Copyright ©2010 Crystalline Pool System All rights
P.O. Box 729, Glendora, CA, USA 91741
Tel. 424-781-0433
Tel. 904-687-4641
Here are the most asked questions. If your specific question is not answered here, please call or email us and we will answer you promptly.
Click on any question for a direct link to its answer:
5. Is Crystalline Pool System compatible with any form of chlorine, such as liquid, granular or solid pucks?
7. Will Crystalline Pool System keep the water balanced in terms of pH and how important is it to check that?
17. What is so special about the “pentahydrated” copper sulfate contained in Crystalline Pool System?
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A.: Switching to Crystalline Pool System is very easy! For the first week, keep chlorine at its usual level and stop using any other products. The important point to remember is to get alkalinity and pH levels balanced. Alkalinity must be between 100 and 120 ppm. Maintain the pH level between 7.2 and 7.8 (these are normal ranges for all swimming pool water).
Once that is achieved, two days after you’ve stopped using other products, just perform a backwash and then pour the first weekly dose into the skimmer. Gradually decrease the chlorine concentration, in the course of two weeks, from the usual 1.5 ppm until 0.8 ppm is reached.
You should never have to use any other product except for Crystalline Pool System and a little bit of chlorine to maintain that concentration at 0.8 ppm.
A.: See “Pool Closing” on the “Using Crystalline” page under the “How it Works” tab at the top of this website.
A.: Chlorine should be applied as needed. Remember that the concentration we aim for is 0.8 ppm, so the amount required is considerably lower than usual. With Crystalline Pool System, the chlorine is easier to maintain due to the stability of the product.
A.: For residential pools, the most practical method of monitoring chlorine concentration is to use small and inexpensive test kits available at any hardware store or pool dealer. Those consist of either a small test strips or a liquid reagents (in droplets) which indicate levels of the water’s parameters. Make sure, however, to renew your liquid reagents yearly as they lose their efficiency with time.
Q5.: Is Crystalline Pool System compatible with any form of chlorine, such as liquid, granular or solid pucks?
A.: Yes, Crystalline Pool System is totally compatible with any form of chlorine. However, it is not necessary to use stabilized chlorine, as long as you maintain the chlorine level at 0.8ppm. Depending on the chlorine’s potency (liquid, granular or solid), the quantity needed will vary.
If you use solid pucks with an automatic chlorine dispenser, just set the dispenser’s flow at to the lowest level.
A.: Yes, Crystalline Pool System is totally compatible with bromine or any other similar disinfectant, as well as salt water systems. Remember that one essential function of Crystalline Pool System is to optimize the efficiency of the disinfectant, which reduces the amount of it required to kill bacteria.
Q7.: Will Crystalline Pool System keep the water balanced in terms of pH and how important is it to check that?
A.: In normal water (alkalinity between 100 and 120 ppm), Crystalline Pool System will, most of the time, keep the pH level between 7.2 and 7.8. Crystalline Pool System’s efficiency is not particularly sensitive to pH variations. However, it is good practice to monitor its level from time to time since a low pH will make for corrosive water and a high pH will cause the water to be scaling.
Once the pH has been brought within the correct range (at pool start-up, for example), Crystalline Pool System will work at keeping that pH stable, under normal conditions.
A.: It will not. Crystalline Pool System does many things but it doesn’t do that. It doesn’t work in pea soup or very abnormal water. In order to get the full benefit of the product, the water’s alkalinity has to be at a normal level ( between 100-120ppm). We recommend doing this at the beginning of the season. Occasional adverse conditions, such as acid rain or frequently refilling the pool with unbalanced water, will affect the water’s alkalinity level. It might then become necessary to readjust it to a normal level. A good practice is to check it weekly.
Note: No matter which sanitizing method is used, any product, including chlorine, will not provide good results in water that is unbalanced.
A.: Absolutely!!! One of the ingredients contained in Crystalline Pool System is pentahydrated copper sulfate, a powerful algaecide which eradicates algae at the source. Thus, under normal water conditions and at the recommended product dosage, the pool will always be free of algae. And since there is no algae, less chlorine is needed in the water.
A.: No. You definitely do not need any algaecide in the pool. Just add your weekly dose of Crystalline Pool System, as it prevents algae.
A.: Generally no. In most cases, you do not need any other product in the pool except for a little bit of chlorine along with Crystalline Pool System. The exception will occur when you have very abnormal water and operating conditions. For example, the occurrence of heavy acid rain or refilling the pool with water that has an alkalinity level that’s way out of line. In those cases, the water must be rebalanced with adequate products.
A.: See the “Using Crystalline” page under the “How it Works” tab at the top of this website.
A.: Yes, Crystalline Pool System is completely compatible with pool water heaters of all kinds. The product does not affect,in any way, heaters or any other type of mechanical equipment. Damage to heaters, liner and equipment comes from corrosive water (acid water) or water that is too alkaline (scaling). A high concentration of chlorine is also a factor of liner and equipment excessive wear.
A.: The required weekly dose of Crystalline Pool System is proportional to the volume of the pool. The amount needed is 4 grams per 2,200 gallons (10,000 litres) of water per week. For example, a 13,200 gallon (60,000 litres) pool will need 24 grams of Crystalline Pool System per week. Look on the website under “Dosage” in the “How it Works” tab, or call the toll-free technical support number at 1-888-478-4430.
A.: Nothing, if the water is normally balanced (alkalinity between 100 and 120 ppm, pH between 7.2 and 7.8). However, if your water is off balance, especially if it is too acidic and the pH is too low, you run the risk of getting stains on bottom and walls of the pool. You also run the risk of seeing the water turn green. This would be caused by the acid water which reacts with the copper sulfate. If the water does turn green, increase the chlorine level and use a metal remover available at most pool supplies dealers.
On the contrary, if the water is too alkaline and the pH is too high, you run the risk of getting metal deposits.
If you have the misfortune of dropping the entire jar into the pool, just make sure to keep the water balanced in order to avoid problems. In addition, repeated backwashes will gradually adjust the concentration
Nevertheless, such an event represents no danger or prevents swimming in the pool again immediately.
For additional questions, please contact our toll-free technical support number at 1-888-478-4430
A.: Crystalline Pool System is entirely safe for all when used according to the instructions provided with the product. As with any pool maintenance product, it is not to be ingested, although a fairly large amount of Crystalline Pool System would have to be swallowed in order to be seriously harmful.
Crystalline Pool System has received the Gold Seal of Approval from the EPA, and officially approved for use by the government health authorities of Canada (Health Canada, 1996), United States (U.S. EPA, 1998) and Switzerland (Switzerland Federal Office of Public Health, 1999). Those approvals certify the product’s efficiency and safety.
Q17.: What is so special about the “pentahydrated” copper sulfate contained in Crystalline Pool System?
A.: The copper sulfate contained in Crystalline Pool System is not just any copper sulfate: it is “pentahydrated”. This chemical characteristic allows it to provide chlorine with the necessary ions to instantly transform it into a potent bactericide. This is how Crystalline Pool System reduces the amount of disinfectant required in the water.
Copper sulfate has been used in algae control for decades. It has however, no bactericide properties by itself. Pool water always needs a disinfectant to control bacteria and chlorine is widely used for that purpose.
A.: The amount of copper sulfate contained in a dose of Crystalline Pool System has just enough of it to do its job during one week but not enough to create surpluses or accumulation. That amount is so small that there is no possibility of creating deposits. When Crystalline Pool System is used at the recommended dosage, the amount of copper remaining in the water is so minute that it is of no concern. In fact, that amount is equivalent to 0.01 gr. per 10,000 litres of water.
A.: At the concentration mentioned in the previous question, copper sulfate by itself will not have any direct effect on the pool, the liner or the mechanical equipment. The concentration is simply too minute.
A.: No direct link between Crystalline Pool System and hair color changes can be established. In fact, hair has been changing color and bleaching in pools well before Crystalline Pool System appeared on the marketplace. Hair discoloration has been noted, for instance, in pools containing high concentrations of chlorine.
A.: Crystalline Pool System does not cause any stains in a pool. Stains have existed in pools long before consumers started to use Crystalline Pool System.
Stains in a pool have two major causes: algae and metal oxidation. Water that is out of balance will provide favorable grounds for those problems to occur. Ineffective chlorine due to unbalanced pH allows algae growth. Water that is too acid will cause the oxidation of metallic particles in suspension which will then become embedded into the liner showing the usual “rust” color. Sometimes, a different stain color could show up depending on the nature and concentration of the metals present in the water.
A.: We know that if stains have appeared, it is definitely because the water is off balance. It is therefore imperative to bring alkalinity and pH levels to their respective proper level. Only then can you start thinking about how to remove the stains.
One way to get rid of a stain is, first, to shock the pool with chlorine. Second, you can deposit on top of the stain a solid puck of chlorine or a bag of granular chlorine (preferably sodium hypochlorite). You just leave it there until the stain has disappeared. The bag or the puck can then be moved to another stained spot. Continue the process until the entire pool is free of stains.
A.: No. It is absolutely impossible that Crystalline Pool System block conventional sand filters. In the case of D.E. (diatomaceous earth) filters, the application method is different. There is no filter clogging if applied as recommended by the distributor. Once applied into the pool, the product will dissolve and keep recirculating through the filtration system. It will remain effective for seven days.
A.: As any pool chemical, Crystalline Pool System is toxic by definition, although it will be harmful only if one swallows a large quantity of it, i.e. 250 gr. (almost the entire jar). It cannot be toxic when used in a pool because of its minute concentration. At the recommended dosage, even if you were to swallow two gallons of pool water it would have no effect whatsoever.
FAQs
