Hello, I am new here and have a few questions. But first, I have an 18 round 54 deep above ground pool. For the past few years I have used a copper ionization system. It has worked very well in the past but now I am concerned. This past summer I noticed what appeared to be light tan stains which now appear to be light gray. I tried posting a picture but couldn't. Anyway, these stains are not all over...just what appears to be blotches in certain areas and absolutely none on the walls; just on the vinyl bottom. I hit it 3 times with Stain Free and used a Metal Out or Metal Free product. They did not budge. Then I tried the PH Minus which also did not work. It could be possible that I didn't do this enough as time was running out and we had to close our pool. So, I am wondering what to do in the Spring and what is the absolute best product to use to try to lift these stains. And I don't believe this is something from the under the liner since our liner is very thick. I will admit I somewhat neglected our pool this summer because of health issues with my mother and I just didn't tend to it as I normally would. When I was finally able to get the water tested, the copper levels were sky high.
Now, all of this is leading me to believe that I never should have introduced copper in the first place and I think I have learned my lesson. But now what I wish to do is the following: Rather than use a sand filter I would like to get a cartridge filter and of course a new pump since the one I have is beginning to rust. That's a given right now. And I would also like to install a diverter to drain off excess water when it rains. As for a sanitation system I would like to go with Aqua Smarte although I realize it contains silver and limestone. So, I would think BOTH could cause issues although maybe not as bad as with copper. If I go with this (and I haven't made my mind up yet), how do I go about getting rid of the stains without having the mineral system on? And I certainly don't want to go with a SWG. So, my last choice just seems to be a regular chlorine generator.
Also, I was doing some research last night. We have our pool grounded but I was reading about "bonding". Does an above ground pool have to be bonded as well? It just makes me wonder if perhaps that could have caused some stains.
Sorry, I know this is a lot of questions but I am fairly new to attempting to make a switch.
Now, all of this is leading me to believe that I never should have introduced copper in the first place and I think I have learned my lesson. But now what I wish to do is the following: Rather than use a sand filter I would like to get a cartridge filter and of course a new pump since the one I have is beginning to rust. That's a given right now. And I would also like to install a diverter to drain off excess water when it rains. As for a sanitation system I would like to go with Aqua Smarte although I realize it contains silver and limestone. So, I would think BOTH could cause issues although maybe not as bad as with copper. If I go with this (and I haven't made my mind up yet), how do I go about getting rid of the stains without having the mineral system on? And I certainly don't want to go with a SWG. So, my last choice just seems to be a regular chlorine generator.
Also, I was doing some research last night. We have our pool grounded but I was reading about "bonding". Does an above ground pool have to be bonded as well? It just makes me wonder if perhaps that could have caused some stains.
Sorry, I know this is a lot of questions but I am fairly new to attempting to make a switch.