My Test of Cyanuric Acid Remover

[Eric]

My pool has cyanuric acid of somewhere between 60 ppm (pool store measurement) and 80 ppm (my measurement). This is making it hard for me to keep the chlorine level in range. (Many thanks to ChemGeek and others on this board for clueing me in on the problems high CYA can cause.) Given the trouble of replacing between 1/2 and 2/3 of the water in an in-ground, vinyl pool, I figured I'd invest $50 in the Cyanuric Acid Remover sold by In The Swim.

The instructions say that the $50 gal will remove between 30 and 50 ppm of CYA from 10,000 gal. My pool is about 12,000 and I needed to drop the CYA at least 30 and preferably 40 ppm. So, I used the whole gal. The instruction require adding the remover around the perimeter of the pool, running the filter for 24 hours, and then backflushing the filter. They also say the CYA may take up to 72 hours to drop.

Because my timer shut off the filter after about 10 hours, I had to run the filter half-time over two days and then backflush. After doing this, the CYA level in the pool was unchanged. I did wait over 72 hours after the addition before doing another measurement.

I do think the Cyanuric Acid Remover is a solution of Melamine which forms an insoluable complex with CYA. Running the filter after adding Melamine should filter out the CYA-Melamine complex that would then be removed by the backwash. I suspect the complex will breakdown and re-dissolve the CYA after 24 hours which is why it didn't work for me.

So, the CYA remover may work. But you should follow the instructions exactly.

[indoorpoolincolorado]

I have a CYA running around 125 after silly pool-guy advice. I'm really wondering whether I'm stuck with drain/refill or not.

[chem geek]

You have other options if you want to run with a high CYA pool and are developing algae. You can use higher levels of chlorine or you can use a weekly maintenance dose of PolyQuat 60 algaecide (after an initial dose) or you can use a phosphate remover (which may also require some maintenance doses depending on additional phosphate additions). These are listed roughly in order of cost -- phosphate remover being expensive if you have a lot of phosphates.

[Backglass]

I have a CYA running around 125 after silly pool-guy advice. I'm really wondering whether I'm stuck with drain/refill or not.

Remember, you aren't draining and refilling the entire pool...just a foot or so of water. You can do it in a few hours, but you might have to do it more than once. You will start seeing improvements in your chlorine effectiveness right away though.

[SofrwareDev]

A key factor is to have zero chlorine when using these products. The labels don’t want to warn you of this because they probably are concerned you would not buy the product. Plan a time when you can have zero chlorine for 5 to 10 days. The product continues to work for 10 days according to labeling. With the weather hot this creates a risk of algae starting to develop. I’m on here to query whether I can use polyquat algaecide while using the acid reducer. My first envelope of bio active reduced the acid by about 25%. I also followed up at the end by using a clarifier to help collect the material into the filter. Also back washed and clean the filter and replaced the diatomaceous earth.

[Teapot]

The CYA reducer is an enzyme, anything remotely able to kill (chlorine, quats) etc should be left out of the pool. Putting a cover over the pool should help reduce the effects of algae growth or using a phosphate remover first to zero the phosphates if possible.