Cyanuric Acid - necessary evil?

There's no 'seeing' about it. Without CYA the half life of FC can be as low as 20 mins depending on the Ph.

Most of us realize our CYA dipped when we see unusual FC loss. There is no need to experiment here. It's well proven and also well documented.

I should clarify. What I mean is that I'll see the practical effect on the pool; not the chemical specs necessarily. I am fully aware this limits the chlorine life, but so be it. I am not made of money.
 
I should clarify. What I mean is that I'll see the practical effect on the pool; not the chemical specs necessarily. I am fully aware this limits the chlorine life, but so be it. I am not made of money.

One slam will cost far more than the $21 four pound bag of CYA that adds 32 to your 15k gallons.

This isn't going to end well.

I have a salt water cell that creates the chlorine; plus I monitor the chlorine ever few days. I can just turn that up if I need to.

I do have one correction...when I go back and look at the 25lb cyanuric acid granuals I purchased 3 years ago, it was about what 25 lbs costs now (I paid $100). I have not had to use it much so it lasted a while so I when I went to price it, I felt shocked. I can actually get what I need now for half that price.

Just feel lately every time I turn around money is flowing out the door. I realize "fixing" something can cost more than maintaining so that is a fair point.

At this time, I used my last of my CYA about a week ago, so it will last a few months given my prior measurements and our pool environment.

Lastly, I would never buy CYA in a 4 lb bag...the cost per pound is crazy. I would get 25 lbs.
 
I use one bag of CYA per year from Amazon for a ~30,000 gal pool. Currently $85 for 2 years of CYA.

You're going to have to run your SWCG harder to keep up FC at proper levels. The degradation to the SWCG is going to cost a lot more than the bag of CYA. Think of it this way, at CYA 80, you'll have a clean/clear pool, use the SWCG less, and save yourself money. Don't stick yourself in the eye for no reason.
 
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I plan to keep the chlorine and ph balanced fine and see what happens with little to no CYA because the price is now prohibitive.
Of note, a pool with no CYA and 1 ppm FC is more harsh than a pool following the FC/CYA Levels.

But just to confirm, your experiment is to make your several hundred dollar SWG cell work harder and deal with less enjoyable water (and higher risk of algae), in order to save $50 on CYA? Um... good luck?

I only add salt when needed which helps if chlorine is low due to burnoff.
Um, what?
 
Lastly, I would never buy CYA in a 4 lb bag...the cost per pound is crazy. I would get 25 lbs.
Cool. Buy the 25 lb bag over the winter for $50. Puritech on Amazon is cheap in Dec/Jan and more importantly, still available at that point.

The last two years I wasnt paying attention and Amazon suggested the deal mid winter so I jumped on it and had my years supply while it was still freezing out. Now it's $4/$5 lb as you see.

I have a salt water cell that creates the chlorine; plus I monitor the chlorine ever few days. I can just turn that up if I need to
No SWG will overcome an active algae bloom. It grows exponentially and while you may keep it at bay for a time, if that FC dips just a hair, the last growth cycle is the difference between clear water alage and a full blown swamp. Then it's like trying to stop a runaway train.
 
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Cool. Buy the 25 lb bag over the winter for $50. Puritech on Amazon is cheap in Dec/Jan and more importantly, still available at that point.

The last two years I wasnt paying attention and Amazon suggested the deal mid winter so I jumped on it and had my years supply while it was still freezing out. Now it's $4/$5 lb as you see.


No SWG will overcome an active algae bloom. It grows exponentially and while you may keep it at bay for a time, if that FC dips just a hair, the last growth cycle is the difference between clear water alage and a full blown swamp. Then it's like trying to stop a runaway train.
Yeah, I just got the Puritech for $48 for 25lb.
 
I bought 20# of the puritech in feb 2023 - still got plenty left.
I aim to keep my cya around 80 in the peak of summer.
 

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