Cyanuric acid is raised by adding chlorine stabilizer containing cyanuric acid. The only way to lower cyanuric acid is by replacing water.
Solid granular stabilizer is best added by placing it in a sock or nylon and hanging that sock in front of fast moving return(s). Shaking and squeezing the sock while in the pool water will help the stabilizer dissolve faster.
You can either add the stabilizer to a pool skimmer box sock and hang the sock in front of the return jet or place it in the skimmer box. Or you can simply mix it in a bucket of water first and dump it into the skimmer box. Either method is fine to dissolve the stabilizer.
Cyanuric acid is available as a granular solid and as a liquid (sodium cyanurate). Most commonly, however, cyanuric acid is found in stabilized chlorines dichlor and trichlor. These stabilized chlorines have about 50-58% CYA in their formulas.
Ideally you should keep CYA between 30-50, assuming you do not have a SWCG. If you do have a Salt Water Chlorine Generator, or your pool is exposed to lots of direct sunlight, you want to maintain a higher level. The recommended CYA level for SWCG pools is 70-80.
Some larger grocery stores sell baking soda in 4 lb boxes and some big box stores have it in 12 lb bags. Baking soda can be added by spreading it across the surface of the deep end of the pool.
After Adding Muriatic Acid
Muriatic acid can create a hot spot of acid in the water that could potentially burn or irritate your skin. It is best to wait 30 minutes after adding it to your pool.
To achieve the recommended amount of 30 ppm, add one pound of CYA stabilizer per 4,000 gallons of water. The chemical is a strong acid so wearing gloves and goggles when preparing the solution is well-advised. Once the required amount of stabilizer has been calculated, mix it in a five-gallon bucket of warm water.
Because of the importance of stabilizer, there are unfortunately no alternatives. If you stopped using it, you would continually struggle with chlorine levels, bacteria, and algae. We understand that all the chemicals needed to keep a pool looking healthy can add up and become costly.
Is Having Low Cyanuric Acid a Problem? Chlorine is actually more effective at killing the bad bugs when pool stabilizer is low. The problem with low cyanuric acid is chlorine degrades quickly in the presence of sunlight. Chlorine is rendered completely ineffective within a few hours of sun exposure.
Add the stabilizer only after the filter has been backwashed to ensure it is cycled through a clean filter. Add the stabilizer slowly through the skimmer as per the product's instructions. Most products require 1 lb. of stabilizer per every 3,000 gallons of water.
Answer: Cyanuric acid shouldn't be at Zero for an outdoor swimming pool because chlorine will deplete faster in hot and humid weather, leading to cloudy water. If your FC is at normal level of 3ppm, raise Cyanuric acid level to 40 ppm and you will reduce chloramine levels that make your water appear cloudy.
If you need to lower your pool's pH, you do so by adding an acid -- typically muriatic acid or sodium bisulphate. When you need to raise the pH, you can add baking soda, but only if the total alkalinity of the water is also low. If the alkalinity is in the proper range or high, you should use soda ash to raise pH.
Wait at least six hours. Let the baking soda dissolve into the water. Turn on your pool's circulation system to help it disperse.
I have a question, i'm doing the shock on my pool now. Could i add (stabilizer, baking soda, borax, or etc) to my pool while doing the shock time? Or i have to wait until the shock is done. Stabilizer, yes, if you're below 30 CYA.
Yes both cyanuric acid and muriatic acid are both acids but they serve different purposes for the pool owner. Cyanuric acid has the chemical formula CNOH, whereas muriatic acid is a diluted form of hydrochloric acid, HCI.
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.
Cyanuric Acid (CYA) is a pool balancing product used to help chlorine last longer. Chlorine, in its natural form, is unstabilized—which means it degrades when exposed to sunlight. Adding Cyanuric Acid reduces the sun's impact on chlorine loss.
But not every pool owner needs to worry about CYA levels. Because cyanuric acid protects chlorine from the sun, it's really only required for outdoor pools (or indoor pools with some ultraviolet light exposure). CYA stays in a swimming pool for a long time, even after the water evaporates.
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.
It's also included in chlorine tablets or sticks (called trichlor) or shock (called dichlor). When they're mixed together in shock or tablets, the resulting product is called stabilized chlorine. Typically, pool owners won't need to add any extra stabilizer separately if you're using one of the combination products.