High CYA, Adjusted Alkalinity and the LSI Index

I spent some time talking to Wayne Ivusich, CPO^®, PHTA CPO^® Instructor Manager of Education & Technical Services Taylor Technologies, Inc. about some of the hard pool chemistry issues you may encounter. These include pools with high CYA levels, how to do the Adjusted Alkalinity and the LSI Index. There are also two more parts to the interview which you can listen to on the podcast site if you would like.

Part 2: https://www.buzzsprout.com/110832/2856088

Part 3: https://www.buzzsprout.com/110832/2856088

Wayne also mentioned the Taylor Webinars that he hosts each week. To join him in these webinars you can email him and he will provide you with the link: Wayne Ivusich Wayne@taylortechnologies.com

Here is more about Taylor Technologies:

For more than 85 years, Taylor Technologies has been a leading manufacturer of products for analyzing water chemistry. Whether industrial, commercial, or residential applications—Taylor is committed to providing the highest quality products, along with superb customer service.

There’s a Reason Taylor Is the Most Trusted Name in Water Testing. Taylor is a leading developer and manufacturer of water-testing kits and reagents for the pool/spa and industrial sectors. With unparalleled customer service and support, Taylor is the go-to for every distributor, retailer, commercial operation, and homeowner…wherever water is tested.

One of the most common water balancing issues is having high Cyanuric Acid (CYA) in your pool. Cyanuric Acid often referred to as Conditioner or the stabilizer is added to the pool in order to slow the chlorine burn off caused by the Sun's UV rays. But if you use 3” Chlorine Tablets (Trichlor Tablets) you will be adding Cyanuric Acid to your pool on a constant basis. Here I will discuss the effects of high CYA in your pool water, how to correct it and ways to prevent it from rising too high levels again.

If your CYA level is very low the Sun's UV rays will cause the chlorine to burn off quickly leaving your pool with no sanitizer or very low levels. The Conditioner in the pool helps to protect the chlorine from burning off too quickly.

Very high CYA levels will make the chlorine in your pool less effective which means you will have to keep the levels at 5.0 ppm or higher and your pool. Your pool may also develop algae blooms even with high chlorine levels present. These algae blooms are also hard to get rid of in a pool with very high CYA levels. High levels of CYA will also give you false ORP readings if your pool uses ORP to measure the safety and swim-ability of the water. High CYA also will give you a false Alkalinity reading, if you test the Alkalinity and it is at 100 it is more likely at 70 due to the CYA level being so high.

The ideal level of CYA in your pool is 30-50 ppm and up to 80 ppm of you have a saltwater pool. So testing the Cyanuric Acid level in your pool at the beginning of the season is crucial. There are many ways to test the CYA level in your pool including the standard Turbidity test, digital testing, and test strips.

You should also utilize the LSI Index (Langelier Saturation Index) in your pool water testing. This will let you know if the pool water is scale forming or corrosive. If you have a Taylor Test Kit (K2000 Series) it will have the Watergram included which will help you calculate the pool’s LSI. You can also use several online apps to calculate the pool’s LSI. Regardless of what you use, you should be checking the LSI at least once a month in your pool or the pool’s you service.

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