A Case for Not Wanting Blue in our Pools!

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bbrock said:
How much copper does 1 puck emit if allowed to fully dissolve?
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bigjohns97 said:
Hey everyone, new to the board and found this thread after reading another about copper warnings.

I have issues keeping my chlorine up and a friend of mine who also has a large pool recommended me the texas blue tablets, after using them i have found that they last twice as long and really keep the water nice and clear but after reading this thread i am worried about what i might be doing long term.

I have had any issues with green hair but haven't really been looking for it either, also looking into the composition of the texas blue tablets it states less than 1% of copper is in the tablet, how long do you think it would take to stain the plaster and has anyone actually had the Clorox products do that to their system?
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The problem is, no one really knows how much copper is being deposited int eh pool water. Heck, the manufacturers don't really even want to admit the copper is there sometimes.

The more insidious problem with tabs is the amount of CYA/stabilizer they contain. Unless you live in an area that has a lot of rainfall to exchange water or drain a lot of water each winter to winterize the pool you will eventually end up with a pool that has over stabilized water. Stabilizer helps shield the chlorine from UV degradation, but at higher levels it also impairs the ability of chlorine to do it's work. The higher the stabilizer level you have the higher the amount of chlorine you need.

bigjohns97, you are new here - We base our pool care system on accurate testing and only adding what the pool needs, when it needs it. Copper is seldom "needed" in a pool.

Chlorine will keep all the bad stuff away when kept at proper levels.

How much Pool School have you read? Start with these:
ABCs of Water Chemistry
Recommended Pool Chemicals
How to Chlorinate Your Pool

So, welcome to TFP!!
 
BigJohns97 Welcome to TFP! Good to have you here :)

Be sure to start a thread sometime, and we can help you get the pool sparkly and easy to care for :)

Usually when people have trouble over time with water clarity, there's free-floating algae in the water. You can't see algae until it's really bad, but while it's still free-floating, it's much easier to kill. We use this test to find out for sure, but you need the right test method, as mentioned above. Overnight Chlorine Loss Test

Thanks for stopping by :)
 
Often we see problems when folks test their copper and its near the 0.3 mark. They come here to TFP and say they have stains all over the pool that they can't identify and want to know what to do about them.

We can advise them about sequestering agents, chelating agents and downright avoidance. Avoidance *always* wins out.

Maddie :flower:
 
Well, Tim5055 and Maddie, I often will throw in the floater of pucks only in the summertime during a vacation period. I still have my pool sitter neighbor (with whom I take turns pool sitting) watch the pool and add chlorine as necessary. I do this so that he doesn't have to come over every day or every other day and pour in chlorine. So, perhaps I will have the floater in maybe up to 2 weeks at a time if that, probably for 2x over the summer (so, up to a month of the year there may be a floater in). Despite this, my CYA still stayed at 30 throughout the swim season.

Are you two making a case for the total non-use of pucks. I believe there is a time/place for their usage such as outlined in my 1st paragraph. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Happy Sat.!
 
bbrock said:
Are you two making a case for the total non-use of pucks. I believe there is a time/place for their usage such as outlined in my 1st paragraph.
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They are making the case for not using any pucks that have "Blue" in their name and likely copper additives. Over time the copper will accumulate in your water and potentially cause staining.

The CYA accumulation pucks cause can be fixed by draining water. Copper staining is much more difficult to fix. Avoidance is the best strategy.
 
Well Maddie, just saw post #11 you made about the Costco product I got some years back. Post was here:
chemicals costco

Basically you stated Clorox responded to you informing that the Xtra Blue line contains copper, whereas the Active 99 line doesn’t.

Well, guess I’m giving things away. I’ll get the Active line to help my neighbor with pool sitting.
 
If the manufacturer includes secret ingredients, there is no fit with TFPC.

A fundamental principle is to only add things that are needed. So plain trichlor pucks are fine for vacation and for raising CYA at the same time as FC, and sometimes holding pH down, when needed and understood.
 
While not a sure thing, the word blue in the name of a product raises the hair on my neck that it contains copper.

bbrock,

Your use of tabs is exactly what I think they are designed for. Short term chlorination of the pool when no other easier method is available.

Even with a Stenner pump adding chlorine every day I have been known to toss a couple of floaters with pucks in the pool to keep chlorine in the water should a failure with the Stenner occur. I always like a,little headroom in my CYA to use pucks for a,while should the need arise.

But, this is what both accurate and regular testing combined with the knowledge of what each product adds to the pool does for you. Too many people blindly trust sales folks at pool stores. Several times each season we have someone show up who say that dank keep their chlorine level up, only to find that the pool,store sold them an ammonia based algacide. For each ppm ammonia in the water it takes about 10ppm chlorine to eliminate it.

Knowledge is power
 
Good points Needsajet and Tim.

Well, given this and the fact that there are some secret ingredients in the bucket of extra blue pucks I have, I’m going to give them away or dispose them at the household hazardous waste facility. What a waste of money because there are so many pucks left. However, needlessly dumping unknown pool store chemicals in the pool is a much bigger waste of money.

So, to cover for vacations, I’ll probably by the Active99 by Clorox, or another brand’s non-blue/copper ingredient pucks. Any recommendations?

I noted that In The Swim has a well reviewed product:
3 Inch Pool Chlorine Tablets - Pool Sanitizer - In The Swim

I still have to contact them to ensure there is no copper.
 

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Since you’re a moderator Tim, my post number 29 should come after your post number 30.

Did not know I needed to reply after the latest post for it to be placed appropriately.

I just was in an online chat with a rep from In The Swim. The rep confirmed for me that their tablets do not contain copper. She emailed me the MSDS sheets so I am going to read that myself as well.
 
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