Copper

[Eauclaire]

Moved from here.

 

[Donldson]

The Canadian company now has its own bilingual website : https://www.crystalplus.ca/en/
Lots of reviews and a FAQ, and 90+ reviews on Costco.ca
Not sure it is available outside Canada, as there is only a Health Canada registration number on the packaging.

Not sure why you felt this 5 year old thread on a product we 100% do not recommend needed an update... But ok:

Contains copper. Do not use this product. Internet reviews are worthless and more often than not are either paid for or made by people with little to no water chemistry knowledge. Hope it isn't available outside of Canada so less people mess up their pools by using this product.

Anything I missed?

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Copper sucks. Folks buy into this magic for pools and soon regret it when the staining and green hair start. Then they come to us for a fix.

Maddie

 

[Eauclaire]

 

[Pv2]

Crystalplus is not useful against bacteria and does not replace the use of cleaning products (chlorine or bromine) but improves their efficiency thus decreases their use.​

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Its copper..... and we never recommend copper.

 

[Eauclaire]

Deleted due to lack of interest in trace metal biogeochemistry in residential pools.

 

[Bperry]

I use a solar ‘blue bubble’ blanket continuously on my pool when not swimming, because my pool is surrounded by vegetation and because I am obsessed with heat retention as I live ‘up north’. Algae begin proliferating on pool surfaces in quiescent zones because of reduced circulation and scouring in the presence of the blanket. I detect ‘algal presence’ by foot shuffling in the shallow end and looking for a biofilm; otherwise the water appears quite clear. Slamming, following the the CYA:FC relationship efficiently removes the algae and dissolved organic material and the biofilm disappears. I begin to reuse my solar blanket, but within 72 hours, the biofilm returns, another slam and the cycle repeats.. Thus, my solar blanket is a continuous source of organic matter and algal inocula! My swimming season is short (12-16 weeks), and to allow time to enjoy my pool, rather than slamming, I had resorted to ‘mini-slams’ where the target FC is half of the CYA:FC slam values. While the biofilm is controlled, it still has to be vacuumed and the chlorine demand is very unpredictable and requires frequent checking and adjustment.

So I decided to try Crystalplus, after reading the testimonials and calculating from the manufacturer’s specifications that the nominal Cu dissolved concentration is 80 ppb. My pool water is soft (Great lakes/St Lawrence River water), and this Cu concentration is too low to induce copper mineral precipitation. The weekly suggested dosages of 20g/10000 L, between backwashes, are quite small. To be on the safe side, I initially added half; about three tablespoons to my 42000 L pool. Within 48 hours, my pool was so clear, I could see minor defects in my bottom pool liner that were invisible before, no trace of a biofilm, and unusually smooth pool surfaces. I backwash my sand filter every month, so other than adding chlorine, I made no further additions for 30 days, and the pool remained clear, with no evidence of a biofilm, even after weeks of solar blanket use. However, the most spectacular result is how chlorine demand has dropped, and become as reproducible over time as a Swiss timepiece.

At this point, as a retired academic aquatic biogeochemist, I would not recommend this product to my ‘best friend’ until I can carry out a complete mass balance of the Cu load, and determine that it is indeed all being backwashed. Ideally, chemical equilibrium modelling would be required to determine the upper limit in water hardness or ionic strength where this product could be used safely, without the formation of copper minerals.

Tentatively, , this product acts as an ‘organic matter scavenger coupled with a pool surface conditioner’ which inhibits biofilm attachment. It does not replace a disinfectant, but you may forget you need it.

Your solar blanket may have algae on it and that’s why when you put it back on, the algae starts growing in the water again. Algae can’t grow if there’s enough chlorine in the water in the first place.

 

[Donldson]

My swimming season is short (12-16 weeks), and to allow time to enjoy my pool, rather than slamming, I had resorted to ‘mini-slams’ where the target FC is half of the CYA:FC slam values.

This is complete nonsense. If you have algae, you perform the SLAM Process correctly, fully, and to completion.

If you took the time you're spending looking for any and every shortcut and instead spent it properly caring for your water you'd have plenty of time to enjoy your pool.