Underwhelmed by Bio-Active CYA reducer

[seeesjames]

2 Weeks ago I got my pool temperature >70 deg, pH to 7.4 and FC to <4. I put my first bag of Bio-active into the strainer and ran the pump for 4 hours. The problem with the first round was that I never did a diluted test to find a value, besides >100, for my CYA. I tested at 72 hours and 10 days. I had the local pool store verify my end results and it was still >100. Because I didn't have a good baseline I thought that my CYA was just astronomical and would give it another shot. I paid $53 for the first bag.

For the 2nd go-round I wanted some more solid numbers. my pool was 73 deg, pH 7.4, and FC was 0.5. I believe they suggest a FC of 2-3, but I thought a low FC would give the product a better shot. I came up with a CYA of 140 (using a 1:1 dilution) and got the pool store to declare it at 110. Somewhere I read that a CYA of >100 has a margin of error of ~30. I knew that I would need to take that into consideration. I asked the pool store to give me a break on a 2nd bag and so they charged $36.

I added the Bio-Active that afternoon and ran the pump for just short of 4 hours. The pump was going to turn on again by itself for four more hours later that night, so I figured I was OK not running the full 4 hours. I tested the water after 71 hours and with a non-diluted test came up just short of my 100 mark for CYA. I'm guessing it was 110-120. I had 7 mL remaining in the test bottle so I used a syringe to add 3.5mL of tap water to the pool water and reagent and tested again. I hit 70 on my Taylor tester. With a 1:1 dilution that would put the CYA at ~140.

Like many of you, I was really hoping that this was going to be a revolutionary product. I really feel like I gave the product a legitimate shot. I'm going to send a link of this thread to the manufacturer and see if they can point out something that I did wrong.

 

[JasonLion]

Thank you for sharing your experience.

So far we have two people who have definitely lowered their CYA level at least some, and one other who didn't see any change.

 

[seeesjames]

I copied my link to BiOWiSH, via their website, and received the following reply from Rod Vautier, their VP of Sales and Marketing. I'm at the very least impressed that they responded. I'm not trying to openly promote or trash their product, but publishing the fact that they are big believers in their product and giving me another shot to try their product. I want to disclose that they have also offered this 3rd bag of product to me at no charge. I am going to follow the directions which they sent to me from their Technical Brief, found at the following link.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/apceq2hv5ihqf5r/Bio-Active Technical Bulletin 3 - Page Format.pdf?dl=0

A few things stand out to me on the Technical bulletin that I don't recall reading from the FAQ on the website:
1- Pool shouldn't be covered, mine was
2- High levels of copper and silver may adversely affect the product. I don't know what was the level of metals. I have 2 blonde children and no green hair. Hopefully that means I'm ok....

Dear Cxxxxx,

Thank you for your email and interest in the Bio-Active™ product. We greatly appreciate you contacting us and allowing us to respond to your blog entry. As you know this is a brand new product to the industry so needless to say we are more than keen to ensure the product performs in the field and that it has a positive online presence.

Firstly I can assure you that through all of our testing we have seen 100% success in reducing CYA levels when the product is applied as intended, however through this work we have identified 9 specific factors ranging across pool suitability to measurement factors that can either reduce performance or prevent the reduction in CYA actually being properly measured. We can tell you know what you are doing and already with the information you have provided, you have excluded quite a number of these factors.

I have copied Jose Torres from Bio-Active Products, Inc. who are distributing the product. Jose will shortly send you a Technical Bulletin we have prepared for the industry covering just the situation you have presented and it discusses each of the 9 factors I mentioned above. You can read through that as it may identify the reason you have not seen the expected result. Jose will also call you to follow up and you can discuss these in more detail.

We are very keen to see that you are satisfied and no matter what the reason we ultimately come out with, we are happy to send you another bag of Bio-Active™ Cyanuric Acid Reducer at no cost. Please do not apply it to the pool yet as from the information you have provided it is quite likely a measurement issue rather than actual performance and Jose will explain this possibility to you in more detail so you can assess if this is true. Once we work through all the points we can together decide if a further application is needed.

Please send me your shipping address and I will arrange the comp. bag for you.

Thank you again for reaching it. My full contact details are below if we can be of further assistance.

Kind Regards,
Rod

Rod Vautier
Vice President Sales & Marketing
BiOWiSH Technologies

 

[Patrick_B]

James, we appreciate your report, so thank you for sharing it with us.

 

[rodog123]

Nice to see a company stand by their product.

 

[heugeneo]

Did you receive/try the third bag?

 

[seeesjames]

I have received the 3rd bag, but I am following the instructions very closely. I am waiting a full week after shocking the pool and after having removed the pool cover. I will likely add the product on May 2 and would give my 72 hour results on May 5.

 

[borjis]

Good idea.

I too will follow the instructions to the letter. I have the cya reducer and everything else is in
order except my water temp. Still 58 degrees. Can't wait to try it once the water gets to 65.

I have really high hopes that following the directions to the letter will reduce the CYA
from 120 to at least 60.

 

[seeesjames]

I've delayed writing this because I don't have the news that I wish that I would be reporting. I didn't notice a decline in CYA after treating my pool with Bioactive CYA Reducer.

Between myself and the pool store we came up with a CYA of 110-150. That was with both of us taking a straight sample as well as a 1:1 diluted sample. The pool stayed uncovered for a week prior and during the entire test time. Temperatures were 73-76 and the pool store reported that I did not have a high copper level. I kept my FC levels between 2-4, but by the 5th day of the test I was starting to go green. That's kind of a goofy catch. You have to keep the FC low, but it's not as effective as a sanitizer because of the elevated CYA. pH was kept at 7.5-7.6 I cleaned the bottom of my test kit with a paper towel and chopstick to make sure there wasn't any residue on the black dot.

I did not test for high levels of SILVER. Maybe the guy that I bought the house from wore a lot of bling. I'll check in periodically to see what the success rate is like and maybe give it another shot. I hope others have better luck.