Do I need to deal with Copper first?

[Wntrequinx]

I'm pretty sure that my copper is currently at 0.3 or 0.4 (drained and refilled partially to lower it from 0.6), and I'm planning on sequestering it if it causes problems, but only of i have to.

I can't test copper myself, but if I need to i can have Leslie's check it...

My current stats are:
FC 6
CC 0.5
pH 7.5
TA 105 (turned gray at 10 drops and pink at 11)
CH 140
CYA 50

FC might be 7, I can't remember if it was 12 or 14 drops because I forgot to write it down until I'd started the CC... I remembered it was even, just not which one...

Should I fix the copper before messing with acid for lowering the pH?

 

[zea3]

Do you currently have any copper staining? I would replace more water and get the copper as low as possible. The lower it is the easier it will be to manage. If you decide to drain, get rid of stains first then drain and replace water.
If you decide to manage at current levels keep the pH low, around 7.0-7.2 and you will need to add sequestrant monthly. Don't worry about the TA level unless pH is unstable.

 

[Wntrequinx]

No copper staining, and the liner is trash so I don't care if it does stain. It needs to be replaced next year anyway.

Right now the pH is higher, should I add acid then to lower the pH?

Does pH generally change on it's own from chlorine/normal reactions of the chlorine working?

 

[Wntrequinx]

Related question - can I intentionally mess with the pH to *encourage* it to stain the liner? I'd much rather have some ugly stains on the liner and a nice, reasonable copper level in the water without sequestration.

My liner is basically trash as it is, and I don't care if it looks a little bad if it means I don't have to pay $50 a month for sequestration chemicals and no one's fingernails or hair turn colors.

Here's a picture of the big wrinkle in the liner that goes all the way around the side of the pool and ranges from 1/4" out from the wall to what looks like 2+" at spots.

My assumption is they installed the liner wrong, or drained the pool and left it at a low level and the liner wrinkled at the water line.

 

[Wntrequinx]

This is it today from the upstairs window...

And the wrinkles as they are today from up close...

 

[zea3]

If you run your pH high and the chlorine high the copper may come out of solution. Liner wrinkles like the ones you have are usually from pH that is too low over a period of time. An addition of chlorine will temporarily raise pH. If you keep the pH between 7.0 and 7.8 it is in swimmable range, so 7.5 is fine.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Do you know how the copper got in the water?

 

[Bperry]

Is that copper on the walls? It looks like algae.

 

[Wntrequinx]

It's dead algae on the walls. The copper got in when I stupidly added extra algaecide that had copper in it.

 

[Wntrequinx]

I plan to get in the pool tomorrow (supposed to be 90 degrees) and vacuum the remaining clusters of dead algae and clean off the wrinkles. I wasn't especially comfortable brushing the wrinkles before I could see them, and even now I'd rather take a cloth to them, to make sure I don't destroy the folds in liner with the brush.

 

[Wntrequinx]

It's dead algae on the walls. The copper got in when I stupidly added extra algaecide that had copper in it.

The sellers didn't close the pool correctly (0 chlorine when I opened it, most of the chlorine was still in the improperly set up dispensers still - they punched out the holes in them but then put the cap back on...), and it looked like this:

 

[Wntrequinx]

Also, it doesn't show very much, but the bottom of the pool liner is bleached totally white, except for the spot that was under the stairs. I assume it was from bad chemical balance + sunlight. Here is the wierd hole/depression with a patch near the skimmer:

The water is bluish now from that stupid algaecide, but at least its a really pretty shade of aqua... right?

 

[Flying Tivo]

If your water is cheep, i rather have you completely drain and fix wrinkles. A fresh start is always better.

 

[Wntrequinx]

Fix the wrinkles? How would that get done?

 

[Flying Tivo]

When empty the liner can be moved. Rather you do it on a sunny day so the vinyl is more playable.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=removing+wrinkles+above+ground+pool

 

[Wntrequinx]

Is that really a good idea if the liner is so bad? I'm not even sure the walls will stay up if we drained it all the way.

 

[Flying Tivo]

You need to consider all those factors.

 

[zea3]

I think this liner is too damaged to risk resetting. It has both vertical and horizontal wrinkles in the walls and it is probably a beaded liner, not an overlap.

 

[Wntrequinx]

Thanks, I had been thinking the same thing (due to pessimism of how fixing it might go poorly for us). For now,, I'd rather make do this year with a functional if not pretty pool to see if maintaining it is feasible for us, and if we actually will use it enough to make it worth putting the time and money in next year.

The liner and filter get replaced next year if we like it.

 

[Wntrequinx]

In case anyone is curious, I got in it yesterday and scrubbed the walls and most of the spots on the floor (which are just divots holding dead algae that my filter vacuum can't pull up). This is it today. I still need to manually wipe the last of the algae off the wrinkles with a cloth, but that's going to have to wait until the water is warmer...

Thanks everyone for your comments on this!