Hi,
I'm new to pool ownership and this forum, and wanted to share the good results I had with BioActive. I posted a favorable review on Amazon, and have duplicated some of the information here since this forum has helped me learn a great deal.
TL; DR: I followed the directions closely and dropped my CYA from 225 to 65 on one bag.
Details:
I was using Trichlor tabs before I learned about CYA and reduced chlorine effectiveness. No one ever advised me of unlimited increase of CYA when using the Trichlor tabs, nor does it warn about this on the bucket. Concerned, I bought a Taylor K-2006 and measured my CYA. I had to do 2 parts tap water with 1 part pool water, mix that up, THEN proceed with the Taylor instructions with the diluted sample and multiply the measurement by 3. My first CYA test (undiluted) caused the dot to disappear before the level even reached the 100 mark.
I live in the Texas Hill Country on well water. I don't like the idea of dumping so much pool water (15k gal pool) and pumping in fresh well water -- very wasteful and I'm scared to put that kind of strain on my 600' well. I was skeptical from reading reviews here and elsewhere but was willing to try this first before resorting to dilution. I kept the chlorine at 2ppm and checked and adjusted the pH and chlorine daily. I set my variable speed pump on a higher RPM. I *disabled* my UV lamp. From my research, I understood this treatment to be a bacterial operation and not chemical. So I presumed that one should eliminate anything that could kill the bacteria. It's been *very* hot the past 2 weeks -- like 98F+ with little to no cloud cover each day. I don't know if that matters.
After about 2 weeks I tested CYA again -- I would have done it sooner, heck daily, if the reagent bottles had more than 3 tests and not for my fear of no effect. Not expecting much if any reduction, I did the 2:1 dilution again but this time I filled the vial all the way up (30ppm) and could still see the dot (thus < 90ppm CYA)! I repeated the test 2:1 and was able to get to 35 in the shade, and 30 in direct sunlight before the dot completely disappeared. So I'm concluding that my CYA is 65ppm. I'm thrilled!
Additionally, I've noticed that the past week or so that my chlorine is dropping more each day than it had been in weeks prior. I chalked that up to all the sunshine we've been getting (though not much has changed in that regard the past month), but now I think a big part of it is because of the drastic drop in CYA.
I'm feeling more confident now I might actually try the CH reducing soda ash trick! My fill water is crazy high 127+ grains of hardness, and my CH is currently 1250 ppm.
** I'm still kind of new to all of this, so if someone thinks I made a mistake in my testing please advise!
I'm new to pool ownership and this forum, and wanted to share the good results I had with BioActive. I posted a favorable review on Amazon, and have duplicated some of the information here since this forum has helped me learn a great deal.
TL; DR: I followed the directions closely and dropped my CYA from 225 to 65 on one bag.
Details:
I was using Trichlor tabs before I learned about CYA and reduced chlorine effectiveness. No one ever advised me of unlimited increase of CYA when using the Trichlor tabs, nor does it warn about this on the bucket. Concerned, I bought a Taylor K-2006 and measured my CYA. I had to do 2 parts tap water with 1 part pool water, mix that up, THEN proceed with the Taylor instructions with the diluted sample and multiply the measurement by 3. My first CYA test (undiluted) caused the dot to disappear before the level even reached the 100 mark.
I live in the Texas Hill Country on well water. I don't like the idea of dumping so much pool water (15k gal pool) and pumping in fresh well water -- very wasteful and I'm scared to put that kind of strain on my 600' well. I was skeptical from reading reviews here and elsewhere but was willing to try this first before resorting to dilution. I kept the chlorine at 2ppm and checked and adjusted the pH and chlorine daily. I set my variable speed pump on a higher RPM. I *disabled* my UV lamp. From my research, I understood this treatment to be a bacterial operation and not chemical. So I presumed that one should eliminate anything that could kill the bacteria. It's been *very* hot the past 2 weeks -- like 98F+ with little to no cloud cover each day. I don't know if that matters.
After about 2 weeks I tested CYA again -- I would have done it sooner, heck daily, if the reagent bottles had more than 3 tests and not for my fear of no effect. Not expecting much if any reduction, I did the 2:1 dilution again but this time I filled the vial all the way up (30ppm) and could still see the dot (thus < 90ppm CYA)! I repeated the test 2:1 and was able to get to 35 in the shade, and 30 in direct sunlight before the dot completely disappeared. So I'm concluding that my CYA is 65ppm. I'm thrilled!
Additionally, I've noticed that the past week or so that my chlorine is dropping more each day than it had been in weeks prior. I chalked that up to all the sunshine we've been getting (though not much has changed in that regard the past month), but now I think a big part of it is because of the drastic drop in CYA.
I'm feeling more confident now I might actually try the CH reducing soda ash trick! My fill water is crazy high 127+ grains of hardness, and my CH is currently 1250 ppm.
** I'm still kind of new to all of this, so if someone thinks I made a mistake in my testing please advise!
