Pool & spa
Lo-Chlor Starver X Phosphate Remover dupe
Why pay around £23.99 for Lo-Chlor? The bulk active is Lanthanum chloride hydrate solution (Starver X, 5 litre) — 25% less per working litre than a typical shelf pack.
From the retail pack to the active and the mix
1 · Retail
Lo-Chlor Starver X Phosphate Remover
1 litre · £23.99 typical snapshot
Water (blue solution, pH about 3–4)
2 · Active
Lanthanum chloride hydrate
20% on the label
20211-76-1LaCl3·xH2O
Bulk Lanthanum chloride hydrate solution (Starver X, 5 litre)
3 · Mix
Neat dose: 1 litre per 50,000 litres for up to 6 ppm phosphate
£18.00 per working litre · 25% less than the shelf pack
- Active
- Lanthanum chloride hydrate
- CAS
- 20211-76-1
- Dupe
- Lanthanum chloride hydrate solution (Starver X, 5 litre)
- Saving
- 25% / 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
“Removes high phosphate so algae have less to feed on”
The chemical reality
Phosphate remover is lanthanum chloride, not a clarifier and not an algaecide. Lo-Chlor’s UK SDS (Port Talbot) lists lanthanum chloride hydrate (CAS 20211-76-1) at 10–30%. Swimming Pool Chemicals lists the same liquid at £23.99 for 1 litre and £89.99 for 5 litres — about £18 a litre in the jerry, a quarter off the small bottle. It does not sanitise.
Active vs filler
20% Lanthanum chloride hydrate · 80% carrier / filler — Water (blue solution, pH about 3–4)
- Typical retail
- £23.99
- 1 litre
- Estimated active cost
- £18.00
- Scaled from bulk £89.99 / 5 litres
- Indicative markup
- 1.3×
- Snapshot maths, not a live shop price
The Marketing Claim & The Catch
A 1 litre pack of Lo-Chlor Starver X Phosphate Remover typically retails around £23.99 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: Removes high phosphate so algae have less to feed on; One litre treats up to 6 ppm in a 50,000 litre pool; and Curative phosphate treatment for pools, fountains and ponds.
The catch: Phosphate remover is lanthanum chloride, not a clarifier and not an algaecide. Lo-Chlor’s UK SDS (Port Talbot) lists lanthanum chloride hydrate (CAS 20211-76-1) at 10–30%. Swimming Pool Chemicals lists the same liquid at £23.99 for 1 litre and £89.99 for 5 litres — about £18 a litre in the jerry, a quarter off the small bottle. It does not sanitise.
- “Removes high phosphate so algae have less to feed on”
- “One litre treats up to 6 ppm in a 50,000 litre pool”
- “Curative phosphate treatment for pools, fountains and ponds”
Proprietary Blend & Dosage Breakdown
The labelled active is Lanthanum chloride hydrate at 20%. Everything else in the pack is water (blue solution, ph about 3–4).
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% Lanthanum chloride hydrate solution (Starver X, 5 litre), mixed to Neat dose: 1 litre per 50,000 litres for up to 6 ppm phosphate.
- Labelled active
- Lanthanum chloride hydrate
- 20%
- Carrier
- Water (blue solution, pH about 3–4)
- Retail pack
- 1 litre · £23.99
The Active Chemical Alternative (Dupe Stack)
The dupe stack is Lanthanum chloride hydrate solution (Starver X, 5 litre) at 20% bulk. Indexed as CAS 20211-76-1, formula LaCl3·xH2O. Buy it as 5 litres for around £89.99 from Amazon UK.
Working strength: Neat dose: 1 litre per 50,000 litres for up to 6 ppm phosphate. Indicative cost £18.00 per diluted litre — 25% 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.
- Eye damage and skin sensitiser. Gloves and goggles. Harmful to aquatic life in concentrate — do not tip leftovers into a ditch. Do not mix the neat liquid with concentrated chlorine, acid or copper in a bucket.
- Test phosphate first. The label rate is one litre to take up to 6 ppm (6,000 ppb) out of 50,000 litres — about 20 ml per cubic metre for that full drop. A smaller pool or a smaller phosphate reading needs less. Do not guess a second dose the same day.
- Balance pH near 7.2–7.6, clean the filter, then add with the pump running (skimmer or broadcast). Water may cloud as lanthanum phosphate forms. Keep filtering and backwash when the pressure rises.
- The 5 litre jerry is the same 10–30% hydrate solution. Five 1 litre bottles at £23.99 are about £120; the 5 litre is £89.99. Laboratory lanthanum chloride is a different price and a different purity — not this stack.
- This does not replace chlorine, bromine or a copper-free polyquat. Phosphate removal starves algae; it does not hold a disinfectant residual.
Dilution recipe
50,000 L pool / spa volume
Working strength Neat dose: 1 litre per 50,000 litres for up to 6 ppm phosphate. Educational estimate from the listed ratio — check the SDS before you mix.
Chemical
1,000 millilitres
Lanthanum chloride hydrate solution (Starver X, 5 litre)
Water
49,999 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 brandedLo-Chlor | Raw active dupeDupeStack |
|---|---|---|
| Product | Starver X Phosphate RemoverAmazon UK search — listing, not a confirmed seller | Lanthanum chloride hydrate solution (Starver X, 5 litre) |
| Pack / unit | 1 litre · £23.99 | 5 litres · £89.99 |
| Active | Lanthanum chloride hydrate at 20%Carrier: Water (blue solution, pH about 3–4) | 20% bulkLaCl3·xH2O |
| CAS number | Not disclosed on pack | 20211-76-1 |
| Working strength | Ready-to-use pack | Dilute Neat dose: 1 litre per 50,000 litres for up to 6 ppm phosphate |
| Cost per litre | £23.99 / L typical pack | £18.00 / L mixed from bulk |
| Headline saving | Baseline | 25% 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 Starver X the same as polyDADMAC clarifier or alum floc?
No. Clarifier is polyDADMAC (CAS 26062-79-3) — a cationic polymer that helps the filter catch fines. Floc is aluminium sulphate. Starver X is lanthanum chloride, which precipitates phosphate. Different job. You may still need to clean the filter after the water clouds.
Is the anhydrous CAS the same salt?
Same lanthanum chloride, different hydration listing. The UK CLP sheet we cite uses the hydrate CAS 20211-76-1 at 10–30%. Some Starver X sheets list the anhydrous salt (CAS 10099-58-8) at 15–25%. Do not buy a laboratory bottle of either and invent a pool dose — use a pool-labelled solution and the strength on its SDS.
How do you mix the Starver X Phosphate Remover dupe stack?
Eye damage and skin sensitiser. Gloves and goggles. Harmful to aquatic life in concentrate — do not tip leftovers into a ditch. Do not mix the neat liquid with concentrated chlorine, acid or copper in a bucket. Test phosphate first. The label rate is one litre to take up to 6 ppm (6,000 ppb) out of 50,000 litres — about 20 ml per cubic metre for that full drop. A smaller pool or a smaller phosphate reading needs less. Do not guess a second dose the same day. Balance pH near 7.2–7.6, clean the filter, then add with the pump running (skimmer or broadcast). Water may cloud as lanthanum phosphate forms. Keep filtering and backwash when the pressure rises. The 5 litre jerry is the same 10–30% hydrate solution. Five 1 litre bottles at £23.99 are about £120; the 5 litre is £89.99. Laboratory lanthanum chloride is a different price and a different purity — not this stack. This does not replace chlorine, bromine or a copper-free polyquat. Phosphate removal starves algae; it does not hold a disinfectant residual.
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.
Related guides
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£105.00Save 25% / L
Indicative DIY stack