When CYA Levels Are High, Problems Arise!

Chlorine is by far one of the most important chemicals in your swimming pool to keep it clear and free of algae, especially in the Las Vegas area. With that said, the most common chemical used to prevent chlorine loss in swimming pools in cyanuric acid (CYA, stabilizer or conditioner). During our extremely 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. Knowing that we hope this post helps to explain why CYA is necessary for your pool but also what happens when it gets higher than what is considered normal levels.

As explained earlier chlorine is extremely important to have in the swimming pool to prevent bacteria growth but maintaining proper pH levels, phosphate levels, and Calcium Hardness (CH) levels are also important in maintaining crystal clear water in your swimming pool and making sure your water chemistry is balanced.  The bottom line is, if Cyanuric Acid 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 properly sanitize a swimming pool.

So, what is 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. Whereas, when the CYA levels rise above 100ppm, that can cause a fair amount of other problems too. If you happen to own a salt chlorinator make sure to check the manual for proper CYA levels as that does vary from one system to another. The biggest issue when CYA levels rise above 100ppm is the effectiveness of chlorine because the higher levels tend to bind up the chlorine making it harder to kill algae and other bacteria. When this happens the only way to reduce CYA is to replace the water in the swimming pool which can be done using our mobile filtration system which is an alternative to draining a swimming pool.

Just last week we filtered a 16,000-gallon residential swimming pool with extremely high CYA levels which caused them to deal with algae growth. The following is what we measured for initial chemistry:

Calcium Hardness – 620ppm

Total Dissolved Solids – 2120ppm

CYA – 200+

After filtering this swimming pool with our Reverse Osmosis (RO) mobile filtration system we were able to leave them with the following ending chemistry which is far better than Las Vegas’s tap water!

Calcium Hardness – 110ppm

Total Dissolved Solids – 284ppm

CYA – 0ppm

Clark County Pool & Lawn prides itself by giving residential swimming pool owners the best water quality to swim in. Using our mobile filtration system every two years will not only help with calcium scaling but also give you and your family the best water quality to swim in. To learn more, please contact us today!