Uncle used "copper" something or other.....

[cruzmisl]

Hi All,
While trying to educate my family with pools on the BBB method my uncle informed me of his problem. He has an ag pool and he says his water is a little "murky". He also stated he was using copper sulphate or something along with a little chlorine last year but has switched solely to chlorine this year. He said he bought a bucket of it and added it here and there (talking about the copper stuff)

Anyway, my question is does anyone know what he's talking about and if so does it need to be removed before control of the water can take place? I plan to test his water tomorrow so I will post all the details then.

Thanks!
Joe

[drband]

Careful w/ the copper sulfate! I used it once at the beginning of Spring 05 and it WILL kill algae, but will not help clear the dead residue. Read all of the info on the PoolSolutions site about copper and the problems w/ using it (staining, turning hair green, etc...). Having done it, I would not recommend it!
I would suggest having a pool store test for metals and using some kind of "metal out" sequestrant to rid the pool of copper... no telling how much is in the pool if your uncle used it without any calculations -- and more than 1 time. If you shock w/ high copper levels, I think there might be problems w/ staining. Then -- test the water accurately and go for the BBB method. Use the Best Guess chart to make sure you get to shock level, hold it there until the FC holds over night. All the time running the filter 24/7, backwashing as needed.

All these instructions assume that you (or he) test the water for FC CC pH Alk & CYA. You've got to get to and stay within acceptable ranges for BBB to work.

Once you get there, it becomes easier! I haven't had to add anything but bleach all season (my numbers FC 9 CC 0 pH 7.5 Alk 120 CA 140 CYA 90ish). Just test and stay ahead of your water! Good luck.

[drband]

Also, I understand that copper does not go away except by draining, much like CYA, so there's probably still a significant amount of copper in the pool water.

[drband]

You'll find more (and better ) help in the stains and metal matters area of the forum concerning copper.