New CYA Reducer on the Market....Be Careful!

[SunnyOptimism]

I thought I'd post a little info on a new product on the market that is offered by Bio-Active. I am in no way endorsing this product, I just ran across an interesting thread over at TFP and thought PF users might benefit from some of the discussions over there.

If you're interested, you can follow this link

Basically it is a bacteria treatment process that consumes CYA. If you have high CYA, then you add this bacteria load to your skimmer where it will likely inhabit your filter for a while. Then, as the CYA passes through your filter, the natural digestion process will occur (bacteria consumes CYA for energy & growth and converts it, eventually, into ammonia). Your CYA is then reduced. This is not magical or new and often occurs in pools that are closed for the winter whereby the natural load of algae and bacteria that develop in a closed pool consumes CYA. The purpose of Bio-Active's product is to try to replicate that process in a controlled fashion.

I won't go into the details as it is being fully discussed over at TFP with some users there doing trial runs. There are a ton of caveats and pre-requisites with this product and it looks like it can easily cost $50-$100 per treatment with no guarantee of what kind of results you might get. I would say to anyone who might think of using a product like this to think carefully about it and calculate the costs - it is very likely that simply dumping and replacing water could be a much more cost effective solution. Out in the West where some states are on water restrictions, a product like this could be helpful but a full cost analysis should be done first comparing this product to other methods such as reverse-osmosis treatment if it is available in your area.

Again, this is just an informational post and I in no way endorse this product or recommend its use.

[kelemvor]

This should probably be moved to china shop as it's likely to incite arguments..

That said, it sounds like it might work. Many people report CYA disappear during winter if they close a green pool. It's been speculated by a few folks here that the biologicals eat the CYA.

$100 might not be a bad deal if you're living in Arizona or something and you have to pay an arm and a leg for trucked in fill water.

[SunnyOptimism]

This should probably be moved to china shop as it's likely to incite arguments..

That said, it sounds like it might work. Many people report CYA disappear during winter if they close a green pool. It's been speculated by a few folks here that the biologicals eat the CYA.

$100 might not be a bad deal if you're living in Arizona or something and you have to pay an arm and a leg for trucked in fill water.

I'm totally ok with moving the thread but I hope it doesn't incite any arguments, I was trying to be informational.

As for out here in Arizona, water rates are not unreasonable and certainly we're in better shape than CA is in terms of water usage. That said, in my own pool, I'm not sure this treatment at $90 would be worth it. If I drain a third of my pool water, it would only cost me ~$100 for a 33% reduction in CYA. Reverse osmosis is available and costs ~$300 for a full treatment and chemical re-balance that would reduce CYA levels by almost 80-90% (as well as salt, calcium, metals, etc). RO would still incur a water charge as even the best high pressure RO systems reject about 10-20% of the input water as waste so you'd have to figure in another $30-$50 in water replacement. Bio-Active's product costs ~90-$100 but I can't say what reduction in CYA you'd see.

So the only situation I see this product being a viable alternative is in the current CA situation where water rationing is now prohibiting drain & refill for pool water. Not only are the tiered water rates higher, but usage over a certain CCF level will trigger monetary fines making the cost of the replacement water skyrocket.

Time will tell, I suppose, as more people try out this product and there is better data on actual CYA reduction values as opposed to what's promised in product sales literature.