Pool stabilizers are important to maintain a clean swimming pool. Along with other factors for keeping a swimming pool clean, like pH, total alkalinity, and water hardness, pool stabilizers need to be adequately regulated and tested.
A swimming pool stabilizer is a chemical that helps protect your chlorine chlorine so it can effectively sanitize your pool. It does this by stabilizing the chlorine molecule that would otherwise breakdown in direct sunlight. You should only add stabilizer if your levels are below 30ppm.
WHAT IS STABILIZER? Outdoor chlorinated pools require stabilizer (cyanuric acid) to protect the chlorine from being burnt off by UV rays from the sun. The ideal level of stabilizer is between 30 and 70 ppm. Salt water pools should be kept between 50 - 70 ppm.
If it is too low, you would add an alkaline material, typically sodium carbonate or sodium bicarbonate. They will usually be labeled pH up or increaser and ph down or decreaser. Stabilizer - if it is too low, you add cyanuric acid.
Baking soda, also known as sodium bicarbonate is naturally alkaline, with a pH of 8. When you add baking soda to your pool water, you will raise both the pH and the alkalinity, improving stability and clarity. Many commercial pool products for raising alkalinity utilize baking soda as their main active ingredient.
Adding Stabilizer
In general, about 13 ounces of granular stabilizer will raise the CYA level of 10,000 gallons of water by 10 parts per million. Add the stabilizer to the skimmer basket while the pump is running, and keep the pump running for 24 hours after you add the stabilizer.
Stabilizer is a chemical added to offset the harshness of chlorine. Because saltwater pools don't have the chemical chlorine, a stabilizer isn't required.
When you use stabilized chlorine in your pool every week, you're adding a touch of stabilizer every time you add chlorine. You really won't need more than that throughout the year to keep pool stabilizer at the appropriate concentration.
Liquid chlorine and granular shock have the same active chemical that sanitizes your pool, what changes is the strength and the way you use it. Liquid chlorine is less costly, unstabilized and comes in liquid form. Granular shock is stabilized and comes in a solid form that dissolves in your pool.
When the product reaches the filter, there may be a temporary increase in filter pressure which will dissipate as the product dissolves. You may swim immediately if Stabilizer was added through the skimmer, otherwise wait 12 hours to swim until all product in the pool is dissolved.
Open your pool under normal procedures, and let the filter run with its normal amount of chemicals. When all the other chemicals, such as chlorine. pH and alkalinity, are balanced, add the chlorine stabilizer. Add the stabilizer only after the filter has been backwashed to ensure it is cycled through a clean filter.
If the stabilizer level is too high in a pool, it will lock the chlorine molecules, rendering them ineffective as a sanitizer. This usually happens as a result of using chlorine tablets that contain cyanuric acid.
Areas exposed to high levels of sunlight should maintain 60 – 80 ppm (parts per million). Pools using an ORP Controller (Oxidation Reduction Potential) such as the AutoPilot Total Control, should maintain 30-50 ppm. Indoor pools do not need cyanuric acid, unless it gets periodic exposure to sunlight.
If you test your pool water and can't get a chlorine reading, it may be due to your pool's high demand for chlorine. A high chlorine demand (sometimes referred as chlorine lock), simply means that although your water may appear clear and balanced, the chlorine in your pool is ineffective.
Saltwater pool manufacturers recommend maintaining cyanuric acid levels around 60-80 ppm. This is a bit higher than the 30-50 ppm range recommended for non-saltwater pools. And if you live in an area where your pool gets a lot of direct sunlight, you may even consider bumping your cyanuric acid up to 80-100 ppm.
Shock does not contain any cyanuric acid, so after 24 hours, the elevated amounts of chlorine are no longer in the pool. as 90 percent of the chlorine in the water in two hours.
Most often, the only time you'll need to add any significant amount of CYA is when you open your pool for the summer. After that, if you use stabilized chlorine each week, you're adding a little CYA every time.
Cyanuric Acid (CYA), also called stabilizer or conditioner, protects chlorine from sunlight.
Although there are no known adverse health effects associated with high CYA concentrations, most health officials usually limit CYA levels to 100 ppm. Some states recommend a lower level for spas, and some jurisdictions ban the use of CYA altogether.
Chlorine issues often cause cloudy water. Adding a recommended dose of pool shock to your pool can clear it right up. Poor circulation or filtration can contribute to cloudy water. Make sure your pump and filter are working properly.
You can swim with chlorine tablets in the pool if the chlorine tablets are in a container. Getting in touch with those tablets can cause rashes, irritation and eye problems. However, to be in a safe zone it will be better if you wait for 3 to 5 hours till the chlorine levels touch 4 to 6 ppm.