Pool & spa
Blue Horizons Ultimate Water Clarifier Concentrate dupe
Why pay around £20.50 for Blue Horizons? The bulk active is PolyDADMAC 20% aqueous pool clarifier — 75% less per working litre than a typical shelf pack.
From the retail pack to the active and the mix
1 · Retail
Blue Horizons Ultimate Water Clarifier Concentrate
1 litre · £20.50 typical snapshot
Water (viscous blue cationic polymer solution)
2 · Active
Polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride (polyDADMAC)
20% on the label
26062-79-3(C8H16NCl)n
Bulk PolyDADMAC 20% aqueous pool clarifier
3 · Mix
2 ml/m³ (9 ml per 4,545 L hazy; 4 ml/m³ murky)
£0.00 per working litre · 75% less than the shelf pack
- Active
- Polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride (polyDADMAC)
- CAS
- 26062-79-3
- Dupe
- PolyDADMAC 20% aqueous pool clarifier
- Saving
- 75% / L
Saving is per litre of working-strength mix versus a typical pack price, not versus the DIY kit total. Shop prices move — always check the listing.
Label teardown
What the pack promises versus what the label chemistry actually is.
The marketing claim
“Fast-acting dual-action liquid clarifier”
The chemical reality
This is a polymer clarifier, not floc. Complete Pool Controls’ Ultimate Water Clarifier SDS lists an aqueous solution of polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride (polyDADMAC, CAS 26062-79-3) at 10–30%. It polishes fines into the filter. Aluminium sulphate floc drops a blanket you vacuum to waste. A 5 L trade jerry of the same 20% band is the same polymer without the 1 L spa-shop tax.
Active vs filler
20% Polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride (polyDADMAC) · 80% carrier / filler — Water (viscous blue cationic polymer solution)
- Typical retail
- £20.50
- 1 litre
- Estimated active cost
- £5.00
- Scaled from bulk £25.00 / 5 litres
- Indicative markup
- 4.1×
- Snapshot maths, not a live shop price
The Marketing Claim & The Catch
A 1 litre pack of Blue Horizons Ultimate Water Clarifier Concentrate typically retails around £20.50 in pool & spa. That is a UK shelf-price snapshot for the maths on this page — not a live shop quote or a manufacturer RRP. Listings, sizes and deals move. The marketing line is that you are buying a finished lifestyle product, not a weighed chemical.
On the pack: Fast-acting dual-action liquid clarifier; Binds fine particles so the filter can catch them; and Works with all filter types — ideal for above-ground pools.
The catch: This is a polymer clarifier, not floc. Complete Pool Controls’ Ultimate Water Clarifier SDS lists an aqueous solution of polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride (polyDADMAC, CAS 26062-79-3) at 10–30%. It polishes fines into the filter. Aluminium sulphate floc drops a blanket you vacuum to waste. A 5 L trade jerry of the same 20% band is the same polymer without the 1 L spa-shop tax.
- “Fast-acting dual-action liquid clarifier”
- “Binds fine particles so the filter can catch them”
- “Works with all filter types — ideal for above-ground pools”
Proprietary Blend & Dosage Breakdown
The labelled active is Polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride (polyDADMAC) at 20%. Everything else in the pack is water (viscous blue cationic polymer solution).
At 20% active, most of what you pay for is carrier and packaging. The brand is selling convenience, fragrance and a label — not a uniquely potent molecule.
Branded working strength is whatever comes out of the bottle. The bulk alternative is 20% PolyDADMAC 20% aqueous pool clarifier, mixed to 2 ml/m³ (9 ml per 4,545 L hazy; 4 ml/m³ murky).
- Labelled active
- Polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride (polyDADMAC)
- 20%
- Carrier
- Water (viscous blue cationic polymer solution)
- Retail pack
- 1 litre · £20.50
The Active Chemical Alternative (Dupe Stack)
The dupe stack is PolyDADMAC 20% aqueous pool clarifier at 20% bulk. Indexed as CAS 26062-79-3, formula (C8H16NCl)n. Buy it as 5 litres for around £25.00 from Amazon UK.
Working strength: 2 ml/m³ (9 ml per 4,545 L hazy; 4 ml/m³ murky). Indicative cost £0.00 per diluted litre — 75% below a typical branded pack on a per-litre basis, before you reuse leftover bulk.
Follow the mixing method and the supplier SDS. Wear the listed PPE. Do not mix incompatible oxidisers, acids or ammonia.
- Cationic polymer. Gloves and goggles. Harmful to aquatic life in concentrate — do not dump leftovers into a ditch. Never mix the neat liquid with concentrated chlorine, acid or copper in a bucket.
- Test and hold pH near 7.2–7.6. Backwash or clean the filter first — a dirty cartridge will not polish. Add with the pump running, near a return.
- Hazy water: about 2 ml per cubic metre (9 ml per 4,545 L). Murky: about 4 ml/m³. Do not overdose — extra polymer can haze the water. Keep filtering; allow 24 hours; backwash when the pressure rises.
- 5 L at 2 ml/m³ treats about 2,500 m³ — many 1 L spa-shop bottles. Match the 10–30% polyDADMAC band on the SDS you buy, not a random ‘sparkle’ label.
- This is not alum floc, not copper algaecide, and not a shock. Cloudy after a party usually wants an oxidiser first — then this polymer, or alum if you intend to vacuum to waste.
Dilution recipe
10,000 L pool / spa volume
Working strength 2 ml/m³ (9 ml per 4,545 L hazy; 4 ml/m³ murky). Educational estimate from the listed ratio — check the SDS before you mix.
Chemical
20 millilitres
PolyDADMAC 20% aqueous pool clarifier
Water
9,999.98 litres
Carrier / diluent
0% concentrate · 100% water by working volume (solids are dissolved into the water share).
Required PPE
Loading calculator…
Side-by-Side Price & Potency Comparison
Head-to-head comparison
| Measure | Retail brandedBlue Horizons | Raw active dupeDupeStack |
|---|---|---|
| Product | Ultimate Water Clarifier ConcentrateAmazon UK search — listing, not a confirmed seller | PolyDADMAC 20% aqueous pool clarifier |
| Pack / unit | 1 litre · £20.50 | 5 litres · £25.00 |
| Active | Polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride (polyDADMAC) at 20%Carrier: Water (viscous blue cationic polymer solution) | 20% bulk(C8H16NCl)n |
| CAS number | Not disclosed on pack | 26062-79-3 |
| Working strength | Ready-to-use pack | Dilute 2 ml/m³ (9 ml per 4,545 L hazy; 4 ml/m³ murky) |
| Cost per litre | £20.50 / L typical pack | £0.00 / L mixed from bulk |
| Headline saving | Baseline | 75% cheaper |
| COSHH / PPE | Follow the branded SDS | Gloves. Chemical-resistant gloves (nitrile or neoprene)Eye protection. Indirect-vent splash goggles — not ordinary spectacles |
Active ingredient and cheaper alternative — FAQ
Is this the same as HTH / Fi-Clor granular floc?
No. Granular floc is aluminium sulphate (CAS 10043-01-3) — a drop-out coagulant. Stop the pump, settle overnight, vacuum to waste. This liquid is polyDADMAC (CAS 26062-79-3) — a cationic polymer you add with the filter running. Different job, different CAS. Do not treat them as flavours of the same bottle.
Is Clearwater 1 L Clarifier the same strength?
Same job class (polymer / filter-assisted polish) if the SDS names a cationic polymer, but the dose is not 1:1. Blue Horizons’ hazy band is about 9 ml per 4,545 L. Clearwater CH0009’s label is about 22 ml per 1,000 L — a more dilute retail cut. Read the SDS and the teardown that matches the bottle in your hand.
How do you mix the Ultimate Water Clarifier Concentrate dupe stack?
Cationic polymer. Gloves and goggles. Harmful to aquatic life in concentrate — do not dump leftovers into a ditch. Never mix the neat liquid with concentrated chlorine, acid or copper in a bucket. Test and hold pH near 7.2–7.6. Backwash or clean the filter first — a dirty cartridge will not polish. Add with the pump running, near a return. Hazy water: about 2 ml per cubic metre (9 ml per 4,545 L). Murky: about 4 ml/m³. Do not overdose — extra polymer can haze the water. Keep filtering; allow 24 hours; backwash when the pressure rises. 5 L at 2 ml/m³ treats about 2,500 m³ — many 1 L spa-shop bottles. Match the 10–30% polyDADMAC band on the SDS you buy, not a random ‘sparkle’ label. This is not alum floc, not copper algaecide, and not a shock. Cloudy after a party usually wants an oxidiser first — then this polymer, or alum if you intend to vacuum to waste.
DupeStack provides chemical concentration data and educational mixing guides only. Wellness pages compare food supplements, not medicines or prescribed treatments. Always review the supplier Safety Data Sheet (SDS) and comply with UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and COSHH regulations when handling concentrated substances. Mixing and storage are at your own risk. Some links are affiliate advertisements (Amazon Associates, eBay Partner Network, and Awin when those programmes are live). Commissions do not change listed concentrations or calculator output.
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Indicative DIY stack