Pool balance and Heavy metals

[BTERRY1]

I have been searching and reading, and my head is spinning. below are my numbers, that to me are just good using the Orenda LSI app on my phone. puts me somewhere around .03 I will get to the metals in a moment. I just had an automated system installed with a CO2 tank that controls my PH and my chlorine. when the guy tested my water he started to freak out about the heavy metal numbers and scaling. he told me to drain my pool and start all over. I want to test my tap / fill water before i do anything rash.

question 1. can scale form with those metal numbers even if the LSI is within check?
question 2. until i can test my fill water, do those sequestering agents sold at pools supply stores really work?
question 3. he said i HAD to get my calcium down, but in the Pool School section it seams that my numbers are ok.
question 4. what is the most logical approach to what i should do next.

FC 3.25
TCL 3.64
CCL 0.39
PH 7.6
ALK 95
HARD 401
CYA 76
Copper 1.1
Iron .4
PHOS 1248
Salt 2810

 

[Texas Splash]

BT, first question I have to ask ...... where are those test results from? They don't appear to be from your K-2006C. As you may know, we are hesitant to advise on test strips or pool store results. That said, let's assume those numbers are accurate for a moment. Here's where my head is at:
- Metals and calcium are two different beasts. Your CH of 400 is nothing. Just fine.
- A copper of 1.1 is a potential nightmare. How did copper get in there? Must've been pool store products, an eroding heater element, or a mineral system. Copper can only be removed by changing water.
- The iron is also elevated. Iron usually comes from a well, although some municipalities do have elevated iron in there as well.
- Iron can sometimes be filtered with polyfill, but copper not so easy. Sequestrants are a band-aid fix and you'll be a slave to those products as long as the metals are in the water.
- Your FC is too low (algae) based on your CYA - see the FC/CYA Levels.

Remember, all of this may not mean much if those are store results since they are usually not accurate. But that's some basic info for you to consider.

 

[BTERRY1]

@Texas Splash - the readings where taken by a Water Link Spintouch device the pool service rep had. I do not appear to have any staining. there is some white coloration around the aggregate in the plaster. it is very even accross the entire pool plaster surface. not particular to any area or look like any metal staining images that i see online. it all started when i added solar heat. I am pretty sure my LSI was low over the winter when i was not monitoring as much with cold water and probably came from the heating element.

 

[Texas Splash]

i was not monitoring as much with cold water and probably came from the heating element.

Ouch, bummer. Well, you are fortunate to not see copper staining as of yet, but that would be my #1 concern (copper). If/when you increase the FC level it might cause more of a reaction, so that's something to lookout for.

 

[BTERRY1]

@Texas Splash thanks for the feedback. Would Orenda's SC-1000 hold me over till i can drain and refill? i would like to hold off on that if possible till winter

 

[Texas Splash]

Orenda has some decent products. You certainly can try. Perhaps plan for a good water exchange at some point in the future when time and weather permit to lower that copper level. Then you should be in much better shape.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I wouldn’t suggest you do anything until you get a proper test kit and test the water yourself. Just because the pool tech used a SpinLink and spit out results with digits of precision doesn’t mean the results are an accurate representation of your pool water. Digital testers, in my opinion, are a step above test strips which are worthless.

The Orenda pool care process places way too much emphasis on saturation balance and makes many mistakes when it comes to pool chemistry. Orenda “borrowed” the idea of FC/CYA balancing after talking to Richard Falk who, for years prior, was the main driving force behind TFP. So Orenda, at best, stands on the shoulders of others … and their entire pool care process is predicated on selling you their own chemicals.

You can certainly choose to stick with Orenda and their advice tends to track with the advice given here but please don’t drain your pool unless you are completely sure you have to. You live in CA where water restrictions and pool draining can be an expensive proposition.

 

[BTERRY1]

I wouldn’t suggest you do anything until you get a proper test kit and test the water yourself. Just because the pool tech used a SpinLink and spit out results with digits of precision doesn’t mean the results are an accurate representation of your pool water. Digital testers, in my opinion, are a step above test strips which are worthless.

The Orenda pool care process places way too much emphasis on saturation balance and makes many mistakes when it comes to pool chemistry. Orenda “borrowed” the idea of FC/CYA balancing after talking to Richard Falk who, for years prior, was the main driving force behind TFP. So Orenda, at best, stands on the shoulders of others … and their entire pool care process is predicated on selling you their own chemicals.

You can certainly choose to stick with Orenda and their advice tends to track with the advice given here but please don’t drain your pool unless you are completely sure you have to. You live in CA where water restrictions and pool draining can be an expensive proposition.

@JoyfulNoise thank you. One thing I have learned is not to react to quick of 1 set of info. Can you recommend a good test kit for hard metals?

 

[JoyfulNoise]

@JoyfulNoise thank you. One thing I have learned is not to react to quick of 1 set of info. Can you recommend a good test kit for hard metals?

There are no cheap or easy test kits for Cu or Fe and both of your numbers are near the bottom range of most visual comparator tests. Only a well calibrated photometer test will give you accurate results and pool stores don’t qualify in that regard. If you really need to know then I would say you’re going to need to send a water sample off to a testing lab that does well water/residential water testing. Those labs have to constantly certify their equipment and processes to stay in compliance with state and federal regulatory policies (ie, they can actually be sued for giving wrong results).

Sorry, metals are a pain to deal with and there’s rarely any cheap or quick solutions.

 

[mknauss]

@JoyfulNoise -- if copper is elevated (enough to cause concern for staining), would taking a bucket of pool water and adding chlorine by very small amounts to see if copper oxidizes a viable test?

 

[JoyfulNoise]

@JoyfulNoise -- if copper is elevated (enough to cause concern for staining), would taking a bucket of pool water and adding chlorine by very small amounts to see if copper oxidizes a viable test?

Probably not. Copper solubility is very complex at pool pH. Adding chlorine to a bucket is not very representative.