What should I do with the Copper Ionizer?

[lora13]

We had a 18x36 inground pool installed at the end of last year's swim season - just finished all the wiring and stuff last month... so haven't really even used it yet...

The problem:
My dear hubbie thought the salespitch for the copper ionizer sounded good - I said "No! No! PoolDoc says 'no' - I'm blonde, my kids are blonde - no copper, please!" He believed the salesguy/pool builder - and thought it would make my job easier... so we have it

Now - I am planning to not even turn it on... and prove to my husband that with PoolDoc's help, the pool will be easy to maintain...

My question: Should I remove the copper rods from the system? (It is a Pioneer - 2 copper rods in a 2" pvc pipe with a window - I am thinking I can just unscrew the whole apperatus and cap the pipe...?) Will the copper be ok while I get my pool started... will it cause problems later? Or cause problems now?? How vital - if at all is it to remove the copper if the ionizing will not be forcing it into the water??

Thanks,
Lora13

[PoolDoc]

If you keep your pH up, and don't use trichlor tabs in the skimmer, you should be OK without moving the rods. After all, copper heat exchangers on some older heaters have far more copper surface area than those rods, and don't cause a copper problem unless the pH gets low.

I'd leave them alone. Actually, if it was my pool, I'd probably keep the units inline, and use them in winter with the pump on low speed. I'd have to get the copper back out in the spring, but that's pretty easy for me.

Ben

[lora13]

Thanks... I was wondering - on your Spring Start up Tips - it says "Unless you are using an ionizer, or a copper based system like Pristine Blue, your very first act on uncovering the pool should be to shock the heck out of it." So since I am not using the ionizer - this won't be a problem then?

So looking forward to trying out my new test kit!! Thanks!

Lora13