Cyanuric acid (CYA), often known as a pool conditioner or stabilizer, is essential for preserving the chemical equilibrium of your water. However, even while CYA helps shield your chlorine from the sun’s ultraviolet rays, too much of it might harm the chemistry of your water.
If you have a saltwater pool, the ideal range for your cyanuric acid levels is between 30 and 50 parts per million (PPM). However, if they are significantly higher, it could be time to reduce the amount of cyanuric acid in your pool.
You must partially drain and refill your pool to dilute the water in order to lower cyanuric acid levels. Although there are alternatives, such as cyanuric acid reducers, they are less efficient. However, you must stop making a high cyanuric acid condition worse before you can address it. This is all the information you need regarding what raises cyanuric acid levels and what you may do to lower them.
What Is Cyanuric Acid For Pools (CYA)?
In the pool business, Cyanuric Acid is sometimes referred to as a “stabilizer” or “conditioner” since it shields chlorine from the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays, which can cause it to degrade. CYA can be quite helpful up to a certain degree, but after that, it starts to hurt the pool more and more.
What Happens if Cyanuric Acid Levels Are Too High?
Too much cyanuric acid can hurt your pool, change the chemical readings of your water, and stop chlorine from killing germs on surfaces.
Chlorine Reduces the Effectiveness of Chlorine
Chlorine can’t function properly if there’s too much cyanuric acid present. The amount of chlorine that is available to sterilize the water reduces as CYA rises. Additionally, the ratio of free chlorine to cyanuric acid should be 7.5%.
In order to adequately disinfect your water, you must maintain free chlorine levels at 3 ppm if your pool has CYA levels of 40 ppm. A long-term imbalance can cause the water to become murky and even support the growth of algae.
Readings of Total Alkalinity Are Distorted
Your carbonate alkalinity increases thanks to cyanuric acid, which raises your overall alkalinity. So, readings of total alkalinity will be erroneous when cyanuric acid levels are high.
Damage to Plaster Finish on Pool Walls
Since inefficient chlorine can upset the pH equilibrium, a high CYA concentration typically corresponds to low pH levels. The plaster finish on the walls of your pool will deteriorate due to this low pH.
Unsanitary Water
If there is an excess of cyanuric acid, there won’t be as much chlorine left over to clean your water. And as a result, you face the chance of pollutants like germs and algae growth.
Why Are Cyanuric Acid Levels Bad?
Several issues with the pool water can result from excessive CYA levels:
Total alkalinity values that are inaccurate. Due to its potential to artificially increase your carbonate alkalinity, high cyanuric acid can lead to erroneous total alkalinity measurements (which make up your total alkalinity). The Langelier Saturation Index can be used to make sure your water is balanced and to find out exactly how much of each chemical is in it.
This stops the effectiveness of chlorine. High CYA will weaken the chlorine in your swimming pool and prevent it from doing its job. This condition, known as “chlorine lock,” arises when the pool’s high cynauric acid level overwhelms the presence of free chlorine. You’ll immediately start seeing problems like algae and murky water if your chlorine supply is impacted.
Plaster issues As a result of chlorine that is inefficient and can cause pH to fluctuate, high CYA typically corresponds to low pH. Therefore, if your pool has a plaster finish, the water will progressively erode it. Plaster damage can be fixed, but the process necessitates draining the entire pool.
Reduced ORP values. The oxidizing power of water is measured by ORP (oxidation-reduction potential). The ORP of the water will drop when there is too much CYA present because it loses efficiency.
Health problems A harmful bacterium known as cryptosporidium parvum won’t be adequately eliminated from the water due to high cyanuric acid levels, which can have an effect on your health. It could get into a swimmer’s digestive system and cause diarrhea and other stomach problems.
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Testing Your Cyanuric Acid Levels
1. For a quick and easy check, use specialized test strips. While the majority of water test strips can only measure the concentrations of chlorine and pH, some more sophisticated or specialized strips can also measure the concentrations of cyanuric acid in pool.
Submerge a water test strip that can identify cyanuric acid, submerge it for 30 seconds in your pool’s water, and then check the levels using the attached chart.
Cyanuric acid water test strips ought to be accessible online or at your neighborhood specialty pool store. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions for your own water test strips, since different strips may work in different ways.
A typical test strip might not be able to read the cyanuric acid levels in your pool if they are too high. Bring a sample of your water to your neighborhood pool store and ask them to test it. Your reading will be far more precise and trustworthy as a result.
2. To conduct a more in-depth investigation, use a water quality test kit. Test strips are less dependable and accurate than water quality test kits, which are therefore more expensive as a result. Purchase a water quality test kit that can measure cyanuric acid levels, then check the levels as directed by the manufacturer.
Test kits for water quality should be accessible online or at your neighborhood pool store. The majority will entail obtaining a sample of water and introducing chemicals that alter color depending on the presence of various colors. Follow the directions on your test kit for the best results.
3. Maintain cyanuric acid concentrations of 30 to 50 ppm. The ideal concentration of cyanuric acid to retain in your pool is a topic of much debate. Although levels up to 80 ppm (particles per million) can be safe, values between 30 and 50 ppm typically function well. Make sure your cyanuric acid levels are within safe ranges by checking them.
It is advised by the World Health Organization (WHO) that your cyanuric levels remain under 100 ppm. You should add more water to your pool or dilute the water if your level is above 100 ppm to bring it down.
The chlorine in your pool can become overwhelmed by too much cyanuric acid and cease to function altogether. In order to keep it clean, you will need to replenish the water and re-fill it with chlorine and cyanuric acid. If you add too much cyanuric acid, the levels will get too high.
A consumer-grade water test kit might not be able to read your cyanuric levels if they are too high. Before you try to lower cyanuric acid in your pool, you should take a sample of the water to a store that specializes in pools and have it tested.
4. Every week and after a lot of rain, check the quality of the water in your pool. The water in your pool is filtered and diluted frequently, which causes the level of cyanuric acid to fluctuate frequently. Check the levels at least once a week and after a lot of rain to make sure you don’t need to add more cyanuric acid in pool.
The chlorine in your pool will be damaged by the sun’s UV rays and cease to function if your cyanuric levels drop too low. As a result, your pool will get dirty, and the water will be more susceptible to impurities.
Ideal Cyanuric Acid (CYA) Level For Pools
For a chlorinated pool, the proper stabilizer concentrations are 30 to 50 ppm, and for a saltwater pool, 60 ppm.
Your pool’s stabilizer levels could be greater or lower, but you would need to alter the chlorine dosage correspondingly. The more chlorine you’ll need, the more stabilizer is present.
The efficiency of cyanuric acid as a stabilizer doesn’t actually rise much above the optimal levels, so having high quantities isn’t really necessary.
The recommended levels of cyanuric acid and pool stabilizer should not be changed unless there is a valid reason.
Also Read: An Essential Guide: How To Add Calcium Chloride to Pool
How to Lower Cyanuric Acid in Pool?
It’s difficult to lower cyanuric acid in your pool. Most importantly, though, is to immediately stop adding more stabilized chlorine to your pool. This contains cyanuric acid, and if you keep adding it to your water, the issue will only get worse.
1. Dilute Pool Water by Draining and Filling It only Partially.
The simplest and most efficient technique to lower cyanuric acid in pool is to dilute your water. This entails draining some of the water from your pool and adding fresh water in its place. Although the acidic nature of rain can disturb the equilibrium of your pool’s water, it can also aid in lowering cyanuric acid levels and water.
Test your water with test strips or a liquid test kit to find out how much CYA is currently present before dilution. Your reading may be “off the chart” if your CYA levels are quite high, in which case you will need to bring a sample of your water to your local pool store.
Starting with a submersible pump, a hose siphon, or the waste option on your filtration system, start partially draining your pool. Set your valve to “waste” or “drain” while utilizing your filter. Just a few inches of water may need to be removed, so keep that in mind.
Just make sure your water levels never go below the skimmer while you drain your pool. This will stop your pump from running out of fuel.
Retest the chemistry of your swimming pool after adding fresh water and draining some of the remaining water. Drain your water and fill it up again and again until the level of cyanuric acid is back to the normal range of 30 to 50 ppm.
2. Use a Chemical Reducer for Cyanuric Acid
Cyanuric acid reducers are available, although they are frequently highly expensive and don’t work for all pool owners. Remember that the most effective way to reduce cyanuric acid is to empty the container and replace it with fresh water. But if your cyanuric acid level is too high and you can’t dilute your water, you can use a CYA reducer to get rid of the problem.
Remember that if you’ve recently applied clarifiers, algaecides, or phosphate treatments to the pool, cyanuric acid reducers won’t work. Additionally, the water in your pool must be at least 65 degrees. Also, before you use your pool, its pH and total alkalinity should be in a certain range.
3. Use a Reverse Osmosis Filter
If you have persistently high levels of cyanuric acid and are unable to dilute your water, you might want to think about investing in a reverse osmosis filter. A semi-permeable membrane that is very thin allows pool water to pass through. The water is then returned to the pool after passing through a tank and being filtered by activated charcoal.
Reverse osmosis, on the other hand, wastes a lot of water and costs several thousand dollars to install and buy a filter. Water waste is another result. For each gallon that goes through this filter, you’ll produce 2 gallons of waste.
However, many pool owners find that reverse osmosis filters are beneficial since they not only lower cyanuric acid but also calcium hardness and total dissolved solids. Reverse osmosis systems are also advised in areas with water restrictions and shortages. So, even though some water is wasted, it will save more water in the long run than a full drain and refill of the pool.
How Can I Reduce My Pool’s Cyanuric Acid Levels without Draining It?
Follow these steps to lower cyanuric acid in pool without draining it:
- Maintain the chemicals’ ideal ranges and test the water. The pH should be between 7.2 and 7.8, the alkalinity should be between 80 and 120, and the chlorine concentration should be between 1 ppm and 5 ppm. This procedure won’t work if any of these parameters vary, and you’ll have to drain and refill the pool.
- After removing the basket, add a Bio-Active Pool Stabilizer Reducer to the skimmer. The pump should be turned on and kept running as much as possible throughout the upcoming week. For this cyanuric acid reducer to work, it needs to be constantly moving because it needs to touch as much water as possible.
- During the treatment procedure, only chlorine, soda ash, muriatic acid, and baking soda should be used. Most additional pool chemicals sabotage the procedure. Because Bio-Active is so sensitive, your pool must stay within the ranges that have been set for it to work.
- Keep the pool at least 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18.3 Celsius). Natural chemicals used in Bio-Active CYA Reducer are ineffective in cold water. The pool must be kept heated enough. Learn about pool heating methods to make sure that the water temperature never drops below the desired range while the pool is running.
As soon as you can, clear away any cloudiness and algae blooms. Algae may obstruct the decrease of stabilizers. There will be too many algae, total dissolved solids, and other trash to notice any benefits.
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How to Raise Cyanuric Acid in Pool?
Simply rebalance the pool water by adding more stabilizers. Increase the concentration of cyanuric acid to the ideal range of 30 to 80 ppm. Please abide by the product’s label instructions.
You are safe with a low level of stabilizer at 30 or 40 ppm if it’s the off-season and you avoid swimming in the pool because it’s too chilly. If you have a pool cover, the sun won’t damage your chlorine. As a result, you just need a minimal amount of stabilizer in the water.
Increase the level to 70 or 80 ppm during the scorching summer months. The chlorine is shielded from the sun in this way. It is recommended to add chemicals to pool water in the early evening, right before the sun sets.
This will guarantee that the chemical is not harmed by heat or UV light, giving it time to act throughout the night. Also, you need to make sure that the pump will run for at least three to four hours so that the chemicals can mix with the water completely.
The most crucial thing to keep in mind is to gradually raise the concentration of cyanuric acid. After it has dissolved and circulated throughout the pool, retest the water. I always test after adding half the required amount of stabilizer, then add more.
It’s preferable to be cautious than sorry because it’s challenging to lower the amount if you add too much. The pool usually needs to be drained, filled, and all the other chemicals rebalanced.
Conclusion
Understanding cyanuric acid is extremely easy when it comes to swimming pools that are treated with chlorine-based chemicals. Preventing chlorine from evaporating in the blazing sun, only extends the life of the chemical.
This is especially crucial during the hot summer months when chlorine can quickly degrade. The pool is more hygienically sound the longer the chlorine remains there.
To avoid overdosing, avoid using stabilized chlorine products and add cyanuric acid separately from chlorine. In most cases, it’s not a problem if you add too much chlorine. The extra chlorine will be used up during sanitation. A concern with having too much stabilizer is that it won’t go away on its own.
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