Pristiva Primer and Activator

[cjryan33]

Wow....... I did not mean to start such a somewhat heated debate. The main reason I put that stuff in my pool, was that we have very hard water where I live in Fulshear, TX and was told this would help with the scaling and calcium build up. I am a new pool owner and still learning the ways..... Im hoping my Taylor K-2006 kit comes in today, so I can get an accurate account of what my pool is up to. I will say that my experience so far, has not been the greatest. A lot of Im sure is the fact I dont really know what Im doing. I will post some numbers up hopefully this weekend and from what I have read, yall will have a more economical way to maintain my pool.

Thanks,
Chris

[PoolDoc]

[ When you get your kit, post the results and I'll see if I can help you. There a couple of practical ways to lower scale producing chemicals in pool water, even when the fill water is pretty messed up. Besides test results, we'll need details on your pump and filter system, since you have to take those minerals out as some form of deposited debris on the filter (or maybe, on the pool bottom, in which case you need "vacuum to waste" capability). ]

But, it's not your fault that the thread took the turn it did. We just work pretty hard to slam the door on new mystery goo products -- we see several new ones each year. To date, since the inception of the forum, we've not seen a single such product that turned out to be worth the money. AND, we've seen many that turned out to be harmful to your pool.

It's *possible* that Pritiva will turn out to be the exception. However the odds are very much against it.

Making it even LESS likely that it will be a worthwhile product is the fact that the Pristiva brand unit is being run by a former BioLab executive. BioLab has a 30 year history of taking $0.50/lb potatoes and turning them into $6.00/lb

pommes frites!

More recently (and more desperately), they've been making product blends that -- in our experience -- make pools more DIFFICULT to run.

I've talked to many BioLab technical people over the years. I have ALWAYS found them very knowledgeable, and I've never been lied to (that I know of) by a BioLab'r. But, I and several others here, have found that they "tell the truth" in amazingly artful ways. To put it another way, if President Clinton had learned to 'tell the truth' like a BioLab'r, he probably never would have been impeached for perjury, and no one would have ever known about Monica!

Because of this experience several of us have shared, we NEVER trust anyone who has an association with BioLab. There are several 'tell-tales' in the Pristiva guy's posts that are consistent with the BioLab 'way of truth-telling'. He might be straight up, but we have no way of knowing that, since he's not ready to share any of that proof or those studies he has referred to.

There can be an EXCELLENT reason for not sharing such information. I have a file drawer full of such studies (none from BioLab!), and what many of them show is that the product studied 'works' in the sense that a lab evaluation can detect an improvement, but the improvement is so small that no one would notice in the field.

My guess is, Pristiva does work in that manner: well enough to detect but not well enough to matter!

[BigDave]

"I like them french fried potaters."

[BigTallGuy]

We just work pretty hard to slam the door on new mystery goo products -- we see several new ones each year. To date, since the inception of the forum, we've not seen a single such product that turned out to be worth the money. AND, we've seen many that turned out to be harmful to your pool.

Keep up the good Work, Ben! The education and awarness you publish is huge. There is no lower feeling than to have your kids or grandkids look you in the eye and tell you that they don't want to swim in your pool anymore because their eyes burn or its too dirty etc. I was there a few years ago. I refuse to let my family swim in Toxic Waste ever again!

[cjryan33]

My kit came in this weekend and I have some test results for yall. I had some issues getting the Combined Chlorine. Here are the numbers:

FC - 5ppm
CC - ?? When adding the drops of the R-0003 regent, the sample would not turn pink. I added up to 15 drops and it stayed clear the whole time.
PH - 8
Minerals - 330ppm - per K-1766 test kit.
CH-410
TA - 120
CYA -35 - This is surprised me a little and I did it twice. When I had my water tested last week at the store they had said 30, then came back with a 60. Per Hayward, my pool should be at 70-90 ppm

As for my pool specs, 26,000 inground, Hayward Goldline Pro Logic Controller, Aqua T-Cell 15 SWGC, Hayward DE 6020 Filter, and Hayward Tri-Star 2.70 HP Self Priming Pump. I am currently running my pumps 13.5hrs. 9hrs at 85% on pump speed then 4.5 hrs at 45% pump speed. My chlorinator is set to 75%.

I had a slight algea issue last week and it has not re-appeared after treatment. I am just wondering if there is anything I can do to make my pool trouble free this summer. Last summer (my first as a pool owner) was not pleasant. I was dumping all sorts of chemicals in the pool trying to get it balanced.

Any assistance or advice is greatly appreciated. At the moment, the pool looks great and the water is clear.

[PoolDoc]

CC - ?? When adding the drops of the R-0003 regent, the sample would not turn pink. I added up to 15 drops and it stayed clear the whole time.

You only need a drop or two. Your result just means you had NO CC . . . which is a good thing.

Ok. With a 26K pool, your PF is 4.5

Do this.

1. Turn your SWCG off -- you're just wearing it out, at the moment.
2. Get 2 gallons of muriatic acid, and lower your pH. Read the muriatic acid page first. Add 1/2 gallon at a time; wait 4 hours; test; repeat till you reach 7.6 or below.
3. CAREFULLY re-read the instructions on your K1766; make SURE you are doing it correctly, and then re-test. If you really have a salinity of 330ppm, your SWCG should be in alarm. (Meanwhile, do #1 above!)
4. Dose your pool with 4 gallons of bleach each evening, till you get dichlor OR get stabilizer above 50 ppm and salt above 3,000 ppm.
5a. Get 50# PoolBrand dichlor at Sams Club, OR at Amazon
5b. Buy some stabilizer locally or at Amazon.
5c. Buy dichlor at Amazon (do NOT get it locally, except from Sams -- most are now hodge-podge mystery blends!)
===> To add 40ppm CYA, you need about 9lbs of stabilizer or about 20 lbs of dichlor. Using dichlor will BOTH chlorinate AND add stabilizer AND lower your pH, so it's a very efficient choice for you, at the moment =======

Get back to me, on your results and actions.

[cjryan33]

Im sorry, I had a typo. My salinity is 3300ppm

[PoolDoc]

OK, good!

[cjryan33]

Alright Doc,

I turned my SWGC off. This morning I added on gallon of Liquid Chlorine before leaving for work( already had this) it is labled Shock - Chlorinating liquid for Pools and Spas. The wife added a 1/2 gallon of muratic acid and 3lbs of BioGuard Stabilizer 100 (already had as well) next trip to Sams will be picking up the Dichlor. Got home and added 3lbs more of Stabilizer and 1/2 gallon of acid. After swimteam came home and tested. The results are as follows

FC - 6ppm
PH - 7.3
CYA - 55-60. All of the stabilizer may not be dissolved as of yet. Thank you for your assistance.

[PoolDoc]

After swimteam came home and tested.

Coach, swimmer, or parent? Summer league or USS?