Ionizer Put Too Much Copper In My Pool
by Daniel
I pumped out water till I got my copper in range .003 and now I can't get my water from green back too blue. I have shocked it twice with no results. The pH and alkalinity are ok. Can you help? I need advice on what to do. Daniel Thanks for the question Daniel I was wondering if the pool is an algae green or a clear emerald green? You would approach it from different angles because they're different situations. An emerald green normally happens after chlorination with high copper (sometimes copper/iron mix). A solid green means algae which is a lack of chlorine or another sanitizer. I would need a little more info. Your complete chemical readings: Chlorine CYA pH Alkalinity Hardness What kind of shock did you use? How big is the pool (gallons)? What kind of test kit do you use? Are you sure you got a good shock? Did you shock, allow for one full turnover of the water (normally about 8 hours) then retest? The question says the pool was shocked twice. How long between shocks? What kind of filtration system do you have? Sand, DE, cartridge? If you could reply with this info. I'm sure I can help. Thanks and hope to hear from you soon. Robert Follow Up Comment By: Daniel Date: June 30, 2011 The pool is 10,000 gallon above ground with a sand filter. It is an emerald green. It took about 2 weeks to go from a pretty blue to an emerald green. That's when I checked the Ionizer and I had turned it position 4 for more copper level and forgot I had raised it. The copper level was about .9 on my ion tester when it should have been .3. I began pumping water out and new water in till I got the copper level down to .3. Then I first shocked it with 4 lbs. of Aqua Chem Shock Plus. I checked all the readings and they were good. I waited about a week and shocked it again to no avail. I used Aquachek pool strips. I was told by a local pool co. to use pool stain treat. I'll wait for your answer before doing this. Thanks Dan Answer By: Robert Date: June 30, 2011 Thanks for the extra info. Daniel As the original answer stated, you would treat an emerald green pool differently than an algae green pool. When you have a higher than normal copper level, then add chlorine or shock, and then water turns a clear emerald green, it's most often a high copper problem. This happens alot even when people who use regular city tap water. The pool owners might use an algaecide that contains copper, then shock the pool, and have emerald water. The best thing to do is use a good metal sequestrant. This will cause the copper to fall out of solution. Here are some very good metal sequestrants: ProTeam's Metal Magic Jack's Magic the Pink Stuff (regular) Blue Stuff (fresh plaster) Purple Stuff (for salt water pools) are some of the top sequestrants. You'll want to get a metal sequestrant that is based on HEDP, phosphonic acid, or phosphonic acid derivatives. A sequestrant doesn't remove metals, it keeps them in solution. The particles get trapped in the filter, then you back wash them out. Being that you have an ionizer it's very important to keep an eye on the copper level. You don't need an extra chemical and another added expense of using a sequestrant week after week. You may have to dose your pool a couple of times to get rid of the extra copper. Once this is done you can go back to your normal sanitizing. I would suggest getting your water once per month just to keep an eye on the metal level. Be proactive about it so it won't cost you more down the road. I would also suggest getting a Taylor FAS-DPD K-2006 test kit. It's the best and will give you the most accurate reading: Pool Water Testing Water Testing Kit Keep an eye on the pH level because the sequestrant might push the level down a bit. Swimming Pool pH Levels Pool pH Hope this helps and have a fun and safe swimming season. If there's anything else feel free to contact me again. Robert |
