New AG Pool levels with Ionizer

[Paris]

We finished filling the pool Sunday. Monday I did the initial test and got this
Free Chlorine 0.0
Total Chlorine .1
Combined Chlorine .1
Ph 7.1
Hardness 170
Alkalinity (with stabilizer correction) 89
CA 5
Copper 0
Iron 0
Added 2 packs of shock,5 lbs calcium hardness increaser and 50 lbs of Salt
Today I get
Free Chlorine 0.2
Total Chlorine .6
Combined Chlorine .4
Ph 7.5
Hardness 150
Alkalinity (with stabilizer correction) 79
CA 5
Copper 0
Iron 0
How do I get this right?

 

[Paris]

I added some more calcium hardness increaser tonight.

 

[duraleigh]

Hey, Paris,

You're gonna' have to spend some time up in Pool School learning what parameters are important. I don't know what CA is.....should that be CYA?

CYA is VERY important and that result of "5" is meaningless.

You need to keep chlorine in the pool and CYA protects the chlorine from being burned off daily by the sun......that's what's apparently happening to your pool

Start with "ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" and read it a couple of times.

Why did you add salt? Do you have an SWG?

 

[Paris]

ca is cyan uric acid and it is 5 ppm. The print out from the test is telling me it should be 60-100 ppm. I have and ionizer which should eliminate the chlorine being needed. I had to add salt to it to help the ionizer work to increase the level of copper.

 

[duraleigh]

Paris,

You have a lot of misconceptions. Pool School is the first place to start.

 

[Bama Rambler]

Just to back up what Dave is saying you REALLY need to read Pool School.

I hope that nobody using your pool has light or blond hair, because soon they'll have green hair. Adding copper to the pool will cause staining and turn hair green.

Also, having an ionizer DOES NOT negate the need for sanitizer. You MUST have residual sanitizer in the bulk pool water to make it safe to swim in.

Just as a note: There's no way they can measure CYA (cyanuric acid) accurately at 5 ppm. All the tests commercially available are only accurate to ±10 ppm so there's no way you can trust a reading of 5 ppm.

I really don't mean to be harsh, but you really need to learn the proper way to care for your pool. It'll make your life so much easer and your wallet so much fatter.

 

[Paris]

my local Ace has pool sample reading. It is a computer thing. That is how i do my samples. I know a few people who have the ionizer and love it. I wanted to try it because you don't have to keep a chlorine level in it. You do have to shock it every week (as I did my last pool) and test the levels of copper, alkalinity and ph. I wanted to try to keep away from the "pucks" and all the bleach. I have been reading Pool School every spare minute I get.

 

[JasonLion]

Public pools are required by law to have residual sanitizer in the water, either chlorine, bromine, or baqua, because nothing else is sufficiently effective at killing bacteria and viruses and the water is not safe. With your private pool you can do what you want, but that doesn't make it any safer.

Ignoring safety, copper based systems are also prone to causing unsightly stains that are expensive to remove, or sometimes impossible to remove.

 

[Paris]

Jason, apparently you do not like the ionizer. I am trying it this season. And have spoken to several people who love it. If it does not work then I can always go back to the old method or any other method. I am trying to get the levels right in my pool. I have spent endless amounts of time i Pool School. I am still trying to get the copper level up in the pool as well as I am finding my ph level is staying low.

 

[Bama Rambler]

Why would anybody want to put copper in their pool, knowing the problems it causes?
You need chlorine anyway so why not just use that. It makes no sense to me!

 

[Paris]

well there are several reasons. I had learned years ago from several people about certain metals dissolved in water can kill bacteria and such. It is the same concept. The amounts of chlorine needed with this are far less than using chlorine alone. Like I said I am going to try it this season. If we like it I will buy another cartridge for next year, if not then we will go to regular chlorine and the amounts of copper are not enough to turn the pool colors unless you would mix in a certain chemical. ( I think it is clarifier ) I have a five year old with allergies. I don't' want her exposed to that much chlorine if I don't have to. I guess my next question for you would be if all the chemicals everyone puts in their pool is as bad a copper? to a certain extent it is all the same thing and a personal preference of what would be less harmful.

 

[duraleigh]

Paris,

You will find virtually no one on this forum who will support your beliefs. There is really nothing anyone can say further without beating a dead horse and experience has taught me these threads often do not have a positive outcome. I am locking this thread.