Stabilizer readings higher than 100 ppm have an effect on the total alkalinity test. For every 100 ppm of Cyanuric Acid (CYA), the tested total alkalinity will increase by 30 ppm. However, this 30 ppm is not an effective buffer.
Test strips can be used to test total alkalinity. Total alkalinity is raised by adding stabilizer, soda ash, or baking soda. Total alkalinity is lowered by reducing pH and aerating your pool.
Does pool stabilizer reduce the total alkalinity in my pool? It doesn't reduce it, but cyanuric acid in the pool contributes to a part of your total alkalinity reading and can cause you to believe that your alkalinity levels are higher than they really are.
Cyanuric acid, also called stabilizer, is commonly used in outdoor pools to reduce photodecomposition of available chlorine. When added to pool water, a fraction of the cyanuric acid (H3Cy) ionizes to form cyanurate (H2Cy-). The fraction that ionizes is pH-dependent.
When cyanuric acid is added to the pool, it increases the total alkalinity, but not the carbonate alkalinity, which is the alkalinity that matters in water balance.
All alkaline materials are buffers. Cyanuric acid happens to be the most common buffer found in pool water. In effect, cyanuric acid helps stabilize both chlorine and pH. It binds with chlorine to prevent photolysis and it keeps pH elevated.
Clearly, when cyanuric acid is in the water, it overpowers pH in terms of controlling chlorine strength.
Adding Cyanuric Acid reduces the sun's impact on chlorine loss. The longer chlorine is present in pool water, the longer it's available to kill bacteria and sanitize the water. In the pool industry, Cyanuric Acid is known as chlorine stabilizer or pool conditioner.
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.
If your CYA levels dip too low, your chlorine will be completely gone in a few hours and your swimming pool will become susceptible to bacteria and algae growth. If the pool stabilizer levels get too high, however, it overpowers the chlorine and makes it less effective.
Total Alkalinity, like pH, is affected by environmental factors. Rain, acidic sanitizers, addition of fill water and other product applications can all change the alkalinity over time. Total Alkalinity should be tested once every three to four weeks.
Alkalinity is the total alkaline material in your pool water. You should test alkalinity first because it will buffer pH. Your reading should be in the range of 80 to 120 parts per million (ppm).
Rainwater might be low in alkaline levels, and when it rains hard, your pool may become flooded, and this will affect the average alkalinity of your pool. If you drain or backwash your pool, adding freshwater with a low alkalinity level is bound to deplete the overall pH of your pool.
One of the most common reasons why alkalinity levels are so high in pools is because of too many chemicals. This is usually the result of human error. However, for people who live in a geographical area that experience acid rain, this can be a common problem. The acid rain can continuously change your pool's pH level.
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. For pools with bleachable surfaces, such as colored plaster or vinyl, do not allow product to sit on the bottom of the 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. Usually, all you have to do is check the level of stabilizer (cyanuric acid) in your pool every week to judge whether it's doing the job or not.
Other chemical imbalances: High levels of accumulated phosphate and bromine and imbalanced stabilizers, such as cyanuric acid (CYA) might also cause cloudiness. If you are using cyanuric acid often, make sure that the CYA and free chlorine levels are balanced, because excess CYA will significantly reduce free chlorine.
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.
The recommended range for a swimming pool's total alkalinity is between 80 and 120 parts per million. Any good pool testing kit will let you determine the range, and it's important to test often. So, when it comes to alkalinity there are really only 3 states in can be in: Too High, Too Low and Just Right.
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.
In simple terms, pH is the concentration of acid protons [H+]. On the other hand, the alkalinity of a solution is its ability to neutralize acids. Alkalinity consists of ions that incorporate acid protons into their molecules so that they are not available as a free acid that can lower the pH.
A rule of thumb is 1.5 lbs. of baking soda per 10,000 gallons of water will raise alkalinity by about 10 ppm. If your pool's pH tested below 7.2, add 3-4 pounds of baking soda. If you're new to adding pool chemicals, start by adding only one-half or three-fourths of the recommended amount.
If your pH is high and alkalinity is low in the same water, you may need to add pH reducer/minus and then alkalinity increaser to your pool to lower pH and increase alkalinity respectively. In very rare cases, your total alkalinity may be high but with a low pH in the same pool.
You can decrease pH without lowering the Total Alkalinity using Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) injection for pH control. Still, this does not lessen one without an effect on the other. When CO₂ is injected into water, it forms carbonic acid (H₂CO₃), which will reduce the pH.