Bio-Active BA-CAR-08 100-Percent Cyanuric Acid Reducer Powder for Commercial and Residential Swimming Pools, 8 Ounces (4 Pack)

Over the past few years it had become increasingly difficult to keep my pool free of algae. In early July of 2022 a sample of water from my pool tested at our local pool store showed a very high CYA level, 147 ppm. Subsequent tests showed this value running around 135. The staff at the store explained that the high CYA level compromises the chlorine, and this can lead to the problem with the algae. They explained that the only solution would be to drain 1/2 the water and refill the pool. (Not an option for me in a drought-stricken state). I found mixed reviews on the Bio-Active CYA reducer, the staff at the local pool store said don't waste you money on it; these products don't work, but I decided to give it a try.I followed the directions to the letter, but was discouraged to see no significant change in the CYA level over the 10 days that this product is supposed to work. But I began testing the CYA levels myself, and saw slow and steady decrease in the CYA levels over may weeks. The pool was virtually free of algae for the 1/2 half of this Summer.It's now 3 months after I used the product. My test just showed CYA level is between 80 and 90. I took a water sample back to the local store and their test result was 80. (They were puzzled by the drop in CYA until I mentioned I used the Bio-Active project in July).The product does seem to work; it's just not as quick as the 10 days mentioned in the product literature. So follow the directions, and be patient.

I've been through a two and a half month nightmare with this product and it has been absolutely nothing but regret. I ended up using FOUR packets of this thing for it to finally work. For it to even begin working, your chlorine level must be at ZERO (not between 2 to 5 like they say). The first two packs I put in there did absolutely nothing (even though my pool was in optimal condition). However, once my chlorine dropped to zero and stayed there for about a week, the third packet started working. The pool was extremely cloudy by that time, and I couldn't even see 2 inches below (I've attached a picture of how it looked before it started working, and a picture of how it should look). At this point, cyanuric acid went down from approximately 190 to 80 (I had to buy a $55 Taylor kit to test it). So, I got extremely excited, and added the 4th packet, which within 3 days took it down from 80 to 35. I was besides myself in joy thinking this product was magical... However, unfortunately the excitement didn't last long. That's when I thought I could start adding some chlorine to clear the cloudiness, so I added about 5 gallons and absolutely nothing. For the next week I added 3 or 4 gallons a day, and again nothing. Then I added 10 more gallons and two packets of tricholor shock and within a couple days the pool became crystal clear, so I thought FINALLY problems were over. Then I check chlorine the next day and it was down to zero AGAIN!!! I'm like WTF!!! I kept on adding chlorine and within minutes it was back to zero. The pool store people were baffled and had no clue what was going on. That's when I started doing a ton of research and did this thing called, bucket test for chlorine demand (you basically take a 5 gallon pool water sample inside and test for chlorine demand on a much smaller scale). After several days, my chlorine demand was at 340 ppm, that's over 80 gallons of chlorine in a 25,000 gallon pool, costing upwards of $400, which is INSANE (I've attached a couple pictures of just SOME of chlorine I bought). So then, I did more research. Turns out that some bacteria will naturally turn your CYA into ammonia, and that's exactly what this product is supposed to do. However, this product is supposed to have a second stage of bacteria attack that turns ammonia to nitrogen, but apparently that doesn't happen every time, and if it doesn't, YOU ARE SCREWED!! It leaves a massive amount of ammonia in your pool which is a disaster to get rid of (I had to buy an ammonia test kit too and I've attached pictures of how that looked and how it's supposed to looked, it was almost 8ppm - that's nuts). On top of that, it can also leave partially degraded cyanuric acid in your pool, which is even harder to get rid of than ammonia. That's why I needed over 80 gallons of chlorine to stabilize my pool.Once I knew what was going on, I went to war on this thing. Took the day off from work and for the first 5 hours, kept my chlorine level at between 60 to 80 ppm. It was dropping by about 20ppm every 10 minutes and I kept on adding gallon after gallon after gallon of chlorine. The thing is that if you don't maintain that very high level of chlorine, the bacteria will start reproducing again and you'll have to start all over (I was taking no chances). Finally, after 5 hours, chlorine started to hold and I let it drop to 40 ppm overnight and kept it there for the next day. It's been over a week now (I've been keeping it to around 20ppm), and things are almost fully stabilized. It's still dropping a tad more than it should, but I think I'm getting pretty close.I ended up learning a lot, and how to deal with this, with the help of some of the best and smartest people out there. I took the advice of some serious chemical engineer type people and you can read more about my journey and all the advice everyone gave me, on this forum - [...]-After-using-Cyanuric-Acid-Reducer-my-pool-won-t-hold-chlorineHere's my advice to you -- First of all, fire your pool guys. They don't know what they're doing and they're the ones who let your CYA level go through the roof.- Follow the BBB method of maintaining your pool, Google it, but you basically add liquid bleach to raise chlorine, Borax to raise PH, Baking soda to raise alkalinity, and Muriatic acid to lower those last two. Everything else either adds CYA or calcium to your pool (both of them will require you to replace some of your water).- If you end up with very high level of CYA, and you're not in a drought stricken area, most definitely replace your water instead of using this very expensive and potentially disastrous product.- If you are in a drought area (I'm in Los Angeles) and can't replace your water, look into reverse osmosis - they basically come out and remove almost every chemicals from your pool through some complex process. It takes a few days (I believe) to get rid of everything and costs around $400. Dealing with this product can take months (as it did for me; half the summer is gone) and could be more costly, as it was for me.- If you have any questions or need help with something, go to troublefreepool.com. Those guys are fantastic.How much did this cost me?4 packets of Cyanuric Acid Reducer - $100 (they were nice enough to send me two free packets)90 or so gallons of chlorine - $350Taylor 2006 kit - $55Replacement reagents - $40Ammonia test kit - $10two shirts and a pair of shoes - $200 (good luck dealing with that much chlorine over two months and not ruining your clothes)Losing half the summer and wasting all that time - priceless.So, there's my story with the "magical" Cyanuric Acid Reducer. Go ahead and use it if you want, but don't say you weren't warned!!! This is an untested brand-new product. If it's still on the market in two years, which I highly doubt, then start using it :)

Worked as expected - will need another bag though, have just a bit more to go before I reach the right number. When I purchased, my CYA was around 300 or more (lets put it this way, I was way passed the 100 mark on the tube) - I have a 10k and the bag says it will treat up to 25k ... well, I am now at 100. So, it works, but you may need more than one bag depending on size of pool and amount of CYA in pool. Also you should note that it can take up to 10 days to lower your levels - so I will have to wait another 6 days before adding a second bag to be sure.Leslie's charges $49.95, so this is a good price.Now, this wasn't the only thing wrong with my levels, so how it worked for me, may not be what you need (and I suppose I won't really know if it works until I add the second bag and see if it drops to where it needs to be)How I did it : I took out my chlorine duck and let the pool do it's thing (running 8 hours a day) for about 10 days with no chems.Then I washed my filters thoroughly and added the Phos Killer (from walmart $9 - kills 1000 ppm) and ran the pool for 48 hours non stopThen I turned the system off for 24 hours and let the pool sitAfter 24 hours I washed my filters again and then added my duck back into the pool and let the pool run a normal cycle for another day before FINALLY adding the whole bag of CYA into the skimmer and let the pool run normal cycles for 72 hours before adding the Alkaline Up - then ran it for 12 hours and when I took my water to be tested everything was back to normal except I'm now at a 100 on my CYA rather than 300, so if after 6 more days the levels aren't where they need to be, I think one more bag should do itThis is the information I was given about using the Bio-Active product:::Bio-Active uses natural cultures to reduce your CYA, be sure your pool will be habitable for the the organisms to do their job. You should also not that your chlorine will attack these organisms, so it's best to be in normal or low ranges. In addition to providing livable ranges for the active ingredient to thrive in, make sure you take note of the information below to get the most out of each dosage: » Do not add shock or algaecides 7 days prior to application. » Works best in an outdoor pool, uncovered for at least 7 days. » Bio-Active does not work in mineral system pools. » Make sure your pool is free of algae or other contaminants. » Be sure to shut off UV, ozone, and chlorine feeders 15 minutes prior to, and 3 hours after, applying Bio-Active Safely lowers CYA levels within 10 days without needing to drain the pool. Eliminates chlorine lock due to high CYA. Use 1 bag for up to 25,000 gallons. Works best with water over 65 degrees Fahrenheit.I hope this helps anyone having troubles - I know it's a bear of a situation and VERY time consuming .... Don't you remember going to the lake and swimming or fishing, never once thinking of what microscopic things lay in wait? Having never once thought of PH levels or the like? We lived, didn't get sick and kept going back (this is in no way meant to diminish anyone's adverse reactions to such events - merely a personal reflection). Do you think lake or ocean water is cleaner than your pool? Yet here we all are, busting our hump, spending hours and hundreds of dollars even when our pools are sparkling clean and we can't see anything wrong (as is my case - before all this process I mentioned, my water was clear, had no odor and looked great ... but it had been a while since I'd had it professionally tested and wasn't sure if MY test stuff was still optimal, so I took it in and BAM! There was evil lurking in that falsely serene setting of a sparkling pool ready for swimming. Sounds fishy to me, but - here I am, tired, annoyed, poorer and ready to just fill it in and plant grass!