Leslie's Instant Conditioner?

[swimlane]

When I saw this at Leslie's, my gut instantly told me that this was fluff but I wondered if it really is OK. I did a search here and didn't find an answer so I thought I would ask. Is this stuff for real?
Quote from Leslie's site:
"Regular cyanuric acid with a pH of 2.8 is very acidic and it can take 4 to 7 days to dissolve. This can cause damage to the pool surface or circulation system depending on the method of application. Until dissolved, dry cyanuric acid will not protect chlorine from UV loss.

Natural Chemistry’s Instant Conditioner is not an acid (it’s a salt) and has a pool friendly pH of about 8.0. Add it to the pool and an instant later it is dissolved and ready to protect your chlorine. One gallon of Instant Conditioner will raise the conditioner/stabilizer level in 10,000 gallons by 35ppm."

I've seen other posts talking about hanging regular CYA in a sock/stocking (in front of return) or pouring SLOWLY in skimmer. I planned on using the sock method and then kneading to speed it up a little. I am currently at 1/2 full and will be adding 40 oz of bleach around the pool and then using brush to stir it up (I saw Carl give this advice in another post) and then when almost full I will repeat. I plan on continuing the fill until late tonight but may fall a few hours short. Tomorrow I will finish fill in AM, test water and post results and my take on what I believe the Pool Calc wants me to do. Thanks All!

[AnnaK]

It has never taken any longer than 1.5 days for dry CYA to dissolve in my pool and test to the expected result. I use a product by Seabrite (I think that's the name); it's flakes rather than granules, maybe that makes a difference. The most I've ever added were 2 pounds directly into the skimmer with the pump running, of course. I can't remember now whether I had to adjust the pH after the addition but if I did, it's not a big deal.

If the Leslie's product doesn't have any other "magic" stuff in it, like copper, for instance, I see no reason not to use it other than cost. It's likely pricey goods.

[swimlane]

Anna,
Thanks for the reply ... I can't recall if I looked at the ingredients (I was there for other stuff) so I will check again next time. But given the description on the website I'm guessing there is more junk and I'll just stick to the normal stuff.

Thanks,
Mark

[CarlD]

Well, I've had it take longer, several days, but I'm patient. Liquid CYA is fairly new, and, from what we've seen, seems to work and work quickly. I don't know what the Leslies product is, if it's the same stuff. But CYA's acidity has little if any effect on anyone's pH that I am aware of.
We are generally leery of new products like this, but we have heard that some people who used it were pleased with the results. Again, not Leslies, and VERY expensive.

If anyone else has thoughts on this.....

Carl

[chem geek]

The Natural Chemistry Instant Pool Water Conditioner (which is the same as Leslie's Instant Conditioner) has been around for a while as "Instant Pool Water Conditioner" and is sodium cyanurate in a slurry. It dissolves quickly into water so is a fast way to increase CYA. It is, of course, more expensive to use than pure CYA so it's a cost/speed tradeoff. If you only need to raise your CYA a little, you can use Dichlor for a similar effect since it also dissolves quickly and you can use that as your chlorine source and build up CYA over time. For every 10 ppm FC added by Dichlor, it also increases CYA by 9 ppm.

[swimlane]

Great, thanks for the replies ... that's why I figured it would be a good question to ask and hopefully let future searchers know as well. Unfortunately, other than Leslie's I do not have many other options. So it is either them or Big Box stores. Luckily, thanks to y'all I only have to buy CYA and Muriatic Acid at those places and WalMart for bleach, borax, and baking soda. I had to laugh today at WalMart I saw Arm&Hammer pool care products ... what a concept!