Copper in Pool / Sequester Recommendation

May 2, 2017
45
Indiana
My pool has brown stains along with greenish tint all over the pool that I'm trying to get rid of.
These stains have been present since last year, but finally wanting to tackle them.

I am passing the OCLT and have been using the TFP method for over 5 years now.
I have a Taylor K2006C test kit and below are my numbers as of this afternoon:
FC: 6
CC: 0.2
PH: 7.4
TA: 50
CYA: 50

I sanitize with liquid chlorine that I purchase from Walmart.

I haven't been to the pool store since I started with TFP, but looking at past forum posts, it seems the general consensus is they are reliable for testing metals in water.

My pool water tested as 0.3ppm of copper
I then had them test my fill water, which is coming from the city, and it came in at 0.2ppm copper.

The pool has no heater for copper to come from.

Also, no chlorine pucks are being used, nor is algecide being used on a regular basis.

These are the only items that have been added to the pool in the last 5 years: Links to actual product included
- Liquid Chlorine (From Walmart or Home Depot)
- Arm and Hammer Baking Soda
- Borax
- Muriatic Acid
- Algaecide (Used in 2022 when closing the pool for winter)
- Clorox Stabilizer

When I took the water sample to the pool store today, the lady mentioned that the liquid chlorine could contain a trace amount of copper. And I did switch from Home Depot's LC to Walmart's LC about two years ago. But if the liquid chlorine contained the copper, I think other people would be complaining too.

I guess I have three questions.
1. What is the best sequestering agent to use?
2. Has anyone used a filter to try and filter out copper from their fill water?
3. Am I missing anything else that I could try? What am I missing?


NOTE: I have also tried using Magic Jack's Stain ID kit last year, but didn't have much luck at all. Quite simply could have been doing it wrong though.
I have tried the vitamin C tablets as well, and they do help with the greenish tint, but not so much with the brown stain.
 

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Stains that respond to Vitamin C are iron stains.

Liquid chlorine does not contain copper.

You cannot filter out copper. The only way to get copper out fo the pool is to drain the water and refill with copper free water.
 
My pool has brown stains along with greenish tint all over the pool that I'm trying to get rid of.
These stains have been present since last year, but finally wanting to tackle them.

I am passing the OCLT and have been using the TFP method for over 5 years now.
I have a Taylor K2006C test kit and below are my numbers as of this afternoon:
FC: 6
CC: 0.2
PH: 7.4
TA: 50
CYA: 50

I sanitize with liquid chlorine that I purchase from Walmart.

I haven't been to the pool store since I started with TFP, but looking at past forum posts, it seems the general consensus is they are reliable for testing metals in water.

My pool water tested as 0.3ppm of copper
I then had them test my fill water, which is coming from the city, and it came in at 0.2ppm copper.

The pool has no heater for copper to come from.

Also, no chlorine pucks are being used, nor is algecide being used on a regular basis.

These are the only items that have been added to the pool in the last 5 years: Links to actual product included
- Liquid Chlorine (From Walmart or Home Depot)
- Arm and Hammer Baking Soda
- Borax
- Muriatic Acid
- Algaecide (Used in 2022 when closing the pool for winter)
- Clorox Stabilizer

When I took the water sample to the pool store today, the lady mentioned that the liquid chlorine could contain a trace amount of copper. And I did switch from Home Depot's LC to Walmart's LC about two years ago. But if the liquid chlorine contained the copper, I think other people would be complaining too.

I guess I have three questions.
1. What is the best sequestering agent to use?
2. Has anyone used a filter to try and filter out copper from their fill water?
3. Am I missing anything else that I could try? What am I missing?


NOTE: I have also tried using Magic Jack's Stain ID kit last year, but didn't have much luck at all. Quite simply could have been doing it wrong though.
I have tried the vitamin C tablets as well, and they do help with the greenish tint, but not so much with the brown stain.
Note that the copper tests from the pool store typically have an error tolerance of +\- 0.3ppm so if you’re test result is only 0.3ppm AND you haven’t added anything with copper in it to the pool, then you can assume the store test is faulty.
 
the lady mentioned that the liquid chlorine could contain a trace amount of copper
Ridiculous.

I'm not convinced that is copper stains. The accuracy of the copper test is +/-.3. Don't buy it.

You obviously have algae. It is visible in the picture.
If you don't agree, do an overnight chlorine loss test. Link-->Overnight Chlorine Loss Test
You fail, you SLAM. Or just start the SLAM. Link-->SLAM Process
Let's get the pool clear first.

AFTER you SLAM, then let's get to stain ID:

I'm predicting organic stains.
Get the SLAM done, clear the pool, then let's ID properly, then we put a plan in place.
 
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looking at past forum posts, it seems the general consensus is they are reliable for testing metals in water.
We hoped for the best there for years with no other metals testing to compare it to, but they published their tolerances when they launched the at home accublue system a year or two ago and it proves the spin touch system to basically be a random # generator when in range on any parameter.

We'd long known the regular test levels were of little use but it put actual data to back up what we had proven on our own.