Anyone had any success with the CuLator products for removing metals from the water. Or does anyone know an alternative of similar cost?
CuLator Metal Removal
- Thread starter doubleOkevin
- Start date
Welcome to TFP!
People who have tried the CuLator have had mixed results. Some people have had measurable drops in metal levels, while several people have not.
Nothing reliably removes metals from the water other than replacing the water with metal free water. There are a couple of things that will sometimes cut down the metal level, including the CuLator, some specialized filters, RO treatments, and sequestrants. But none of them are reliable enough for me to recommend them.
People who have tried the CuLator have had mixed results. Some people have had measurable drops in metal levels, while several people have not.
Nothing reliably removes metals from the water other than replacing the water with metal free water. There are a couple of things that will sometimes cut down the metal level, including the CuLator, some specialized filters, RO treatments, and sequestrants. But none of them are reliable enough for me to recommend them.
Welcome! 
The Search box comes up with 226 threads mentioning it. That ought to keep you busy reading awhile.
The Search box comes up with 226 threads mentioning it. That ought to keep you busy reading awhile.
Note that the President/CEO of Periodic Products says to contact them if it doesn't seem to work for whatever reason. If you do use it, let us know how it works out.
I tried the CuLator several times over the winter on a pool with metal staining issues. It is a liner pool. Getting the stains out is very easy and sequestering with Metal Out works quite well. However, continually using these products gets old and expensive after a while, which is why I tried the CuLator to get the metal out. First tried two 1ppm bags in both skimmers over a month. Stains returned after stopping Metal Out. Then tried Ultra pack 4.0ppm in pump basket AND 1ppm in both skimmers for a month. Again stains came back after stopping Metal Out. My conclusion is that this product does not work. I'm thinking now that I will just drain and refill. It is a liner, so I was thinking I'll just do about four partial drains and refills and that should dilute the metal almost completely out. Thoughts?
Also tested the fill water and it did not read metal. I believe the metal (probably copper) got into the pool from a previous company overusing copper algaecide. No well water and no heater on this pool. Can't be sure about which metal because the tests continually came back as not having metal in the water even though all the symptoms show that there is.
Also tested the fill water and it did not read metal. I believe the metal (probably copper) got into the pool from a previous company overusing copper algaecide. No well water and no heater on this pool. Can't be sure about which metal because the tests continually came back as not having metal in the water even though all the symptoms show that there is.
Just talked to CuLator chemist/representatives and I'm going to send the pool water to them to have tested. They say they are confident in their product, so I'll see if they can find a problem with why this particular pool doesn't seem to reacting to the CuLator.
I know we have a lot of oak trees around here and tannin's are a problem with staining if the leaves aren't immediately removed from the pool. They won't show up as metals nor will the CuLater remove them.
When I first got the pool, I thought it was tannin. But the stain was coming back even when leaves were not in the pool. Also, the Metal Out had a big effect on the stains. I still won't rule out some weird organic stain, but it seems unlikely at this point. I'm wondering about something. From research I've done, high amounts of chlorine can cause metals in the water to oxidize and precipitate onto the pool surface and cause staining. Is there any know instance where high amounts of chlorine could cause organic matter to do the same thing? Usually chlorine gets rid of organic stains, but maybe not always. Also, the way this pool stains, it is a consistent even stain on the whole surface of the pool and steps. It doesn't seem to be worse in some spots or streaky. The whole pool seems to get it.
Saturn94
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I'm in a similar situation. Test for metals was negative, but I get staining unless I keep adding a sequest (Jack's Magic Purple Stuff).
Metals testing as zero really doesn't tell you much. It is common for metals to test zero even when there are obviously metals in the water.
I received the lab results today for the sample I sent to Periodic Products. They tested the water in a variety of different ways and found NO metal using their tests. However, they went on to describe a phenomenon that I have never heard of and perhaps nobody on this forum has ever heard. It made a lot of sense too. What they described was something called "Iron Bacteria". In essence it is a bacteria that contains iron in it. It holds iron inside of it (and possibly phosphate) and it will not read on metal tests. Also, CuLator will not remove the metal contained in this bacteria. The bacteria must be destroyed first. According to them, shocking with high amounts of chlorine will not kill this bacteria. The method they say works best is to use a treatment of Copper based algaecide combined with chlorine. Now this sounded counter intuitive to me, since I know you should never shock and use copper at the same time, so I asked if a Polyquat could have the same result. They said that a polyquat wouldn't have the same effect as copper. However, they insisted that since there wasn't any metal in the water other than the "iron bacteria" it shouldn't be an issue with shocking and copper at the same time for one or two treatments. Once this kills the bacteria, the iron will be released and the CuLator will work like it's supposed to.
According to them, this type of bacteria has been more prevalent in the last couple years in my area (Northern Florida) and 10 percent of their calls are related to this phenomenon. Also, they praised highly a non phosphate based sequestrant called Bio Dex Protect All. They said it was the best non phosphate metal sequestrant they've seen. I have one ordered right now and will be trying it out.
All in all, it sounds pretty reasonable. Their customer service was impeccable and they tested everything for free (other than shipping). They are even sending me a free CuLator Power Pak Ultra 4.0. Thats a $40 value. I have to say I'm pretty excited to test this theory out.
According to them, this type of bacteria has been more prevalent in the last couple years in my area (Northern Florida) and 10 percent of their calls are related to this phenomenon. Also, they praised highly a non phosphate based sequestrant called Bio Dex Protect All. They said it was the best non phosphate metal sequestrant they've seen. I have one ordered right now and will be trying it out.
All in all, it sounds pretty reasonable. Their customer service was impeccable and they tested everything for free (other than shipping). They are even sending me a free CuLator Power Pak Ultra 4.0. Thats a $40 value. I have to say I'm pretty excited to test this theory out.
Was your pool filled from a private well? Iron bacteria are almost unheard of in municipal water supplies.
That's a negative. This pool has no well. I have no idea how it got in, but I do know that my county's water supply has been repeatedly ranked as the worst water in the country. It wouldn't surprise me if it was in the tap.
I find it quite humorous that a company that sells products to remove metal from water is suggesting you ADD metals to the water ... then can you use their product to remove it again 
At least they sent you a free one to use after this copper treatment. Very curious to see how this turns out.
At least they sent you a free one to use after this copper treatment. Very curious to see how this turns out.
I thought the same thing. But I have read that copper does have anti bacterial properties and will kill any bacteria it comes in contact with, so maybe it'll work. I'm going by the pool tomorrow to start the treatment. Stay tuned.
Sure, but I still thought chlorine was more effective against bacteria than copper ... maybe not this special species
The directions for killing an iron bacteria biofilm in a well (not exactly the same situation) call for raising FC to 1,000 with no CYA.
Wow! That's a lot of chlorine. Obviously out of the question. If the copper does end up working, I'm wondering if the reason they don't use it in wells with iron bacteria is for health reasons. You definitely wouldn't want to drink high amounts of copper. Chlorine can be reduced rather easily in water. Copper cannot be reduced easily.
