CuLator

[burt4750]

can CuLator be used a saltwater pool. Just had my water checked and the copper level was 0.8 and the iron level was 0.4

If CuLator can't be used what other product should I look for?

[SunnyOptimism]

From the website FAQ (http://www.culator.com/questions-and-answers) -

Q: Can CuLator be used in saltwater pools?

A: Yes. CuLator works in all freshwater and saltwater pools, spas, and fountains – even those filled with “hard” water containing large amounts of calcium and magnesium.

Having read many threads about the CuLator on this and other forums, metal removal is not guaranteed. The CuLator is essentially ion-exchange resin beads in a cloth bag. The ion exchange resin is formulated to remove metals but it is done in a less than ideal manner. Essentially you're told to throw one or two of these bags into you skimmer and watch as the metal levels magically decrease. The only problem is that most of your water is flowing around the bag of resin, not through it. If this were a true ion-exchange resin column, then all of your water would flow through a vessel containing the ion-exchange resin as it does in a water softening system. Just dropping a bag of this stuff in your skimmer is quite possibly the least efficient way to use it.

That being said, folks have had positive to spotty results using the CuLator so don't be surprised if it does not seem to work for you.

Question - are you actually getting metal stains in your pool? If so, an ascorbic acid treatment followed up with a metal sequestering agent might be more effective.

[kelemvor]

I used it in my salt pool.

[SunnyOptimism]

I used it in my salt pool.

I'm curious, did it work? What metals were you trying to eliminate? Were you able to measure metal levels before and after?

Cheers.

[kelemvor]

No, I have some small stains in my pool that I *assume* are copper. I tried to treat with ascorbic and also used culator.

For all I know it could be something other than copper, so I didn't blast the product.

The culator didn't cause any noticeable change in my chemistry including salt level so I'd at least say it's safe in a salt pool. I threw the bag away after a few months.

[SunnyOptimism]

No, I have some small stains in my pool that I *assume* are copper. I tried to treat with ascorbic and also used culator.

For all I know it could be something other than copper, so I didn't blast the product.

The culator didn't cause any noticeable change in my chemistry including salt level so I'd at least say it's safe in a salt pool. I threw the bag away after a few months.

My opinion on the CuLator is this - the science behind it (ion exchange resins) is sound; the implementation is idiotic.

That's harsh but true. I am engineer (in my former life) and no reasonable engineer would ever expect a cloth bag filled with a couple of marbles worth of the resin and thrown into the skimmer basket would have any meaningful effect. If you want ion exchange resins to work, then they have to be used in the same way that they are used in a residential water softening system - the pool water has to be forced to flow through a resin bed where 99.9% of the water intimately contacts the resin. That is the only way this technology can work efficiently.

That's my two cent opinion....

Cheers.

[FormerBromineUser]

I tried them and can't say that they were worth the expense. I got my iron out using Ben's cal-hypo method. Worked a treat.

[SunnyOptimism]

I tried them and can't say that they were worth the expense. I got my iron out using Ben's cal-hypo method. Worked a treat.

I saw that trick posted somewhere on this forum. I have to say that I'd be a little nervous trying to intentionally scale out metals and hope that my filter catches them. Also, I think those of us with naturally high Ca levels would probably just scale out calcium carbonate more so than metals.

Interesting though.....do you have a link to a post with detailed instruction?