New to pools - is "root kill" (copper sulphate) good to use?

[duffmama]

I've been told by friends with above ground pools that copper sulphate will clear cloudy water and help keep the algae down. I plan to follow the BBB method and just want to keep things simple. Any suggestions?

[BigDave]

Don't listen to those friends. Copper in pool water will stain the pool, fingernails and light and colored hair. It will inhibit algae but not bacteria - the real reason for chlorinating a pool.

[PoolDoc]

In the interest of full disclosure (and so the sales shills hawking copper products can't whine), please note that:

1. if alkalinity is not too high, and no chelants are present (Metal Magnet, HEDP, etc) are present copper levels above 0.5 ppm *can* kill many forms of algae.

2. 0.5 ppm copper will kill some types of bacteria . . . eventually. Not fast enough to be useful in a pool, but eventually.

[chem geek]

Not fecal bacteria, though. For Escherichia coli, it injures them to slow down their growth, but they are still viable and will grow again when the inhibitor is removed (such as getting into your body). For other fecal bacteria such as Enterococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus aureus, copper doesn't kill them at all. This post shows kill times for chlorine vs. copper and silver. Part of the reason that fecal bacteria survive in the copper levels when using copper algaecide in pools is that blood serum contains 0.7 to 1.5 ppm copper ions.

[duffmama]

Thanks for the info. I always wondered why my pool didn't get very clear. I thought I was getting it pretty clean until my boys got in it for the first time this season and stirred up the algae that was on the bottom. More vacuuming for me!