Copper in your pool or hot tub is a good thing if it’s in the right range – ideally 0.2ppm to 0.4ppm. But if your copper level goes above 0.4ppm and stays there unchecked, you might start to get water coloration that lead to stains.

First things first, you need a good copper test. Check the expiry date on your test because they are only good for 2-3 years. Also, most test labs at pool stores are only accurate for copper to around 0.5ppm, so they are not good for testing low levels of copper. We recommend these copper test strips.

If you have a mineral system and you find that your copper level has gone above 0.4ppm, it is okay as long as it is under 1.0ppm. However, you are using up your minerals faster than necessary.

Wiith a ClearBlue system, if your copper reading comes in at 0.4ppm – 1.0ppm, set the Maintain (Ion/Action) setting to 00 for 2 weeks and test it again. If it is back in the 0.2ppm to 0.4ppm range, set the controller to the appropriate setting according to the operating manual.

Note: If your copper level keeps increasing when Maintain (Ion/Action) is set to 00, there is something else in your pool or hot tub setup that is causing the copper to increase. This is usually caused by the heater which typically has a copper core. If your heater is old, or the pH on your pool or hot tub has been very high or very low for a period of time, we recommend that you contact your pool or hot tub technician to inspect the heater.

If your copper level is reading higher than 1.0ppm, we recommend using a chelating chemical like The Ionizer Stuff or Orenda SC-1000. These products will help to keep the minerals dissolved which will prevent them from collecting on surfaces.

If your copper is above 2.0ppm, we recommend using a stain & scale (sequestering) chemical to bring it down. This is the only time you should ever use a sequestering agent on a mineral pool. Unfortunately, this chemical will neutralize all new minerals for up to 6 weeks. So it is best to set the Maintain (Ion/Action) setting to 00 on the ClearBlue controller for 6 weeks after adding it so you don’t waste the mineral cell. Also, you must maintain the chlorine at 1ppm to 3ppm during this time.

A sequestering chemical should only be used as a last resort.