BioActive Cyanuric Acid Reducer - BiOWiSH Technologies
Anybody have any any thoughts or experience with this?
Anybody have any any thoughts or experience with this?
Thoughts on cya reducer
- Thread starter RhettABrown
- Start date
Draining water to reduce CYA 100% guarantee for cost of water (if your pool is only 3500 gallons it can't be much in FL)
Using BIOactive there's a 50% or 20% or 0% guarantee (depending on your source of information) It seems people that actually know how to test their water find it very ineffective. and the cost can get quite pricey.
Using BIOactive there's a 50% or 20% or 0% guarantee (depending on your source of information) It seems people that actually know how to test their water find it very ineffective. and the cost can get quite pricey.
I bit the bullet and used this product. It did reduce the CYA about 50ppm. It is expensive at $45 but I felt was worth trying instead of draining and refilling half my pool. I have heard mixed results with this product but I did see some benefits.
How did you measure this 50 ppm reduction? And what was your before and after CYA number?
I've also heard things like you have to bring your FC real low near zero to use this product, can you give us the details of how it worked? you are the 1st one I've seen actually say that. Did you happen to get a full set of test results (with recommended test kit) before and after?
My CYA was 100 using my K-2006 test kit. Actually it was probably a bit over 100 but the kit only reads to 100. When I used it, my FC was around 3 and pH was 7.4, Alk 110. I tested the day after putting the product in my skimmer but saw no results. Day 3 is when I saw the results, which was a CYA of 50. I had to get FYA lower because I needed to SLAM. I was having issues with FC dropping up to 2 ppm everyday, but that is for another thread.
Thanks for the info, so just 1 package? It's good to know for some people that absolutely cannot drain and refill maybe this could help...
Per their requirements your pool cannot contain algae, so it seems like a catch 22 if someone needs to reduce CYA to SLAM. It's possible it won't work per their own instructions
[FONT=open_sanslight]Usage Requirements and Reminders
Since Bio-Active uses natural cultures to reduce your CYA, be sure your pool will be habitable for the the organisms to do their job. When using Bio-Active keep your pool in these ranges:
[/FONT]
[FONT=open_sanslight]Pool Chemical Features[/FONT]
Per their requirements your pool cannot contain algae, so it seems like a catch 22 if someone needs to reduce CYA to SLAM. It's possible it won't work per their own instructions
[FONT=open_sanslight]Usage Requirements and Reminders
Since Bio-Active uses natural cultures to reduce your CYA, be sure your pool will be habitable for the the organisms to do their job. When using Bio-Active keep your pool in these ranges:
- » Chlorine between 2-5 ppm.
- » PH between 7.2-7.8.
- » Alkalinity 80-120 ppm.
- » Water temperature between 65°F - 105°F
- » Do not add shock or algaecides 7 days prior to application.
- » Works best in an outdoor pool, uncovered for at least 7 days.
- » Bio-Active does not work in mineral system pools.
- » Make sure your pool is free of algae or other contaminants.
- » Be sure to shut off UV, ozone, and chlorine feeders 15 minutes prior to, and 3 hours after, applying Bio-Active
[/FONT]
[FONT=open_sanslight]Pool Chemical Features[/FONT]
- Safely lowers CYA levels within 10 days without needing to drain the pool.
- Eliminates chlorine lock due to high CYA.
- Allows sanitizer to be effective.
- Nontoxic, non-allergenic, nonpolluting
- Use 1 bag for up to 25,000 gallons.
- Works best with water over 65 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Proven results from our in house chemists.
I was quite interested in trying Bio-Active out when I was dealing with much higher CYA, from the previous owners, early this season. In general searching every site I could with reviews I found that ~10% reported success. So not great odds which is why I opted to just maintain high CYA and high FC while weekly draining about 3-4 inches, which has worked well.
With all the variables that goes on in pools, especially ones being maintained through various free advice from pool stores, it's going to be really difficult to ever really nail down when this product will work or not. Obviously the product label is good place to start but plenty of reviews are out there that clearly sound like the reviewer knew what they were talking about and saying they got all the chemistry in order according to the label before use but still no results. Now that I think of it though, even those reviews could be based on testing with guess-strips, maybe that's a major issue with people trying to use this stuff?
With all the variables that goes on in pools, especially ones being maintained through various free advice from pool stores, it's going to be really difficult to ever really nail down when this product will work or not. Obviously the product label is good place to start but plenty of reviews are out there that clearly sound like the reviewer knew what they were talking about and saying they got all the chemistry in order according to the label before use but still no results. Now that I think of it though, even those reviews could be based on testing with guess-strips, maybe that's a major issue with people trying to use this stuff?
I agree with what you're saying. That's why if we're ever going to get it straight it will be here where people know how to test, and know what is in their water, probably much better than the typical amazon user or leslies customer.... It's worth a shot especially for those in places like California where drain and refill is a huge issue....
Given past results I would argue that is not worth a shot. Better off taking that 30 to $50 and applying it toward water.
Sort of a catch-22 here. In order to test the effectiveness of this product we need a person following the TFPC method to have confidence in their testing and to know to a large extent what's in the pool BUT also have high CYA. But TFP pools don't have high CYA...
At least one user tested it in a laboratory settings, monitoring all levels closely and controlling the variables, to no success. When the product does seem to work it is either within the margin of error for the CYA test or the CYA test used was questionable. I believe of the many dozens of attempts recorded on the site the ones that could definitely be called a measurable success (whether to advertised reduction or not) can be counted on one hand. Ten percent success is an optimistic number given the probability of paid reviews, I would hardly call that "worth a shot".
This isn't some "they just aren't open to new ideas" thing that some people seem to think, we were very interested when we first heard of this. The company had an employee join the forum to help people, they even offered second bags free because they seemed so confident it would work. We were absolutely ready to add another tool to the arsenal (despite having to purchase it from the same pool stores that cause the problem in the first place, think about that a moment). Then the results came in, real ones and obviously faked ones. And ever since we have explained to everybody not to bother. Just another magic potion, another way to donate a few more dollars to the pool store that put you in the situation you were trying to correct. If you are going to give anybody that money give it to the water company for a water change that will be the last one you may ever need. Or give it to TFP for cluing you in to the problem and giving you the knowledge to correct it once and for all. Whatever you do with the money, don't go giving it to the pool store for another bag of powdered hope.
This isn't some "they just aren't open to new ideas" thing that some people seem to think, we were very interested when we first heard of this. The company had an employee join the forum to help people, they even offered second bags free because they seemed so confident it would work. We were absolutely ready to add another tool to the arsenal (despite having to purchase it from the same pool stores that cause the problem in the first place, think about that a moment). Then the results came in, real ones and obviously faked ones. And ever since we have explained to everybody not to bother. Just another magic potion, another way to donate a few more dollars to the pool store that put you in the situation you were trying to correct. If you are going to give anybody that money give it to the water company for a water change that will be the last one you may ever need. Or give it to TFP for cluing you in to the problem and giving you the knowledge to correct it once and for all. Whatever you do with the money, don't go giving it to the pool store for another bag of powdered hope.
Thanks Donaldson! I wasn't aware there was that much research done on it, I've only seen what's been posted the last few months which just seem to say "no don't use it"
borjis
LifeTime Supporter
It ended up costing me WAY more in the end. And I still had to replace water.
I did one treatment.
I did lose about 40 cya. I know that's within the error rate of testing (so I was told), but it stayed 40 ppm less from then on.
The worst was after having FC at 2 for that week, I got really bad mustard algae. And it broke out 2 weeks
before an open house to sell the home I was in at the time. The CYA was down to 70 at that point
so with almost no time left (getting house ready for sale) I did the slam at that level, went through
36 jugs of bleach and left it crystal clear and much more manageable than I inherited it
That was a nail biting experience.
I did one treatment.
I did lose about 40 cya. I know that's within the error rate of testing (so I was told), but it stayed 40 ppm less from then on.
The worst was after having FC at 2 for that week, I got really bad mustard algae. And it broke out 2 weeks
before an open house to sell the home I was in at the time. The CYA was down to 70 at that point
so with almost no time left (getting house ready for sale) I did the slam at that level, went through
36 jugs of bleach and left it crystal clear and much more manageable than I inherited it
That was a nail biting experience.
All I can give is my personal experience. Just went through the CYA issues and gave the Bio-Active a shot against my better judgment and it did absolutely nothing except give Leslie's what will be the last $60 they will get from me.
My apologies for starting a firestorm of a thread. Hopefully this will save some people some time and money so it isn't time wasted on anyone else's part.
No worries ... the more threads like this, the more likely they will pop up in a Google search and save other people. 
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