Lithium And Stabilizer In Lieu Of Dichlor?

[chris999]

Hey all,

I've been reading up on Nitro's Guide and have a few questions that hopefully someone can answer before I refill my spa tonight.

I have some unused "pool stablizier" which I assume is simply CYA (if it isn't, please let me know). I also have Lithium Hypochlorite.

Questions:

- In order to get CYA up to 20-30ppm, can I use straight pool stabilizer (and add Lithium) instead of Dichlor?

- If yes, how many tablespoons of stabilizer to reach 20-30ppm?

- How many tablespoons of Lithium on start up?

- Is there a need to add additional stabilizer once I've reached 20-30ppm? If so, how often or under what conditions?

- Does anyone have a quick summary on regular maintenance using Lithium, once CYA and residual FC levels have been met?

- Should I do my weekly shock with Lithium or MPS, or both?

Thank you much!

Chris

[thecanuck22]

sure you can, use www.thepoolcalculator.com to find out how much stabilizer (CYA) you need to add for your volume of water and also use it to determine how much lithium you need to bring your ppm of chlorine to the desired level.

you would use the lithium just like the bleach and you would only have to use more cya when you top up your water level if you feel like it.

you can shock with whatever you feel like shocking with, mps or lithium.

[PaulR]

Pool calc tells me 1.0 oz of 100% CYA per 375 gallons equals 20ppm. Plug in your numbers to see what you need. Also check the jug, hopefully it gives the ingredients as 100% Cyanuric Acid but sometimes it's less. If it's a lot less you'll need correspondingly more stuff.

CYA does seem to drift downward over time, if you're not changing water after 3 months then you'll probably need to refresh the CYA a bit at that point.

--paulr

[chem geek]

Yes, several people measured and reported that the CYA loss was around 5 ppm per month in their spas so could be refreshed with one day per month of Dichlor or adding some pure CYA.