I have tested the water and the Alkalinity/PH of the pool seems good, but Chlorine reports almost zero. Is it okay to supplement with chlorine? My pool inspector said he would install a Hayward CL200 right away and do away with the ionized system.
New home/pool owner here....WTH is copper ionized pool system?
- Thread starter JohnnyRotten
- Start date
Hey JR and welcome !!
An ionizer system puts metals into the water (usually copper) to inhibit algae growth. For the most part It does in fact do what it is supposed to do, but it does nothing to sanitize the water. Person to person bacteria’s are the most common health issue in pools followed by a slew of other nasties. Algae itself is not one of them. It is a visual problem not a health problem. *Having algae* however means that your sanitizing is not working properly which opens up the doors for everything else. To only stop the algae from growing without actually sanitizing anything is kinda backwards. If you are properly sanitized, there will be no need for ionizers and no algae.
The copper in those systems will stain surfaces and people (Green hair) and my family got rashy when we were exposed to it. Most likely from whatever nasties were in the water
An ionizer system puts metals into the water (usually copper) to inhibit algae growth. For the most part It does in fact do what it is supposed to do, but it does nothing to sanitize the water. Person to person bacteria’s are the most common health issue in pools followed by a slew of other nasties. Algae itself is not one of them. It is a visual problem not a health problem. *Having algae* however means that your sanitizing is not working properly which opens up the doors for everything else. To only stop the algae from growing without actually sanitizing anything is kinda backwards. If you are properly sanitized, there will be no need for ionizers and no algae.
The copper in those systems will stain surfaces and people (Green hair) and my family got rashy when we were exposed to it. Most likely from whatever nasties were in the water
- Jun 1, 2018
- 13,933
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Don’t know your set up but pucks are frowned upon here for daily chlorination - if you’re looking for automatic chlorine production u should put a swg in that spot if u can swing the cost.
Here’s some light reading to get u started on the right pathABCs of Pool Water Chemistry
www.troublefreepool.com
Here’s some light reading to get u started on the right pathABCs of Pool Water Chemistry
How to Chlorinate Your Pool
Before chlorinating your pool, you should know these simple tips. Learn the best way to add chlorine to your pool.
www.troublefreepool.com
Welcome! 
There is no denying that copper is a great algaecide. The problem is, it doesn't kill viruses and bacteria fast enough so you still need chlorine to keep from spreading infections between swimmers. And high enough levels of chlorine to kill bacteria are also high enough to kill algae. So you gain nothing from the copper, And copper levels build and build over time, eventually leading to staining of the pool walls and green hair and fingernails on the swimmers. So lose the ion generator.
An automatic chlorinator using pucks is really convenient for a while. But pucks are about half chlorine and half CYA. The problem is that the chlorine gets depleted while the CYA stays and builds up. Which means you need higher chlorine levels. Which adds more CYA if you add it using pucks. This spiral ends up ending with either a green pool that won't clear or a proactive pool store which, after selling you lots and lots of stuff to add to the water, tells you the pool is suffering from high Total Dissolved Solids and needs to be drained. Draining would end up as part of the solution to a green pool, too.
So... if you don't feel like lugging jugs of chlorine bleach around but would rather have things somewhat automated, you're pretty much left with a Saltwater Chlorine Generator. It creates bleach using the same process that Chlorox does, but on a much smaller scale and right there by the side of the pool instead of at a distant factory. I am a jug-dumper but if I ever have to saw into my plumbing to replace anything, you can be sure that I'll be installing a SWG.
Browse around the site. Read some of pool school, especially ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry and Test Kits Compared
There is no denying that copper is a great algaecide. The problem is, it doesn't kill viruses and bacteria fast enough so you still need chlorine to keep from spreading infections between swimmers. And high enough levels of chlorine to kill bacteria are also high enough to kill algae. So you gain nothing from the copper, And copper levels build and build over time, eventually leading to staining of the pool walls and green hair and fingernails on the swimmers. So lose the ion generator.
An automatic chlorinator using pucks is really convenient for a while. But pucks are about half chlorine and half CYA. The problem is that the chlorine gets depleted while the CYA stays and builds up. Which means you need higher chlorine levels. Which adds more CYA if you add it using pucks. This spiral ends up ending with either a green pool that won't clear or a proactive pool store which, after selling you lots and lots of stuff to add to the water, tells you the pool is suffering from high Total Dissolved Solids and needs to be drained. Draining would end up as part of the solution to a green pool, too.
So... if you don't feel like lugging jugs of chlorine bleach around but would rather have things somewhat automated, you're pretty much left with a Saltwater Chlorine Generator. It creates bleach using the same process that Chlorox does, but on a much smaller scale and right there by the side of the pool instead of at a distant factory. I am a jug-dumper but if I ever have to saw into my plumbing to replace anything, you can be sure that I'll be installing a SWG.
Browse around the site. Read some of pool school, especially ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry and Test Kits Compared