Hypochlorous acid is a highly unstable molecule which dissipates rapidly in the presence of sunlight. This results in considerable loss of free chlorine form pools exposed to sunlight. Proper stabilization of chlorine with cyanuric acid slows the rate of chlorine dissipation without appreciably sacrificing oxidation and disinfection activity. Reaction of free chlorine with cyanuric acid produces a form of combined chlorine (chlorimide) which is active enough to aid disinfection and show up as free chlorine residual on your test kit. Proper stabilization requires 30 to 50 ppm cyanuric acid. Outdoor pools should be initially treated with 40 ppm cyanuric acid. The chart below can be used to determine the amount of cyanuric acid needed.