Why is copper bad?

[doc8404]

Split by moderator from HERE. Please ask questions in your own thread and not in another member's. Thanks, jblizzle

Why is copper as an algicide bad? Just trying to get rid of my bioguard stuff this year.
I will be leaving for a few days, haven't been able to test for my CYA other than the dipstick.
Test kit may be here tomorrow or the next day
Was looking at tossing in a bio guard smart silk stick.

 

[censored]

Re: Does chlorine tablet matter? Cheapest place to buy?

Copper can cause staining and corrode certain equipment parts such as heater cores. It is difficult to eliminate copper from the water once it is in. You can clear the stains, but you have to keep using sequestering agents after that unless you want the stains to reappear.

 

[doc8404]

Re: Does chlorine tablet matter? Cheapest place to buy?

Well I better be more careful then. Thanks!

 

[doc8404]

No cloudy water after getting to 8 ppm FC so I believe I'm safe

 

[pooldv]

More here, Pool School - Metals in the Water and Metal Stains

 

[JoyfulNoise]

In a vinyl pool, copper wouldn't necessarily be bad except you might turn your water green (or hair) but the chances of scaling onto vinyl is minimal. Plaster pools are much worse in that respect because the local surface of the plaster can have a higher pH than the rest of the water. As well, the plaster surface can easily stain.

The real problem with copper as an algaecide is that the concentration at which it is an effective algaecide (~1ppm) is also well above the point at which it can precipitate out from water. The analogy I would make is that copper is like a toxic gas whose odor threshold (the point at which you can smell it) is also right at it's toxic threshold (the point at which it kills you). Chlorine, on the other hand, is a highly effective algaecide at concentrations way below the point at which it is detrimental to pool equipment and surfaces. Add to the fact that you can not easily test for copper with an expensive test kit and that the only method of elimination is to drain off pool water, it then becomes a less attractive option. For those of us that live in places where annually draining and refilling a pool would be cost-prohibitive, putting anything into the water (metals, excessive CYA, etc) that would force us to dump water is not going to be a good option.