Metal (Iron & Copper) Levels - what to do

[MasterTinkerer]

I took some water to the local hardware for testing because I was needing some CYA anyway & I was curious to see how close their results match mine as well (using the TF100). On a side note - I really despise the CYA test... I never feel like I can be accurate with it.

Results were right on track, but I was surprised to see Iron and Copper levels of 0.56 and 0.45 ppm respectively


This led me to wonder...
if it's important, why isn't it part of the test kit?

Are these levels high enough that I need to do something?

What are my possible countermeasures? Of course, they want me to buy their chemicals, but I'm not inclined to do so.

I do have slight stains on the vinyl liner, but so minimal that I don't really care

 

[Richard320]

That test is wrong.

The formula is FC + CC = TC.

How can you have -1.3 CC?? The lowest it can go is zero. Total chlorine cannot be less than Free chlorine.

So if the simplest test is wrong, how confident can you be about the rest?

If you're filling from a well, or if you've ever used copper algaecides, or bought into one of those miracle mineral ionizing systems, you could well have metals. As high as they say? No. Your hair and fingernails would be turning green.

 

[MasterTinkerer]

That test is wrong.

The formula is FC + CC = TC.

How can you have -1.3 CC?? The lowest it can go is zero. Total chlorine cannot be less than Free chlorine.

So if the simplest test is wrong, how confident can you be about the rest?

If you're filling from a well, or if you've ever used copper algaecides, or bought into one of those miracle mineral ionizing systems, you could well have metals. As high as they say? No. Your hair and fingernails would be turning green.

Yeah. I rationalized the chlorine results because the numbers add up... 1.3 + 1.1 = 2.4. The signage and headers just appear to be wrong. Other results exactly match my mine.

I've not used any of those products. But this is my first full year with the pool. The previous owners had a "pool man", so who knows what he's added to it. The CYA was off the chart the first time I checked. Replaced about 50% of the water over the winter in order to fix a leak in the light.

 

[MasterTinkerer]

Forgot to mention it's municipal water

 

[Richard320]

Trust your own testing.

And if your results are anything close to theirs, you're low on FC. [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]

 

[MasterTinkerer]

Trust your own testing.

And if your results are anything close to theirs, you're low on FC. [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]

Yup... made me say "oh heck "

But my questions still stand. Should I be concerned over 0.5 ppm readings? And if it's important why don't we test for it and talk about it more often? I was kind of surprised that I was surprised. I've done very well in getting the water to the proper chemistry as recommended here. So seeing something on the test that was out of range was not what I expected. Let alone something I don't even test for.

 

[Richard320]

We don't routinely test for metals because most people fill their pools from a municipal water system that removes metals from drinking water. And people who fill from a well are probably already painfully aware that they have metals in the water just from the stains in the toilet tank.

In case you haven't been reading the forums much, you probably don't realize that it's really hard to convince people to even pony up for a K2006 test kit at $50 let alone a metal test at $80. That $80 could be better spent on pool toys and beer since so few people actually have a metal problem.