My final report on my BA-CAR trial:
Background:
My pool started with very high CYA levels. I had been using trichlor pucks and dichlor powder for years.
I live in the Peoples Republic of Kalifornia (PRK). The state and my local water utility over the years have failed to plan for the routine predictable droughts we have every 10 years or so. This year they have declared a Stage 4 drought emergency. Increased water rates and penalties have been instituted. The water alone for a pool drain and refill would cost me about $300. Additionally, the PRK (at least in my location) has declared pool water a hazardous waste which cannot be drained onto my lawn, into a drain, or into the streets, but must be pumped into a hazmat tank truck and hauled away at great additional expense to me. Because of the projected drain-refill expenses, I decided to give the BA-CAR a try.
My personal background is as an industrial physicist. I have 44 years of experience in designing, conducting and reporting experiments. Until this trial, I had relied on retail pool stores to do my pool water testing.
Procedures:
At the beginning of the trial, I ceased using trichlor/dichlor and started using concentrated Clorox to maintain chlorine levels and started using Borox and muriatic acid to maintain PH levels.
I had not done a CYA test myself before this trial began, and was surprised to discover the tweakiness of the measurements and the great rigor required to achieve consistent accurate results. The JasonLion test procedures under bright direct sunlight were followed after Day 3 of the trial.
All procedures, recommendation, and water parameters from BA were adhered to during the trial. One bag of BACAR was added to the skimmer on each of Days 0, 6 and 26. general water conditions, FC, PH and CYA were monitored during the trial.
Results:
See graph below.
Discussions
The CYA readings before Day 4 should be ignored because the tests were done under lower light conditions. It was discovered that under such low light conditions, CYA reading were inaccurate and generally much higher that actual CYA levels.
The trial did not reveal any significant reduction in CYA levels in my pool.
I am uncertain how BA-CAR would perform in pools starting with much lower CYA levels. Some members on this site have reported reductions of 20 to 30 ppm reductions per bag with starting CYA levels of around 100. Such results may be valid. My starting CYA levels on Day 0 were probably about 350. Certainly on Day 4, my CYA levels were about 350. After about one month of using BA-CAR, there was no significant reduction in my pool CYA readings.
Conclusion:
The trial failed to reduce my pool CYA readings to a level below 300, and no significant reduction in CYA level could be verified by the use of BA-CYA.
I’ll try to answer any questions members may have regarding this trial.
Richard
