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.
Along with balancing the pH levels of your pool water, muriatic acid is strong enough to kill mold, remove rust stains, get rid of calcium deposits, and clean the surfaces of your pool.
In the pool industry, Cyanuric Acid is known as chlorine stabilizer or pool conditioner. 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.
Cyanuric acid is raised by adding chlorine stabilizer containing cyanuric acid. The only way to lower cyanuric acid is by replacing water.
Most experts agree that muriatic acid is the best option to lower the pH and alkalinity levels of your pool water. You can also use it to clean tiles, remove stains, dissolve calcium deposits, and kill any mold and algae leftover in your pool at the end of the year.
Muriatic acid is one of the names for hydrochloric acid, a corrosive strong acid. It is also known as spirits of salt or acidum salis. "Muriatic" means "pertaining to brine or salt". The chemical formula for muriatic acid is HCl.
Try muriatic acid.
It won't actually reduce the water's calcium hardness, but it will raise the saturation level, which can help bring the water back into balance.
No, cyanuric acid and baking soda work in very different ways in your pool. Baking soda raises the total alkalinity in your pool. But baking soda does not protect or stabilize your chlorine, like CYA.
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.
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.
Clorox has absolutely NO Cyanuric Acid (CYA) in it nor does it increase CYA at all when you use it. You should show them. It's mostly water, then sodium hypochlorite (i.e. chlorine), and sodium chloride salt, and then a small amount of sodium hydroxide and a very small amount of sodium polyacrylate.
Regular bleach, or sodium hypochlorite – contains no cyanuric acid. Household bleach is normally a 5% or 6% strength, while commercial strength bleach for pools is generally 12.5% strength, and delivered by truck and hose.
You should keep your outdoor pool or spa's Cyanuric Acid level at 0-30 parts per million (PPM).
We recommend adding Acid weekly! Adding a little and often is better for your water and can actually save you money overtime. Large doses over longer periods of time take a larger portion of your 'Total alkalinity' away.
Muriatic acid is a form of hydrochloric acid, which has a pH of about 1 to 2. The only differences between hydrochloric acid and muriatic acid are purity—muriatic acid is diluted to somewhere between 14.5 and 29 percent, and often contains impurities like iron.
Cloudiness Due to Elevated pH
Before you floc the pool, you should check the chemical balance, and if you notice the pH is too high, that may be why the pool is cloudy. You may be able to clear the water by adding muriatic acid to lower the pH.
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.
Re: Cyanuric Acid (CYA) Level High
The stabilizer in the Chlorine is the Cyanuric Acid. Each time you add chlorine to your spa, you are also adding CYA to it as well. After so much is added it just builds up more and more, and that is why it is reading high on your strips.
Why You Have Low Cyanuric Acid
The most likely reason is that you've only ever used unstabilized chlorine in your pool. Heads up: Unstabilized chlorine, such as sodium hypochlorite (liquid chlorine), lithium hypochlorite, and calcium hypochlorite, is pure chlorine.
In fact, cyanuric acid has been known to stay in pools even after completely draining them – it can get into the plaster. The only way to lower the levels is to drain some water and add water with no CYA in it.
Yes, the most economical way to lower CYA is to partially drain and dilute the pool with fresh water. Consult a pool professional if you want to drain more than 1/3 of your water, because there are risks with hydrostatic pressure and other concerns.
Sodium bicarbonate will raise your alkalinity and slightly raise your pH-so add small amounts and re-test after a few hours to make sure you hit your mark. Once you TA is balanced, your CL will work effectively and your pH will stabilize.
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.
Perhaps most important note of all, never add chlorine and muriatic acid together in the pool. This creates a dangerous toxic gas that can have severe health consequences if inhaled.
You should never add chlorine and muriatic acid at the same time. The muriatic acid will react with the chlorine in your pool and create a deadly gas called hydrochloric acid. You need to wait for a minimum of 30 minutes, after you add the acid, before adding any chlorine to your pool.