My water sparkels like diamonds

[barowsky]

This is actually a good solution. I have heard you can't kill bacteria without chlorine, but that is because that pool builder has chlorine to sell. Just a fabrication of truths. If this were the issue, pour a glass of tap water into a glass, and tell me how much chlorine you measure there?

The point is that this solution allows you to swim in water very similar to what you bath in. My water sparkels like diamonds. Infact my pool builder was shocked at how crystal clear my water is, after 16 months of water and NO CHLORINE!! Yes again I will say NO CHLORINE. The granddaughter doesn't get stinging eyes after a few minutes in the pool. No one of the hundreds I have had in this pool have commented about anything. In fact they all talk how so different it feels. My son who just recently built a chlorine pool has commented how much more enjoyable this is over his. Doubt he is going to change due to just building the house with the pool right now. I think however that he will rethink this after a few years.

I had some start up issues, based on the fact that no one had used this system in my area. I went through all the tasks and experiments I could think of learning the right balance of the chemistry. Turned out most of my problems was due to the ignorance of the plaster company. However now that I have learned what I have, you couldn't take this product from me period. And did I say NO CHLORINE? I hope this doesn't sound like a commercial, because I did a bunch of looking around before I turned this up. Heard a few stories, however I don't know how seriously the end consumer took the installation instructions for pools already using chlorine.

I like this system, and the CLfree engineer has been such a straight shooter with me, that I have confidence I will have a greeat relationship with this system and all my swimmers.

My current activity with this pool:
1) Sweep it at least once a week.
2) Measure ph about once every 2-3 days (7.4 is ideal)
3) Usually add 24-32oz of Muratic Acid every 2 days(would recommend using the feeded they provide, only mistake I made)
4) Every 2 weeks capture all the chemistry of the water(ph, hardness/calcium, alklinity, TDS, monitor copper(.3-.5ppm), and monitor phospates.
5) possibly add 2-3lbs of baking soda monthly to maintain alklinity at 80-100.
6) Once a month I add a sequestering agent called IONizer Stuff from Jack's Magic. This helps to keep the copper suspended on bad weather/chemical days. Salt pools require Purple Stuff, and Chlorine pools require Blue Stuff. Point is most pool owners won't add this after the builder starts up the pool. It is however important in all pools to have a continuous sequestering agent.

The water just sparkles. Wish I could post a picture, but nothing is better then swimming in this. Fresher then a lake, and oh did I say I also have a hot tub/spa on this?
Oh and did I say NO CHLORINE.

I am certain I will feel this way in 2-3 years. Sorry if there are any mispelled words in this, or thoughts run on a bit, but I in no way receive anything financial from this product, only swimming enjoyment.

Hope this helps some on their decisions.

 

[JasonLion]

Welcome to TFP!

Systems that sanitize with copper only are simply not safe to swim in. That is why it is illegal to operate a public pool in that manner in the great majority of the developed world. In the US there are only three sanitizers that are effective enough to be approved for use as the primary sanitizer in a public pool: chlorine, bromine, and baquacil. Copper is approved as an algaecide, and is sufficient to keep algae away when used at sufficient concentrations, but the bacteria and virus kill times are way too slow to prevent person to person disease transmission. For more information see for example this post.

Copper also runs a very significant risks of turning blonde hair green and causing unsightly stains that can be very expensive to remove. Your constant acid additions are required to prevent stains, and would not be required if you were not using copper. With only a couple of days of inattention allowing the PH to go up, stains become very likely.

You also have some factual errors. In the vast majority of the developed world tap water and bath water does indeed contain chlorine (or perhaps monochloramine, which contains chlorine). So your pool is not in fact as sanitary as the average glass of tap water. Also, chlorine does not cause burning eyes, that is usually caused by low PH, though it is also possible for poor sanitation, particularly in indoor public pools, to cause burning eyes.

There are various tricks to get the water to feel good that most people don't know. Salt and borates make a huge difference. I am constantly getting compliments on my amazing chlorine free pool and how wonderful the water feels (their words not mine) when I do in fact have chlorine in the water. It isn't the chlorine that makes the water look or feel wrong, but rather failure to properly balance levels.

 

[JohnT]

If this were the issue, pour a glass of tap water into a glass, and tell me how much chlorine you measure there?

About 2-3ppm. Municipal water systems use chlorine to keep the water safe to drink. But they don't use copper because it isn't a sanitizer and the water wouldn't be safe.

Wish I could post a picture

Why can't you? The forum software easily handles images or links.

It is however important in all pools to have a continuous sequestering agent.

No. Only pools contaminated with metals require sequestering agents.

 

[ultra800_96]

After reading & rereading, it's almost humorous. Can't post a picture "because" nothing is better than swimming in this. Too funny. I wouldn't swim in it.

 

[Richard320]

After reading & rereading, it's almost humorous. Can't post a picture "because" nothing is better than swimming in this. Too funny. I wouldn't swim in it.

My thoughts exactly. But I didn't want to post to it and bump it back up to the top of the forum. But since you did, I'll chime in as well.

I hunted down and found the webpage for the system he's expounding upon. Didn't see NSF certification anywhere, and I'm not at all surprised....

 

[chem geek]

I briefly wrote about CL Free in this post. Note that heavy use of a metal sequestrant will prevent staining, but will also reduce the free copper ion level that inhibits algae growth. Basically, with copper ion systems the level of unsequestered copper needed to prevent algae growth is close to the level that stains plaster surfaces (and can turn blond hair greenish) unless the pH is kept low at all times (usually 7.4 or less). You may be lucky in your pool which may be poor in algae nutrients (phosphates and nitrates), but as I referred to in the post I linked to, others are not so lucky.

 

[waste]

Welcome to TFP!!

There is nothing wrong with chlorine in a swimming pool, in fact, it's preferable ( I had a lady compliment me on maintaining 6 pools - which are always crystal clear without using chlorine - I have Hayward CL 220's on all the pools- when I told her that I DO use chlorine to sanitize the pools, she remarked that "it doesn't have that chlorine smell that I've had trouble with in all the other public pools I've been to" - I explained to her that the reason why our pools used chlorine and didn't 'stink', is because I know what I'm doing and make minor adjustments when I test 3X per day

A lot of what I know about maintaining pools this way was gleaned from my reading here

 

[rcy]

If this were the issue, pour a glass of tap water into a glass, and tell me how much chlorine you measure there?

Have you actually done this? Of course there's chlorine in tap water.

The point is that this solution allows you to swim in water very similar to what you bath in.

There is no copper in my bath water.

My current activity with this pool:

3) Usually add 24-32oz of Muratic Acid every 2 days(would recommend using the feeded they provide, only mistake I made)
4) Every 2 weeks capture all the chemistry of the water(ph, hardness/calcium, alklinity, TDS, monitor copper(.3-.5ppm), and monitor phospates.

Good Lord, man, that's more Muriatic Acid than I add in an ENTIRE MONTH. Why do you need to monitor phosphates? With CHLORINE in a pool, if the level is proper in relation to the CYA level, phosphates are a moot point.

6) Once a month I add a sequestering agent called IONizer Stuff from Jack's Magic. This helps to keep the copper suspended on bad weather/chemical days. Salt pools require Purple Stuff, and Chlorine pools require Blue Stuff. Point is most pool owners won't add this after the builder starts up the pool. It is however important in all pools to have a continuous sequestering agent.

It's not important for all pools to have a continuous sequestering agent - only those with metal problems. You wouldn't need a sequestering agent if you weren't adding copper to your pool with this CL Free system. And what the heck does bad weather/chemical have to do with keeping copper suspended. Again, IF YOU WEREN"T adding copper to your pool 'bad weather/chemical days' woudn't matter (at least not as far as copper is concerned, as it wouldn't be in the pool to be affected by bad weather/chemical).

And yes, your post sounds like a commercial.

 

[JMarch]

commercial troll