PristineBlue to BBB?

[ChuckD]

I read Ben's post mentioning PB but want to make sure this will work:

Mom's giving up on PB having seen the spectacular results of BBB in my own pool. She has a trustworthy local pool store that's not trying to push anything on her and yesterday, on my request, tested her water for Cu. They came back with a number, .65. I don't kinow what the refers to, maybe someone here can say.

I've already set her up with the bleachcalc (Thanks again and again, Mike!) and she's ready to pull the trigger with 12.5% Cl. I just want to be sure there's nothing else she needs to do to know about vis-a-vis the PB history.

I'm not posting any other numbers since I'm already comfortable with the process having done BBB for over a hear now. Needless to say, she has 0 TC and 0 CYA.

Thanks!

ChuckD

[waterbear]

.65 ppm copper is about the dose you get from a copper algacide at maintenance level (algae preventative, not killing). Before you shock you need to add a sequesterant to the water to deactive the copper so it doesn't color the water or cause staining. Seqesterants will be a necessary addtion to the water as maintenance on a regular basis. Jack's Magic Blue Stuff has a high chelation index for copper so that would be my first choice.
BTW, Pristine Blue recommends 1 ppm copper in the water when it is used as a sanitizer with small amounts of resudual chlorine so there isn't enough in the water right now to have much effect other than to help prevent algae. Pristine Blue by itself will NOT properly sanitize the water even at 1 ppm! There must be a chlorine residual present!

[ChuckD]

Thanks WBear.
How about the timing? How long with the sequestrant, given a 15K gal. vinyl AG with a cartridge filter, and how much before she hits it with the Cl?

[waterbear]

Thanks WBear.
How about the timing? How long with the sequestrant, given a 15K gal. vinyl AG with a cartridge filter, and how much before she hits it with the Cl?

I would use the full dose of sequesterant as per bottle directions with pH adjusted to what the manufacturer recommends. Filter for 20 hours and SLOWLY bring the chlorine levels up and then rebalance the water. Seqeusterants have a way of eating up the TA. Once the water is rebalanced it the time to shock. If the water turns green when you shock you need to add more sequesterant.

[ChuckD]

OK, sorry but I need some clarification.
You say after 20 hours of the sequestrant, slowly bring the Cl up. To what? This pool's clearly in need of a shock being a bit murky. I'm of the understanding that any Cl less than shock level at this point would be pointless. Is this just a test to see if there's residual Cu left?

Also, is the water swimmable during this?
Thanks.

(also, I'm advising her long-distance, so the simpler the better)

[waterbear]

OK, sorry but I need some clarification.
You say after 20 hours of the sequestrant, slowly bring the Cl up.
Misstyped here...meant 24 hours.
To what?
Bring it up about 1 ppm every 4-6 hours. If you bring it right up to shock levels you can destroy the sequesterants abilty to deactivate the metal and run the risk of coloring the water green. Just keep bringing up the chlorine until you reach shock level (10 ppm with no cya) and then keep it up there until the pool clears. This is the safest way. You can take the chance and shock right away but you might end up with green water and will have to start over with more sequesterant...Or you could stain the pool (if it is not already stained from the PB)
This pool's clearly in need of a shock being a bit murky. I'm of the understanding that any Cl less than shock level at this point would be pointless. Is this just a test to see if there's residual Cu left?

Also, is the water swimmable during this?
No, the water is NOT sanitized! (nor has it been if only PB was being used with NO chlorine!)
Thanks.

(also, I'm advising her long-distance, so the simpler the better)

Hope this helps.