Copper Algaecide Mistake

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SilverJK

Well-known member
Jul 31, 2013
114
NW Louisiana
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Ashamed and depressed is the way I feel at the moment. I mistakenly used copper algaecide with something telling me "metals are bad" in the back of my mind; but I didn't realize it until now. Now I come begging for advice on how to address it with a humble heart. If I get thru this, I will be a prophet for what this site teaches and not do anything without researching it.

So, I used algaecide about 7 weeks ago and I'm just starting to see some "staining" of what I believe it a byproduct of using copper. There is a green stain above the water line on my white (I believe fiberglass) steps. That is the only trace in the pool as there are no other noticeable staining I could find. I didn't think anything of it as I have clean, clear water; only when my wife mentioned about some green stains in bathing suits did I realize that I could have an issue. It was also mentioned that my daughters had a slight green tint to their hair; so I'm committed to making this work.

I've read about different sequesters and even processes like CuLator; I really am not sure where to go or start. But I do promise to take the advice given and have it documented here so others hopefully do not make my same mistakes.

Thanks in advance to any help that is provided, I am deeply appreciative.

Water Balance:
FC - 6.5
CC - 0
pH - 7.6
TA - 50
CYA - (estimated 50 from last time)
 
I would humbly suggest you start this journey by figuring out just how much Cu is in the water. Either purchase a test kit and measure it or have the pool store do it. Depending on how much Cu is in your water, the course of treatment could range from an ascorbic acid treatment plus sequestrant all the way up to draining the pool.


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SilverJK said:
Will pool stores be accurate for metals? If I get a test kit, will something like AquaChek Copper Pool Water Test Strips work?

Thanks
Click to expand...

I'd start with the pool store. Tell them you need them to specifically test for metals, Cu specifically, and that you don't care about the other results. Perhaps that will make them focus on the test better for improved accuracy. You could even try two different pool stores to get a comparison. If the results come back as zero or wildly conflicted, then I would consider buying a proper drop based test from Taylor such as the K-1730 (free copper test kit).


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JoyfulNoise said:
I'd start with the pool store. Tell them you need them to specifically test for metals, Cu specifically, and that you don't care about the other results. Perhaps that will make them focus on the test better for improved accuracy. You could even try two different pool stores to get a comparison. If the results come back as zero or wildly conflicted, then I would consider buying a proper drop based test from Taylor such as the K-1730 (free copper test kit).


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Click to expand...

I had a metal test today at the pool store and it resulted in zero copper detected. They explained this as no copper, that wasn't sequestered, was detected by the separate metal test. Now, although it seemed convincing, I'll still spring for another test to perform myself for reassurance.

Other than the at home test, do I need to take any action?

Thanks again!
 
Have you added any kind of sequestrant? Depending on the strength of a sequestrant relative to the chemistry of the metal test, a sequestrant can interfere with a metal test.


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Did you try doing the vitamin C tablet test in stain to confirm that the stains are in fact metallic? I did not see that in your original post (maybe I missed it?).


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I have actually never attempted that. I hear it mentioned, but what exactly should I do? In other words, what's a recommended douce floor vitamin C that I can use in the test (pardon my ignorance).
 
SilverJK said:
I have actually never attempted that. I hear it mentioned, but what exactly should I do? In other words, what's a recommended douce floor vitamin C that I can use in the test (pardon my ignorance).
Click to expand...

Just grab some 1000mg vitamin c tablets from the drug store (don't need the rose hips in it ;) ), stick them in a nylon and set them on the spot for 15 mins or so and see if the stain lightens up. If it does, it's a metal stain. It works most effectively with iron stains but also lightens copper too.

It's not a sophisticated test, just a basic yes/no test. If it's metal, then there are more elaborate procedures for dealing with it.


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Ok, I didn't know the mg of Vitamin C that it needed to be; that does help. Here is the thing, what staining I have in my pool in only above the water line and I can wipe a good portion off by splashing water on my fingers and rubbing the spots. So what I'm saying is that me rubbing my fingers or rubbing Vitamin C may be inclusive results. Here is a picture of what I see; nothing below the waterline.

 
My Taylor K-1730 came in today and I tested the water and I was between .05 & .15ppm. I'm not exactly sure what that means other than there is some copper present; does it mean that more could be present?

Thanks
 
It means that is how much copper is still left in the water. That's not too high an amount unless the pH were to get above 8.0 so you should be OK. We usually get worried when we see copper above 0.3 ppm though even that can be managed if the pH is kept from getting higher. At 0.5 or 0.7 ppm, even normal (7.5) pH gets risky.
 
So I have a few questions so that I can prepare myself with knowledge.

When copper appears on the surfaces, is the copper physically on wall or is that just the result of the chemical reaction? For example, after the pool store read zero, I did scrub a lot of the green stuff off and it adhered to my bathing suit. Does that mean that I effectively removed some of the copper (once my bathing suit left the water)?

Since this is a free copper test, does that mean that any copper that may still be contained within the algaecide (In solution I guess?) will not show up? I have not added any type of sequestering agent. I want to know if there is a possibility if my copper level will rise (I'm done adding any copper).

Now when you say I'm OK, does that mean that the recommended course of action is to allow the copper to dilute naturally (backwashing my sand filter and adding water\rain)?

Thanks and sorry for the silly questions.
 
When copper stains or precipitates, it is a copper oxide or hydroxide which is why it forms more at higher pH. When it is a stain or precipitate, it won't show up in a water test because it's no longer in the water. So yes, if it stains your bathing suit and you take that out of the water you have removed some metal from the water. That's how some products like CuLator work except they bind to the metal ions directly rather than remove them from an oxide-hydroxide stain.

Supposedly the copper test is supposed to measure copper weakly bound such as that in an algaecide that may have a sort of metal sequestrant in it. So in theory, your copper level shouldn't rise more at least from the algaecide you used.

However, what is strange is that your stain is above the water line. So maybe that is occurring because it gets splashed, the water evaporates, and when it does the pH rises and the copper concentrates and precipitates as a stain. So it's possible that this might still occur some with your water even with the low copper level, though I haven't heard of that happening before at such a low level. If you find more staining, you might get some citric acid to wipe it off. If it keeps happening, then you can look at removing the last of the copper from your water by either a metal sequestrant (but you have to keep buying that) or using CuLator.

So I think you can just have the copper dilute over time. I think you got lucky in not overdosing with the copper.
 
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