How To Increase Stabilizer Without Decreasing Alkalinity.
by Scott
Thanks for the question Scott The stabilizer, or cyanuric acid (CYA) in chlorine tablets, is just that, acidic. When you put acid in the swimming pool, it will affect both the pH and alkalinity. For every 10ppm of chlorine added with Trichlor tablets, you'll increase your CYA by 9ppm. To the best of my knowledge there's really no "easy" way to increase the CYA using chlorine tabs without possible affecting either the alkalinity or the pH. It depends on where your CYA and alkalinity readings at the moment and where you want them to be. Your CYA should be between 30 - 50ppm (with the chlorine 1.5 - 3.5ppm) and alkalinity between 80 - 100ppm. You can go up to 120ppm and still be in the safe zone. If your CYA is around 20ppm and you want to raise it to 30, then that's really not a big jump. But if you're starting the CYA from zero, the excess acid may chew into your alkalinity. Dichlor will have least effect on total alkalinity. This is a stabilized form of chlorine that is used for shocking and manual dosing. For every 10ppm chlorine increased using Dichlor, you'll increase your CYA by 6ppm. For the least affect on your alkalinity, you can use Dichlor and you'll be adding CYA to your pool. Hope this clears it up for you and have a safe and fun swimming season. Robert |
