What do my chlorine levels need to be?

[cnk]

I think that I will just do the bleach and CYA since that is what I've already purchased, but what I need to know is what level I need to keep the chlorine at. I thought that I had read 3 ppm on the previous board, but I'm not sure.

[Watermom]

It depends on your cya level. The higher your cya level is, the higher you have to keep your chlorine level. If you add enough cya to have a level around 30-40, then maintaining a cl level of around 3ppm should be OK. Again, it just depends on your cya level.

[cnk]

Thanks alot for your help. That at least gives me a level to shoot for.

[ScottS]

I saved this chart on my PC from the old site. Hope it helps!

-------------------

Ben's 'best guess' FC/Stabilizer table for algae free operation of OUTDOOR pools
-- as of July 2003 --

Stabilizer . . . . . . Min. FC . . . . Max FC . . . 'Shock' FC
=> 0 ppm . . . . . . . 1 ppm . . . . . 3 ppm . . . . 10 ppm
=> 10 - 20 ppm . . . . 2 ppm . . . . . 5 ppm . . . . 12 ppm
=> 30 - 50 ppm . . . . 3 ppm . . . . . 6 ppm . . . . 15 ppm
=> 60 - 90 ppm . . . . 5 ppm . . . . . 10 ppm . . .. 20 ppm
=> 100 - 200 ppm . . . 8 ppm . . . . . 15 ppm . . .. 25 ppm

[apoolman]

CNK, The answer to your question is a MIN of 1.5 If your pool has a CL level lower than 1.5 then it is not safe to swim in. The NSFP reg book shows this year for 2006 for CL levels to be between 2.5 and 7.5. Your CYA should not go over 100 PPM. the only way to reduce this level is to drain water off the top of the pool and replace with fresh water. There is no chemical to reduce CYA in a pool. CYA stays at the top 3 inches of the surface of the pool on a calm steady day. Draining from a skimmer or a scum ledge is the best way to lower CYA if it gets too high.

[DavidD]

the only way to reduce this level is to drain water off the top of the pool and replace with fresh water. .... CYA stays at the top 3 inches of the surface of the pool on a calm steady day. Draining from a skimmer or a scum ledge is the best way to lower CYA if it gets too high.

That is the first time I’ve heard that. Any studies/documentation that backs this up? If this is true, it would make lowering CYA much easier. Sorry to be skeptical but sounds way too good to be true. Chemistry was a long time ago so hopefully I'm wrong in my un substantiated doubt, I HOPE!.

[waterbear]

I would be very interested in hearing any studies to back this up myself since it goes agains just about everything I know about the chemistry of solutions.

[duraleigh]

Poolman,

CYA stays at the top 3 inches of the surface of the pool on a calm steady day. Draining from a skimmer or a scum ledge is the best way to lower CYA if it gets too high

.

DavidD, Waterbear, and DavidS (that's me) are in sync on this one. I have never heard that before but would love it to be true. However, that would mean that if you did a CYA test and dipped 6 inches below the surface in a calm pool, you would get a zero CYA reading.

Lowering CYA would be a chip shot with a variety of methods

Dave S.

As an aside, the Moderator of the forum is ADAMANT about people in the profession identifying themselves as such. Your username implies that but it's not clear. Glad to have you on the forum

Dave S.

[apoolman]

Become a CPO and get the CPO Handbook!!!

http://www.nspf.com/index.html

[PoolDoc]

. CYA stays at the top 3 inches of the surface of the pool on a calm steady day. Draining from a skimmer or a scum ledge is the best way to lower CYA if it gets too high.

Uh, that's totally bogus!

As a CPO myself, and a former instructor, I can assure you that that idea is NOT from CPO training. If you got an instructor who taught you that, you got one from the bottom of the NSPF's barrel. Bad luck for you, but please don't dump his goofy ideas here!

It's also not true that

• all pools with FAC at 1 ppm are unsafe -- it IS possible to be 'safe' at that level, or that
• there's something magical about the range between 2.5 ppm and 7.5ppm, or that
• it's impossible to run a safe and sanitary pool with 150 ppm of CYA!

Please, learn more, before you try to post authoritatively. Unfortunately, having one of the nice CPO patches and certificates does NOT make you an expert.

And . . . you need to ID your connection with the industry in a signature line to EACH and EVERY post, which identifies who and what you are in the industry, but does NOT try to 'sell' your services.

Thanks,

Ben
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