...does that complicate CYA removal/chlorine levels? Thanks!
I read many scientific articles about CYA regarding UV protection vs kill times of different bacteria types. My conclusion is to use even a lower CYA than 30-50. I would suggest 20-30.
I’m convinced this is the number one water quality problem that the average residential customer has and doesn’t realize it.
Especially for all those pool owners using chlorine pucks as their primary chlorine source.
Sky high CYA is also the most common problem that homeowners DO know about. Just ask the employees at your local pool store - those poor guys have to explain it all day and then the customer still leaves with stabilized tabs. Go figure
I use pucks and may stop. I am trying to increase the clarity of my water and when I got my water tested the CYA was at 71. Their system said that was fine and their range is 30-200 for the acceptable zone so I am confused how that range is acceptable. The water testing system is called BioGuard.
In my brief (18 months) experience with two separate pools, I agree. Once I do a drain and fill, once I fix the CYA and maintain pH and Alk, and switch to liquid chlorine, other problems disappear.
@@Ryan-Chicagogoal for my company is 50 or under
Can a UV/ozonator throw off readings for the water? My c/A is about 150. It’s new pool, filled in March 2023. It’s always been high. It has average:d 80ppm for quite a while, and now it’s higher. I have a chlorinator and use the tabs. You mentioned liquid chlorine. I may decide to 1/2 drain the pool, refill and use liquid from now on.
I have an inground saltwater concrete pool in New Jersey and kept my cya at 2 ppm all of last year. It stayed clear all year by shocking it 1x/wk. I feel like I can add less chlorine during the season with a super low cya since ur chlorine level is suppose to be 7% of the cya levels (according to Bob Lowry). What do u think? Should I increase my cya to 30-50 ppm this season?
This is my 2nd yr owning a pool and have learned soo much from ur videos!! Thanks!!!! :)
You will burn out your salt cell extremely fast with no CYA in a salt pool. Most salt pool owners actually go the other way and hold CYA at 70ppm versus the 30 to 50ppm which is the normal recommendation for pools
I switched to none CYA pucks this season. Still working on rate of dilution since they are slow to dissolve…… when my cya was too high, I turned the pump on high doing rain storms …… it worked ✅✅✅. Had a wet winter here in TX. Loved the video….. NST sells unstabilized pucks.
Yeah those pucks / trichlor tabs are evil. I think I calculated for my pool every single one bumps my CYA by a 1 or 2 ppm. Assuming you started with a good CYA level by adding stabilizer in new water by the end of the season you're over the max. Just jugs and jugs of bleach (sodium hypo) seems like the way to go. I just used up the last of my trichlor tabs and I'm done with them (and they are bloody expensive). I think mostly pool maintenance people love them because they can load up your floater and not worry about adding more chlorine all the time. And they get to drain your pool every year because "your CYA levels are too high!" and charge you for acid / chlorine wash too.
Does cya sink or float?
Sink but only barely. If you can shut off your pump for a day before and then partially drain from the deep end, you'll be able to capture a bit more
thanks- here in Texas my cya is in the high end of the range and gets higher by the end of the season Oct-Nov, mostly use liquid chlorine 80% and pucks 20%- mainly when we go out of town.
Some people think the high range for CYA is 100 or 150 but I would never operate my pool with CYA this high. Never more than 70 ppm and even then that is only for pools with a salt chlorinator. Perhaps you can explore cal-hypo pucks instead of trichlor pucks. These increase your calcium instead of your CYA levels. But they require a special erosion feeder. You can NOT mix trichlor and cal-hypo. They will explode.
I know this is a super late response, but at least where I am in central Texas you realistically can't use cal-hypo. The calcium level of our water is already 350-375. After a short while of using cal-hypo you end up with basically the same issue as you would with trichlor except with calcium (more than likely now both CYA and calcium levels too high).
same
My cya is always high. It gets annoying because everyone recommends the damn tabs
CYA is so frustrating to control, will be moving to liquid chlorine from now on. Recently partially drained my pool to move the equipment pad - by the way thank you Steve for answering my emailed questions amazing knowledge - and finally refilled only to have my CYA increase nearly 50%. Imagine that...
Do you have a concrete pool? Concrete pool surfaces can hold CYA and release it back into the water, especially if your CYA levels were really high. Setting CYA at 30 to 50ppm and then switching to chlorine without CYA, like liquid chlorine, is definitely the way to go.
@@Swimmingpoolsteve I do have a concrete pool, wow I never knew that. Thanks for the tips!
How much water u drain out thank u
So if my 24,000 gallon pool is at 80ppm. I would pump out 12,000 gallons. Would that bring my CYA to 40 ppm?
You can not always pump that much from your pool. Depending on your pool you might have to do it in stages. But yes, remove half the water, remove half the CYA
CYA, I have found, reduces the effiency of ORP Probes
I had a pool instructor, tell me that if I didn't want to use those pucks, I can actually put in Clorox. Half a gallon for every 10,000 gallons of water. Is this true?
Yes. As long as there are no additives like fresh lemon scent etc. Bleach is the same as pool chlorine except that it is less strong. Otherwise same product and can be used safely to add chlorine to pools.
@@Swimmingpoolsteve thank you
what's the largest bleach bottle that you can buy, can you post a link to the product ? thanks@@Swimmingpoolsteve
I just do a few partial refills to keep it down under 70. I may put in a salt chlorine system at some point but then I have to start adding acid. I saw the chlorine genie that generates is outside the pool and you can control how much of the hydroxyl ions go back into the pool letting you adjust ph. Problem is I think they still have a valid patent so it's quite expensive.
i wish there were tablets that can sanitize without increasing CYA or calcium hardness BUT....there's no way to stabilize chlorine without the byproduct :(
@@bludika cal hypo chlorine pucks in a special cal hypo erosion feeder. Or a liquid chlorine feeder system.
@@Swimmingpoolsteve What about Poolife NST Prime Tablets? They claim to have a "Non-Stabilized Formula"?
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