Losing chlorine

[joecus]

I'm sorry I don't understand. I am getting the cyanuric acid reading from the strips that turn color when you dip it into the pool. The cya reading I get is in the "ok" range at 100 ppm. Also, you mention trichlor, what is that? I've been using shock, chlorine tabs and sometimes bleach. Is that what you are referring to?

[aylad]

The chlorine tabs, if they're the kind that you use in a feeder, are trichlor--a form of chlorine that also contains CYA. Depending on what you're using for "shock", it's probably dichlor, which also contains CYA. Continued useage of those is why your CYA level is so high. In addition, strips are notorious for not being very accurage, so you never really know for sure how much CYA you actually have.

What the strips don't tell you is that a CYA level of 100 is "ok" IF you run your pool with a FC level of 8-15 ppm and shock up to at least 25 ppm. If you let your chlorine get below 8 ppm, you're asking for algae blooms and unsanitary water. Take a look at the "best guess table" stickied at the top of this forum--you'll see that as your CYA (stabilizer) level increases, so must your base chlorine level in order to keep your water clean. So with your CYA as high as it is, I certainly wouldn't use anymore trichlor tabs or dichlor shock--I'd switch to bleach, which won't raise your stabilizer anymore.

I also would encourage you to get a test kit of your own that is drop-based, not test strips. A good kit is key to managing a clear, clean pool with very little effort. AT the very least, I would advise you to either take a sample to the pool store to be tested by the reagent method or even to go to WalMart and get the 5-way test kit (which includes a CYA test) and test it yourself.

Eitherway, you're either going to have to up your chlorine to compensate for the high CYA levels, or drain/refill part of your water to lower them, if you don't want to fight your pool all summer.

Janet

[joecus]

OK - I just ordered a 5 part test kit. My plan is to switch to bleach until I can determine an accurate cya. At that point, I will drain if necessary. Can someone explain how my pool can be unsanitary right now? Both fr cl and cl are so high, can I use pool?

[CarlD]

I don't trust strips CYA reading. My Hache strips are indicating I have no CYA but the Taylor black dot test indicates it's just under 50ppm. Either I'm reading the strips wrong or the CYA test is wrong. The chlorine tests aren't too bad and I can usually use the pH test safely.

But the CYA, CH and TA tests are worthless. I check 'em anyway so I always know what owners see when they use them.

[joecus]

Is my pool safe to use? Someone mentioned it is unsanitary.

[aylad]

You can use the pool if you're keeping your chlorine between 8-15 ppm, with your CYA at 100. Test for combined chlorine, and if it's less than 0.5 and the pH is between 7.2-7.8, then it's fine to use the pool.

If your chlorine is still higher than that, I would feel ok with using the pool with chlorine levels even up to 15 (this is because the CYA is so high), but I would wear an old suit in case of fading.

If you test the water and have CC greater than 1, or if you've been running the pool for more than a few days with a chlorine level less than 8, then I wouldn't swim in it.

Janet