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Mattyg1405

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Jun 3, 2018
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Hi
I’m currently a user of a modified regiment of pristine blue.

Although I’m not having “problems” with my current system the more I learn about my pool and what I have to been doing (essentially increasing chlorine levels)
I am wondering why I’m using pristine blue???
My first year with Pristine blue was fine until we couldn’t get rid of the algae / slippery liner. Increasing the pristine extra dose and shocking more often fixed that but now I find myself adding chlorine tablets (because they are cheaper) and shocking my pool even more often.

After starting reading through the forum and pool school I think I am going to start the process of ditching pristine blue... any negatives to this ?

I have a in-ground radiant pool with a liner, I have a 3 year old and 3 month old as well as a dog who likes to sneak in the pool.

the pool is about 27k gallons.

I just ordered a new tf100 kit to test.
To start all I can provide for now is results from my rest strips and pristine test kit.
 
Hi, welcome to TFP! Pristine Blue is full of copper. I don't know if you have experienced green stains on light colored swimsuits, hair, or nails, but if you did, it came from the Pristine Blue. Once your test kit arrives you will probably see that your CYA is very high. You can ask a pool store to test for copper, odds are between the high CYA and the copper level you will need to drain and refill the pool. Does your well have iron in it, or do you have a source of iron free water?
 
zea3 said:
Hi, welcome to TFP! Pristine Blue is full of copper. I don't know if you have experienced green stains on light colored swimsuits, hair, or nails, but if you did, it came from the Pristine Blue. Once your test kit arrives you will probably see that your CYA is very high. You can ask a pool store to test for copper, odds are between the high CYA and the copper level you will need to drain and refill the pool. Does your well have iron in it, or do you have a source of iron free water?
Click to expand...
I have city water
my copper levels right now are .5ppm
is that low enough to not have to drain ?

- - - Updated - - -

With the junk they gave me I can only Tell the following until my kit arrives :
hardness 150
Total bromine 20
Alkalinity 0
Ph 7.2
copper .5ppm
 
With a cya of 20, you may want to bring that up to a 30. When you test for the CYA, just GLANCE inside the tube..don't stare too long or you'll eventually see the black dot...just GLANCE at it. Make sure it's during the daytime, with your back facing the sun and the test tube at waste level. Just a GLANCE. Try testing your CYA again tomorrow..in daytime... to make sure it's at a 20. If you're certain that its at a 20, add enough stabilizer using PoolMath to bring your cya to a 30.

To add a stabilizer, I recommend you add the granular in a sock and hang it close to your return jet. You can gently massage the sock to dissolve the granular once you have it hanging in your pool to speed up the process a bit. Wait 24-48 hours before you retest again your CYA. Note: with a cya of 30, make sure your target FC level is within range. see link FC/CYA. Right now, your FC is low. Add bleach using PoolMath to reach the recommended FC target for a cya of 30. Remember: for bleach, get the plain stuff - no splashless, scents, or polymers. Plain only. no Clorox or cloromax (no additives).

Simple aeration can increased your pH to a 7.2

About the copper, I'll let an expert chime in here shortly...How have you been chlorinating your pool? Have you been using ANY products like algaecides?

How does your pool look now.
 
Hi Matty,
welcome to TFP. It sure is nice when your first post says you already ordered a test kit.

.5 is not a lot of copper. With time, rain and dilution from splashout and filter cleaning it will come on outta there. It most likely got there from using some algaecide. Algaecide has copper in it and the reasons people with blonde hair turn green.

For now, Lets work on the basics of keeping your pool pristine, and without that blue stuff you mentioned.
Here are links to the basics. Almost every question you have about pool chemistry is answered right here. Learn to use Pool Math too, it will be your best friend.
Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry
Pool School - Recommended Levels
Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart

Gong forward, if you would also post your TA, it may help some provide the best answer they can.
Since you have a vinyl liner, Calcium Hardness, a.k.a. CH, really has no chemical reaction to vinyl, so that test really isnt of any importance and you can skip it, unless you jsut want to practice testing.
 
Thank you for the description of the correct way of doing the CYA test! For two years I've been staring at the dot! I just added more CYA sock in front of return....so now my CYA is likely too high!!! Once I check it out in three days, I'll most likely have to do a partial drain since I can't get rid of my CC 1.5!
 
You won't have to drain anything. Even it went up to 40 or even 50, you can work with that just fine. I run mine at 50 to help protect the FC from the sun burning it off too quickly. If your CC's are 1.5, you definitely need to SLAM. However, your FC level for your SLAM is based on your CYA level, so once your retest CYA, if it jumped up to 40 or 50, then SLAM with a FC level of 16 or 20.
 
Since you do have .5 copper, I would recommend a 50% drain and refill, then use a sequestrant once a month for the rest of the swim season, and no more Pristine Blue or algaecides. Look for a sequestrant based on HEDP, phosphonic acid, or phosphonic acid derivatives. Metal Free or Jack's Magic are good ones. If you normally do a partial drain to winterize that will further lower the copper level in the water.
 

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