Culator -- Solution or Just Another "Pool Store" Product?

[chem geek]

I asked the folks at Taylor Technologies whether their drop-based metal tests would measure total metals even when sequestrants were used and they thought it would, but I didn't get a warm/fuzzy feeling that they knew for certain.

[mbar]

Lawrosa, I have been trying to figure out how to test for, remove, control, or live with stains for about 11 years now. My conclusion is that every time I think I have it figured out, something else happens to make me wonder if the "stain gods" are just having a little more fun! What I really tried to do is figure out where the metals are really coming from. My well water does not show iron, but Jack's magic test showed the stains were iron. I do have a heater, so maybe they come from that. I just don't know. I also have three other friends that have the same pool, within different water sources and they all get stains too, so I have experimented with theirs too. The conclusion I came to is that I don't worry about where or how they get there anymore. Now I just get rid of them as they come, because no matter I still hate them with a vengence! My husband calls me "the stain nazi" You will figure out how to work your own pool water to keep your pool stain free. So, don't drive yourself crazy, but if you do please share your results with us, I love to learn about all the ways to get rid of stains, I add them to my "bag of tricks".

[Lawrosa]

Marie,

I know where my metals are from. The well. I have not had a problem with the pool until this yr with metals. But I have a shallow well and had some plant growth (Golden algae ) growing down there. How it grows without sunlight is beyond me. I e mailed everyone and no one knows what it is.

Anyway I think you posted that you tried the C U Lator. Is it working? Anything?

[mbar]

So far I have not seen any color change in the culator bag. It is supposed to turn colors for different metals, and comes with a chart to match the color to the metal. I did not have any stains in the pool, because I just finished removing them and balancing all my chemicals at the beginning of this swim season. I put the bag in to see if it does change color if I do start to precipitate metals, or if the pool stains. If I get any stains, then the culator does not work.

[rcy100]

I too have a CUlator in my skimmer basket. It's been just over a couple of weeks, and no change in colour. Why did I want to try it....??

I have a DuoClear system (pool built in 2007) and was running the Nature2 cartridge and suffering from brownish stains on my white skimmer and pump baskets and on the nozzles of my returns. Last fall I removed the bag from the mineral cartridge and reinstalled the cartridge without the bag (the DuoClear system needs a cartridge in place or it will leak everywhere). I then did an ascorbic acid treatment and removed the stains and added sequestrant. The pool ran for one additional month last fall and I opened in early April. The stains had not returned prior to the CUlator being used. My assumption was that the metals removed were in suspension from using sequestrant and I was hoping the CUlator would remove them completely, but to be honest, I don't even know if it can remove metals that are sequestered.

[mbar]

Just an update, I was away for a week, and had high amounts of chlorine in my water. So far no more stains, but the bag has not changed color either. I have not added anymore sequestering agent. So the jury is still out. I will let you know if the stains return.

[mbar]

Just wanted to update on the culator. I have not gotten any stains back since I have it in my skimmer. This is the longest I have gone without stains. I have not put any sequestering agent in since then either. So far for me it works. I have not had to really shock the pool, because the water has been clear all summer, so I don't know what will happen if I do. The ph has drifted up, and still no stains. My fingers are crossed - it will save a lot of money in the long run if this really works.

[waterbear]

Marie, did you ever try increasing your calcium hardness to plaster pool levels to see if it has any impact on the staining? I know we discussed this once before and I have seen this lower the tendency to stain in several fiberglass pools that had very low calcium, including my own. I have not used ascorbic acid or seqestrant in about 3 years now since I brought my calcium up to between 350-400 ppm from the 180 ppm or thereabout I was running it at (natural water hardness when the water softener is bybassed). Before I would need to deal with the staining about twice a year. Water in the pool is still the same.

[mbar]

Yes, I have increased my calcium levels to 250 to 300. It has really taken the staining way down. However when I put in the stain treatment I get a milky mess - but once the pool clears the stains stay mostly away. I noticed one year that my pool water was tinted green, when I added the calcium the water turned blue. THat is when I started to keep calcium up in my pool. This year after the stain treatment my calcium level went from 300 to 175. I then added calcium to bring it back to 250. Do you think that the fallout of the calcium combined with the metals to filter out of the water? This is what I was thinking happened and that is why it may not be the culator that has prevented the stains?

[waterbear]

We might be on to something. When I increased my calcium and did the stain remover/seqeustrant I also got a milky pool for about a day, which cleared on it's own. Perhaps we did actually filter out the metals but needed the higher calcium hardness to do it. I did not notice such a severy drop in calcium harndess from what I remember, however. All I know is that I have been keeping my calcium between 350 to 400 ppm which, with my TA at 70 and my salt and baorates, gives me a calcium saturation index close to 0 (well within the +/-.3 range, actually close to -.1). When I has a lot of staining problems it was on the negative side and in the neighborhood of -.6. Not sure what might be going on here but, like I said, I have not used seqeustrant or ascorbic acid for a few years now and pool is staying white!