Nature 2?

[PoolDoc]

The Zodiac people have been pretty vague about its mode of action, and the claims have been rewritten to avoid saying much of anything. The product originated with a company called "Fountainhead Technologies", who made all sorts of unsubstantiated claims about hydroxyl radicals and metal catalysed reactions. When Zodiac bought the company, they dumped the bogus claims, increased the hype, and rewrote the literature to be legally vague.

I'm not sure if they really believe that the products work, or not. When I talked to their tech support people several years ago, I confirmed (with more than one person) that if you have *measurable* levels (200 ppb; 0.2 ppm) of Cu in your water, you need to cut back the Nature2. It's pretty well established that Cu levels below 200 ppb have little or no effect.

But, it is possible that the units work, sort of, on plaster pools!

The Nature2 units DO contain copper and silver. It is possible (based on my limited knowledge of chemistry) that the units release those metals, at such low levels and in such a form that they never produce measurable Cu levels, but yet DO coat the plaster at sufficient levels to be algaestatic.

I know that something like this is possible: I have often deliberately stained white plaster pools with a light blue-green copper stain, as an aid in algae control. It's a bit of a tricky process, but it works well if the plaster is in good enough shape to allow me to avoid blotchy coloration. I've never had a customer complain about, or even notice, the stains.

The Nature2 units might do something similar. But, if so, I doubt it would work at all on vinyl or fiberglass pools. And even if it does work, it's a fairly minor effect. It's value to me is mostly on constantly occupied commercial pools where there's no opportunity for me to spike chlorine levels to 25 ppm to kill off any mustard algae that's popping up in the cracks and crannies of the plaster. I also use polyquat for the same purpose, and it's more effective, but also more expensive.

But, in home pools, it's much easier to 'close' the pool for 2 - 3 days, while the chlorine's high -- or else to tell the kids to wear old suits while swiming for the next few days.

Another issue has to be considered as well. If the Nature2 units *do* work this way, you must be very careful when shocking your pool, or adding chlorine, not to let any chlorine compound (cal hypo, bleach, tabs, etc.) come into direct contact with the pool walls. The reason is, that if copper is present on those walls, the chlorine can convert from whatever form it's in, to black copper oxide stains that can be very difficult to remove.

So, in my opinion, even if the Nature2 units do provide some mild algistatic effects, they aren't worth the risk of trouble or the money.

Ben
PoolDoc

[AnnaE]

I believe I have the Nature 2 filter because I remember paying $90 for a replacement filter last year. I bought my 24 feet above-ground pool in 2004 and replaced the filter in 2005. I am getting ready to open my pool, just bought Ben's kit and want to know if I don't use the Nature 2 filter, what do I replace it with? Do I even use a filter? Sorry, but I'm a newbie at this. Last year, I just replaced what they gave me from the pool store and bought the opening pool kit. What a waste! I still have all the chemicals. Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[DavidD]

AnnaE,

I got rid of my Natures 2 by cutting the PVC pipes in half right in the center of the hole where the cartridge was mounted. Then I simply used a splice coupling to attach the two halves using PVC glue and primer. I believe there are a couple of different types so your base or mounting bracket may not be the same. I guess you could simply leave the existing cartridge in place and just not replace it.

[Lenny]

I'm not going to use my Nature2 and I might remove the unit at some point, but for now I'm just letting it run without a filter. This won't hurt anything.

[CarlD]

I keep adding up the costs vs. the benefits and I just see N2 as a waste of money and potentially a problem.

If you can run the unit without the cartridge without it leaking, then it should have no effect on the pool and you won't need to cut it out of the system.

But, as I've repeated, $90 per season for a cartridge buys a LOT of bleach!--not to mention it will buy 6 or more quarts of Polyquat--MORE than enough for a season!

[poolmama63]

This post is very much in favor of the Nature2 cartridge. We have used one for the past 5 seasons. Our pool stays crystal clear and I hardly ever have to shock (every 4-6 weeks). All I have to do is use 2 stingy sticks every 5 days. The main reason for wanting less chemicals is my skin. I have psoriasis and very dry skin. This has helped my skin tremendously. If you start reading about how harmful chlorine is to your skin and how it is absorbed in your body you might decide to take an alternatate route and use less. As long as we have a pool I will gladly spend 100.00 at the beginning of the season. Minimal maintenance and more pool time is wonderful.

Kim

[waterbear]

This post is very much in favor of the Nature2 cartridge. We have used one for the past 5 seasons. Our pool stays crystal clear and I hardly ever have to shock (every 4-6 weeks). All I have to do is use 2 stingy sticks every 5 days. The main reason for wanting less chemicals is my skin. I have psoriasis and very dry skin. This has helped my skin tremendously. If you start reading about how harmful chlorine is to your skin and how it is absorbed in your body you might decide to take an alternatate route and use less. As long as we have a pool I will gladly spend 100.00 at the beginning of the season. Minimal maintenance and more pool time is wonderful.

Kim

you might have less chlorine but you are subjecting yourself to both copper and silver so you are not really limiting yourself to exposure to chemicals! Both copper and silver can have negative health effects too. However, I work part time in a pool store and we regularly test for copper (LaMotte colorimeter that supposedly will read .01 ppm copper) and have several customers with Nature2 units. The copper test show no copper to about .03 ppm in the water which makes me wonder if the unit is really doing any thing. Biggest problem I have seen with these units is people let their FC levels drop well below the recommended .5 ppm and that means that the water does not have enough residual sanitizer and is not safe! Clear water is not necessisarily safe to swim in. I tested 3 Nature2 systems yesterday that had NO chlorine in their pools at all. IMHO, this is a bigger concern about whether the water is safe to swim in than how much the cartridge costs to replace or if it is effective. It seems (from my limited experience) to give a false sense of security about pool maintenance and very little margin for error.

[poolmama63]

when our water is tested it always comes up with trace amounts of copper, making me think the nature2 is working. Anyway, personally I would prefer to deal with copper than itchy burning skin and red irritated eyes from chlorine.
All a personal choice I suppose.

Thanks,
Kim

[AnnaE]

All,

Thank you for your suggestions. I don't think I'm brave enough to cut pvc pipes and such. I will just keep the old filter in (maybe rinse it out). Thanks again!

[rmeden]

when you open the filter, there's a cartridge. Keep the filter in, just remove the cartridge... nothing to clean. That's what most of us do.

Heck, I've never even opened the Nature2 Unit... (1 year)