Reverse Osmosis Filtration To Lower CYA Levels in Los Angeles

When it comes to keeping your pool sanitized, clear, and blue, chlorine is the most important chemical that you will use in your swimming pool. Whereas, Cyanuric Acid (CYA), also known as a conditioner/stabilizer, helps prevent chlorine loss in swimming pools. Think of it as sunscreen for your pool! As much as this chemical is vital in your swimming pool, it can also be extremely challenging when the levels get too high! During the hot summer months, the sun’s ultraviolet rays destroy free chlorine but having the proper amount of CYA in the swimming pool can prevent that and we hope that this post helps explain why CYA is necessary for your swimming pool and how to lower it when the levels get higher than normal recommended amounts.

In an outdoor pool (indoor pools typically do not require any CYA) with no CYA, chlorine is all used up within the first two hours of sunlight hitting the pool.  CYA serves to protect the chlorine and allow it to stick around longer.  However, too much CYA will bind over the chlorine and will not allow it out to work.  We often hear that “I can’t keep chlorine in my pool” when it really is present but unable to break through the grip of CYA.

The Relationship Between CYA and Chlorine

When it comes to understanding CYA and its effect on your water chemistry the following is the most important:

• There is a direct relationship between the amount of CYA in a pool and the proper chlorine level. The multiplier to figure out how much chlorine (in ppm) you need is .075   In the case of a pool with 50 ppm CYA, we would take 50 times .075 to get minimum chlorine residual of 3.75 ppm (we always talk about free chlorine here).  A pool with 100 ppm then would require a minimum of 7.5 ppm free chlorine as 100 X .075 = 6.  Oftentimes in our industry, we hear that 2 – 4 ppm Free Chlorine (CH) is good, with no regard for the relationship it has with CYA.  With this simple example, you can see that a pool with 100 ppm CYA and only a 4 ppm free chlorine residual is asking for trouble (algae) because it needs 7.5!  You must either lower your CYA level or increase your free chlorine to keep a safe and sanitary pool in this case.

This is where we run into problems because we have shown up to pools with CYA 200 ppm and higher. This means a pool with 200 ppm CYA would need a residual of 15 ppm Free Chlorine and that is touch to do. That is why Pool Water Recycling which has a satellite office in Los Angeles, CA as well as Orange County, CA can help. We help because our mobile filtration Reverse Osmosis will not only lower Calcium Hardness, but TDS and CYA too.

Not only are we efficient in providing excellent water quality but we also can conserve up to 85% of the existing water in the pool. To learn more, please contact us today!