High Cyanuric Acid Levels Cause Problems

Have you checked your Cyanuric Acid (CYA) levels lately? Do you use chlorine tabs to maintain proper chlorine levels in your swimming pool? These are good questions to ask right now because as it warms up if your CYA levels are high, you will run into problems. We hope this blog post educates you on CYA, how it can be maintained, and what you should do now if your levels are high. CYA is also referred to as a stabilizer or conditioner by many. During the long, hot summer months the sun’s ultraviolet rays destroy free chlorine but having the proper amount of CYA in the swimming pool can prevent this.

Simply put, CYA protects your chlorine from being eaten away by the sun’s ultraviolet rays. As explained earlier, chlorine is important to have in the swimming pool to prevent algae growth but maintaining proper pH levels, phosphate levels, and Calcium Hardness levels are also important in maintaining crystal clear water in your swimming pool. The bottom line is, if CYA is used properly it can reduce the cost of maintaining a swimming pool because it prevents chlorine loss and reduces the amount of chlorine needed to sanitize your pool.

Reverse Osmosis to Lower CYA

Now that you understand the importance of CYA, you are probably wondering what are considered normal amounts of CYA and what is considered too high. Typically, the ideal amount of CYA is between 30 – 50 parts per million (ppm) but depending on how much direct sunlight the swimming pool gets, that number might need to be a little higher. Please note, if you own a salt chlorinator please refer to the manual as each system requires a different CYA level. But, what happens when CYA levels get too high? Problems especially when the water is warm. We say this because it isn’t uncommon for algae to grow if your CYA is high. This is because there is a direct relationship between CYA and Free Chlorine (FC). The simple equation to figure out how much FC is needed to combat algae is CYA x 0.075. This means if you have CYA levels of 300 ppm you would need 22.5 ppm FC to combat the algae. Do you see the problem? So, what should you do if your CYA levels are too high?

You need to replace the water in the swimming pool and you can do this by a drain and refill or with our mobile filtration system which is an alternative to draining a swimming pool. Along with lowering CYA levels, our mobile filtration Reverse Osmosis (RO) system will also lower Calcium Hardness, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), phosphates, salts, and waterborne diseases without draining the swimming pool. Our technology comes to you, we filter the water onsite and can conserve up to 85% of the water in the swimming pool. When the job is complete, we leave you with the best water quality possible and more enjoyable water to swim in.

If you have questions about how RO for your swimming pool works, contact us today!