What causes high cyanuric acid in pools, what problems arise from this, and what can you do about it? All these questions and more are answered here to help you keep your pool clean, balanced, and ready to use!
What Is Cyanuric Acid?
Cyanuric acid is a weaker acid that helps reduce the chlorine loss in your pool water. It protects your pool from harmful UV rays, which tends to cut down the chlorine concentration.
Hence, it works as an effective stabilizer for your pool. Therefore, it is also known as CYA, pool conditioner, or pool stabilizer.
The ideal range of cyanuric acid in the pool is 30 to 50 ppm (parts per million). A significant rise in the ideal range of cyanuric acid can deteriorate your water chemistry. Read on to learn the cause of this rise and how it can affect your pool.
Why You Have High Cyanuric Acid
It's the job of chlorine to keep your pool water clean, but there are a lot of factors that matter, like which type of chlorine you use can be a matter of consideration. For example, many chlorine does not contain cyanuric acid.
Since stabilized cyanuric acid has built-in CYA, whereas unstabilized chlorine does not have CYA.
The primary reason behind the rise of cyanuric acid in pools is due to the excess usage of stabilized chlorine in your pools. It happens because when pool water evaporates, the cyanuric acid remains intact in the water just like any other chemicals like calcium and salt.
What Happens If There's Too Much Cyanuric Acid In The Water?
The rise of cyanuric acid in the pool can lead to the following consequences:
Flawed Total Alkalinity Measurements.
High cyanuric acid in your pool can result in false alkalinity readings because it helps swiftly contribute to the carbonate alkalinity, which sums up the total alkalinity.
Stalls Chlorine Effectiveness
Higher cyanuric acid in your pool can weaken its chlorine and prevent it from doing its job. This condition is referred to as chlorine lock. Compromised chlorine levels in your pool can lead to issues like cloudy water and algae.
Plaster Problems
High cyanuric acid in your pool usually correlates with a lower pH because the ineffectiveness of chlorine can throw off the pH level. In the case of plaster finished pools, this means that your plaster lining will slowly and gradually deteriorate.
Decreased ORP Readings
With an increase in the measure of cyanuric acid in the pool, the oxidation-reduction potential in your pool decreases.
Develop Health Issues
An increase in cyanuric acid can adversely affect your health. Higher cyanuric acid levels leads to the rise of cryptosporidium parvum that cannot be adequately removed from the water.
This can severely affect the gastrointestinal tract of the swimmer, causing diarrhea and digestive issues.
How Do I Lower Cyanuric Acid Levels In My Pool?
Here are some of the possible ways that can help you to lower cyanuric acid in your pool.
Method #1: Draining or diluting the water
In most cases, diluting or draining your pool water has been found to be a better course of action. To investigate that the process is done effectively, try using a pool filtration system to drain your pool water but try avoiding air bubbles in the skimmer.
Method #2: Employ a Cyanuric Acid Substitute
One of the best ways to reduce cyanuric is to use a cyanuric acid reducer. Using a product like Bio-Active or Natural Chemistry is a chemical that helps in reducing the cyanuric acid in your pool instantly.
In case your pool consists of extremely high levels of cyanuric acid, then you can consider using a cyanuric acid reducer to bring it down simply. In addition, with this, you can add a dilution method as a topping to fasten the process.
However, you should never add ingredients like phosphate treatments or clarifiers to your pool for at least 7 days prior to the addition of a cyanuric acid reducer as it will beat the entire process.
Method #3: Use Specialized Filters
Specialized cleaning filters, such as reverse osmosis, are an out-of-the-ordinary method for lowering cyanuric acid levels in a pool. In spite of the fact that it's somewhat pricey, it's unquestionably worthwhile.
Through the process of reverse osmosis, pool water is pumped through a very thin semi-permeable membrane and into a massive pressure tank, where it is filtered through activated charcoal. The water is recycled by this method and returned to the pool.
What chemical can be used to lower the amount of cyanuric acid in a pool?
There can be several causes for the rise of cyanuric acid in the pool. However, there are several chemicals that can help in reducing them. You can use Bio-active ingredients to help remove cyanuric acid from your pool. In addition, you can also use natural chemicals to further simplify the process.
Does shock raise cyanuric acid?
Ideally, there are two main types of pool shock that can be used in residential and commercial pools. Here are some of them:
1. Calcium Hypochlorite: also referred to as cal hyp, it is one of the most powerful shocks. It works as an oxidizer and sanitizer and is most frequently used in the pool industry. It also raises the calcium level hardness in your pool slightly.
2. Acid (dichloroisocyanuric): also referred to as dichlor, is another type of chlorine shock that contains both chlorine and cyanuric acid. In addition, over time, it raises the cyanuric levels in your pool.
3. Sodium Monopersulfate: also referred to as MPS shock in the pool industry. This shock is also known as chlorine shock. MPS works as an oxidizer and not as a sanitizer. It helps in removing organic material from the water and contributes to eliminating waste from the water without the unwanted side effects of chlorine.
Managing Cyanuric Acid
Cyanuric acid in a pool can be a struggle to learn how to effectively manage with minimal effort. With a little planning and testing your water, you can learn your pool's norms and how to manage CYA effortlessly.
In short, if your cyanuric acid levels are high, you should test the alkalinity, chlorine, and pH levels using these easy 7 way test strips. Treat your pool as needed before diving in for a swim.
Comments
No Comments