ECOsmarte blog

OK - so the blue in the ears, on the Q-Tips..true or untrue? We're about to sign a contract for a new pool with an EcoSmarte system. I hate the idea of swimming in chemicals, so it sounds like a great deal. But blue ears?? Makes me wonder what is going to be getting into our bodies when we swim.

Can you elaborate on the 'blue ear' comment?

Thanks for visiting the blog, em. Here's the story with the blue ears.

First of all, a balanced pool with the correct level of copper and the recommended pH will not cause blue/green anything.

If the copper level is extremely high in the pool, you can get blue/green ears, fingernails, toenails or hair. Keeping the copper level in the recommended parameters is important, and not just a suggestion. Some people think that if a little bit of copper is good, a lot would keep the pool even cleaner, so they let the copper levels get way too high. I have also seen this happen accidentally when a customer who has the non-programmable system forgot to turn the copper ionization off. He has a small pool and left it on for a few days when it was only supposed to be on for a few hours once a week.

The only other way this can happen is if someone puts chlorine in the pool, which can precipitate out the copper. It is important to use only approved products in an ECOsmarte pool - when in doubt call the 800 number and ask.

What will be getting into your body with an ECOsmarte pool? A little bit of copper...emphasis on the word little, here. If you drank 2 gallons of your pool water (which we would never recommend), you would just reach your recommended daily amount of copper. The more important question would be what is not getting into your body?

Trihalomethanes and Chloramines; Chlorine disinfection by-products I am pretty sure are able to be absorbed through your skin. Cyanuric acid, which can irritate the skin, eyes, respiratory system and digestive tract. And that's just the start - depends what your pool service decides to throw in your pool that week...

Many people are so concerned about drinking clean water without toxic disinfection by-products in it, then they go jump in a pool that is filled with them. Or they take a shower with tap water, which amounts to the same thing.

You will love your ECOsmarte pool. There is absolutely nothing like swimming in chlorine-free water. Your hair, skin, eyes, dogs and swimsuits will all be happier!

hi wendy was wondering if our eco-smarte system would remove the malathion and other pesticide/herbicides in our water?

(as i am sure you know, there is a lot being sprayed in matilija
canyon. dead toads and fishes and other animals higher up the
chain. so dumb!) (i lived through the massive spraying in LA)

p.lyn

Hi P.Lyn,

Malathion is an insecticide, an organophosphate. What they are spraying in Matilija canyon for the arundo eradication is “Rodeo”, also an organophosphate. It is a form of Round-up, which is an herbicide and the active ingredient is Glyphosate. Here is more information about what they are doing.

The removal guidelines for your an ECOsmarte Water Home filtration system.offer the best available removal of both pesticides and herbicides.

Here is the link to the MSDS sheet for Rodeo.
Rest assured - you have the best possible filter to make sure these things do not end up in your drinking water!

I like my Ecosmarte System, but the titanium electrodes don't last forever. One of my titanium electrodes has dissolved away after 7 years of use. I'm also going to need to replace my copper electrodes for the 2nd time at the end of summer.

Thanks for letting us know you like your system, Anthony! I would love to hear more from the happy people!

As far as replacing your copper electrodes, sounds like you are right on schedule - they should last you 3 - 5 years.

I called corporate and asked the guys about the titanium electrodes. They have had this experience only twice before in all the years of ECOsmarte (14 or so). Guess you are number 3 (in over 10,000 systems). Once was a system where part of each day the water was not flowing through the chamber but the oxygen electrodes were "on" - getting power and producing oxidation. This will actually create a bubble of oxygen and strong oxidation action which can indeed, over many years, erode away the titanium.

The other possibility is cleaning your chamber often with straight muriatic acid instead of 1 part acid and 3 parts water - this will eventually eat away at the electrodes as well. I'm thinking that if it's only one of the electrodes - that theory wouldn't hold up.

Thanks for visiting the blog!

We are moving to a home with ‎very high lead and iron levels as well as very hard water. I am looking for a water filtration/softener system that does not use salt, but I don't want to read reviews on a company website. I think it will be biased. I am not having much luck locating a site that has a lot of good information. For the water filtration system, I am only finding filters that deal with iron. I need one that deals with lead as well. Would the same filter work for both. Our water also has a high sulfur content as it smells like rotten eggs. What are your suggestions?

Thanks,
Pam

Lead, Lead, Lead....Okay – prepare yourself for lots of information.
Lead removal is not simple. The only surefire ways to completely remove lead are reverse osmosis or distillation, and another method I came across in my research which I am not very familiar with called “activated alumina”. If your lead levels are already above the action level of 15 micrograms, you may need one of these options just for drinking, no matter what you decide for the rest of your home. Reverse Osmosis will also remove the iron, but is normally a point of use application (under the kitchen sink) as opposed to whole house filtration. Distillation has a very limited output. From what I have been able to find out about the activated alumina, it will remove lead, arsenic and (yay) fluoride, but does not do anything to remove any other contaminants, specifically chlorine or disinfection by-products....

Wendy, If you are using the system excessively (watering outside) can you cause the water pressure to be reduced? I have been having a problem with my water pressure, when I bypass the backwashing system my water pressure problem goes away. I have installed a lot of new grass and have had the sprinklers going crazy outside. Is there something wrong with the backwash part of my system or am I overworking it? Joe

Hi Joe,
Thanks for visiting the blog. Our water systems are specifically designed to make sure you do not have problems with water flow - so something is not quite right here.

When you say "when I bypass the backwashing system" do you mean that you are bypassing the filtration system? Do you mean that you are turning the valve at the back of the head on top of the tank to the position that says "bypass"? If the answer is yes, that could indicate an undersized system for your level of water use, or a problem with the media.

Questions I need answers to to determine your problem:
Well water or municipal?
To make sure your unit was sized correctly for your level of water usage, how many sq ft of home, how many people live there, how many bathrooms and how much outside irrigation (in acres)?
Diameter of incoming pipe?
GPM flow rate? (you can determine this by taking a 5 gallon bucket and using a hose nearest your incoming water line, see how long it takes to fill up the bucket and do the math)
How old is the system? (It might be time to replace the media)
Have you installed significantly more landscaping/sprinklers since purchasing the system?

These answers will help me figure out what the problem is.

Let me know! (And if you want answers immediately - you can always call 1-800-466-7946 and talk to the answer guys at corporate)

Wendy

We're building a house and setting up a new pool that is a fiberglass inground pool. It holds about 22,000 gal. Our water in a pool in the same general area seems always to have a rather high ph - I'd say 7.8 - 8.2. When the ph needs to be lowered it requires Muriatic Acid. If you use that to lower the ph then you're adding things that I understand should not be used with the copper. We also have a Prozone Ozonator to install when we set up the pool. which I think eliminates the need for large amounts of chlorine. So my question is will this work for us? Thanks, Eileen

Hello Eileen,
Thanks for visiting the blog. First let me answer your question about the compatibility of muriatic acid with our copper ionization system - there is no problem there. Since the pH of an ECOsmarte pool needs to stay between 6.8 and 7.2, you will need to use a pH reducer. Muriatic acid is the most common one, and although it is nasty stuff (it is an acid) and you must be careful using it, once you put it in the pool it adjusts the pH and does not leave any kind of toxic by-product that I am aware of. Muriatic acid is completely compatible with the ECOsmarte pool system. (Chlorine is not compatible - but that's another story.)

Another choice for pH adjustment is to use CO2 gas, which is the pH reduction mechanism used by our top of the line fully programmable pool system. CO2 gas is bubbled into the water for set amounts of time every day and keeps the pH where it needs to be - all fully automated. And CO2 gas is not as touchy to handle as acid, obviously.

As far as the Ozonator you mention - we do not recommend combining our system with any other - ECOsmarte eliminates the need for chlorine, bromine, and ozone. The oxidation produced in the ECOsmarte chamber will take care of your organic materials and the copper ions will be your residual; what stays in the water killing bad things. An ECOsmarte system will work fine for your pool - you do not need the ozone.

Typically, ozone pools need to run 24/7 because the oxidation is only temporary - there is no residual killing agent. That is why ozone pools are chlorine reduction pools - not chlorine free. As I mentioned above - chlorine is incompatible with an ECOsmarte pool...and you will be thrilled to swim in a truly chlorine-free pool - it is heaven!

why do you have to use pea gravel. i believe my installers did not use the gravel , but just used the glass media???thanks in advance

I believe pea gravel is used to ensure the stability of the media base and prevent channeling of the media. The pea gravel covers what are called the "laterals" in the filter - sort of arms that fan out and feed the water into the bottom of the filter. Pea gravel is heavier and more stable and will allow the flow of the water to occur without channeling of the glass media.

Wendy: Regarding C02 usage for PH control, how long does an average canister of C02 last? Do your local dealers refill the cartridges or are you required to find your own source? Additionally, is there any disadvantage to using C02??

Wow, the mailbag is pumping lately - probably because it's pool season...

Michael,
It will vary in relation to pool size and environmental factors, but in my experience, a 25 lb cannister of CO2 lasts about 3 weeks to a month for a 40K gallon pool. Your local dealers should have a referral to a CO2 supply place in your area, but you (or your pool maintenance person) will need to change out the tanks and take them to be refilled. If you get larger tanks, most supply houses will deliver them, and then they will last longer.
Disadvantages to using CO2? The only one I can think of is the time it takes to change the tanks out and taking them to be refilled. CO2 is far safer than handling Muriatic acid and extremely effective at lowering pH in a completely natural and non-toxic manner.

Thanks for visiting the blog, Michael!

New pool owner with an EcoSmarte system. I am having problems with dark stains appearing on the bottom of the pool (painted concrete) after the system is on for a couple weeks. Water is nice and clear but the pool looks terrible. The Pool contractor thought it was a paint issue and drained the pool and cleaned the bottom with acid and the stains were gone. He painted the pool again just to make sure. Now that system is going again (for about a week) water is crystal clear but the stains are starting to come back. Any idea what is going on.

Mark,
Sorry to hear about the staining problems. More information is what is needed here, and the most timely method of doing that is calling the guys at corporate 800-ION-SWIM. They will be asking you the following questions, plus a few more:
What color are the stains?
What is the pH of the pool?
What is the copper level?
What is the hardness level?
Is anyone putting anything in the pool (like chlorine, stabilizers, clarifiers, etc.)?

A balanced pool will not have any staining problems, and the only issues I knew about with concrete pools have to do with pH - but the guys at corporate are the experts. Copper could be precipitating out due to high pH or too much copper or incompatible things added (like chlorine). Or the stains could be algae if they are a different color. Call corporate - that is why they are there, 6 days a week Minnesota time. Tell us how it goes!

I am installing cartridge for new year and wonder if I can or should clean the copper buildup off titanium plates . The loose stuff flakes off easily but the hardened copper is what I was wondering about. How does one know if the titanium plate is still good. It is obvious when the copper is no longer good as it is sacrifices itself.

Gerald,
You need to remove the chamber and clean it periodically, about once a year, to ensure optimal performance. Take the entire chamber off using the hand-tightened PVC sleeves (whether this is for your pool or for your whole house system). Be sure to turn the water off or shut off your pool filter first! Then remove the wires from the electrodes, and place the chamber in a bucket of 1 part muriatic acid (available at any pool store) and 3 parts water. Make sure both sets of bars (copper and titanium) are submerged. About 20-30 minutes later your bars will be clean. Replace the chamber, reattach the wires to the electrodes and you are ready to go again. The titanium plate should last basically forever, and you are correct in that you will be able to see when to replace the copper bars because they are self-sacrificing. Let us know how it goes!

What about potential reduction in water pressure while using a whole house filter? I have a fairly large house, 6000 sq feet, and I want to install the filter. But I am concerned about maintaining adequate flow rates and water pressure to the entire home during heavy water usage. Any thoughts??

Glad you asked, Michael. thanks for visiting the blog. Our basic system is sized for a 4K sq ft, 4 bathroom home with 1/4 acre of outside irrigation. From there we have a light commercial size and we can even use 2 light commercial systems in series to ensure your water flow is not restricted. We pay careful attention to the flow rate because not only do we want to be sure you have optimum water pressure and flow rate, we also want to make sure you have optimum water filtration and treatment with the ECOsmarte system. We size the system so that if all your showers were being used, dishwasher, washing machine and sprinklers going outside - you would still have optimum performance and adequate water pressure. ECOsmarte is not like reverse osmosis - no restriction of flow. Important factors are size of water pipe incoming, existing flow rate, size of property, # of bathrooms, acres of irrigation, and number of people.

As an example, a 5 acre ranch in Ojai (my first sale!) has 4 buildings, about 6K sq ft total, 5 bathrooms, 4 people and 2.5 acres of avocados. They chose to treat both their house water and irrigation water - so basically all the water on the property is pure and clean. We installed 2 light commercial tanks in series, and it handles the property perfectly.

Why treat the outside irrigation? Read here for more info.

Hi, I have a water well and live in the mountains. My water is hard. Do you have a better system than potassium in a water softener system? I also have a pool. I am very chemically sensitive and am now buying bottled water which I know is bad. I bought a filtering system call seagull or something, but can't use it because of the hard water situation..........HELP. gail

Hi Gail,
Thanks for your questions.
Our system is practically tailor-made for your situation. If you know the measurement of hardness of your well water – either in mg/L or in “grains” of hardness, that is the first step. It should be on your well report. ECOsmarte water systems guarantee satisfaction up to 25 grains of hardness, which is 427 mg/L.
Our system is far better than a potassium-based water softener for these reasons:
• ECOsmarte does not put harmful chlorides into the environment.
• We leave the healthy minerals in the water where your body needs them.
• ECOsmarte prevents hard water scaling and gives you maximum effectiveness of detergents and soaps.
• Existing scale in pipes is actually reduced.
• Unlike water softeners, you will have no monthly servicing or endless bills.
• No water waste – softeners typically waste approximately 50 gallons per regeneration – about 100 to 150 gallons per week. Backwash from ECOsmarte filtration tanks can even be safely used for supplemental irrigation.

And that’s just talking about the hard water solution part of the equation.

We excel at well water applications because the copper ions put into the water by our technology give you added protection against bacteria, Giardia, coliforms and Cryptosporidium. Copper is a very effective killing agent, and helps to ensure your water is clean and safe all the way up to your point of use. The oxidation part of our technology handles iron, manganese, and sulfur dioxide as well. Combine that with state-of-the-art components and filtration media – and you have a one-stop solution to water issues.

Part of the well package is an initial 150 point (I think it’s 150 now, used to be 140 but the lab keeps raising it) water test that informs us exactly what you need for your well. The system is custom assembled in our factory and shipped to you – specifically designed for your well. The best part is enjoying clean, pure water from every faucet…knowing you can actually drink the water while you are taking a shower if you want to.

How big is your pool (gallons)? What kind of filtration system do you use right now? Are you using Chlorine at the present? Our system is absolutely perfect for people who are chemically sensitive – there are no chemicals in an ECOsmarte pool!

Hi,

I have a ECOsmarte on my pool and it works well except for a bloom of algae every month. I pour some bleach and it takes care of the problem but my question is; why the copper does not take care of the algae?

Justin L.

Justin, thanks for visiting the blog and posting your question.

First off...PLEASE do not put Chlorine in the pool ! Chlorine is incompatible with the system and can precipitate out the copper, staining your pool. That is why we advertise as Zero Chlorine and Zero Salt. Your owners manual clearly states this - give it a thorough read to familiarize yourself with the differences between a Chlorine pool and an ECOsmarte pool.

The good News - The copper ionization and natural oxidation should indeed take care of the algae as long as you pay attention to the rest of the pool formula. That would be circulation and filtration, for starters.

Call home office and ask them about the size of your filter in relation to your pool and pump. Sufficient circulation is critical in an ECOsmarte pool, and is determined by your pool size, pump size and how well the pool was built with inflow ports in the proper place and direction. I am not a pool construction expert, but I do know that older pools sometimes suffer from insufficient circulation due to a collapsed bottom drain or too few/too small/bad direction inflow/outflow ports.

Type of filter is critical as well. A discussion on filters is here. Ideally you have a sand filter with glass filtration media - the best choice for an ECOsmarte pool, moving you in the direction of less maintenance and better water clarity.

Environmental factors will also come into play. Phosphates getting into the pool from fertilizers, soaps, shampoos, detergents, organic material (grass, leaves, sticks), and even soda pop. Best thing to do here is to take your water to the local pool store to have it tested to see what you are dealing with. In fact the water test would be a great thing to have when you call home office at 1-800-ION-SWIM.

Sometimes getting the balance just right takes some time. When you do have everything set, though, your use of a non-chlorine shock or a non-metal algaecide (home office can give you some brands) should be only occasional. Regular algae is a clue that something in the formula needs adjusting.

Good luck with your pool and let us know how it goes!

Wendy

So I want to get the Eco smarte system for my pool. We (The Family) are getting a new liner coming soon. I want to have a fresh start with no chemicals (esp. Chlorine) & also stay that way. A pool man that said he's had your System for 7 years said that they will put a powder (some kind of calcium base) on the liner that needs to bleached off first (before addding water) to prepare for the Eco smarte system. I don't want to use bleach. Do you have any suggestions or tips for this (or anything else)? Also, to lower pH levels you recommend to use muriatic acid. Won't this be hazardous (which is what we are trying to avoid)? Can you recommend a better natural approach (that's less harsh than stomach acid)? Would white distilled vinegar work (maybe for both)?

Thank You, Joshua!

I installed the system in my fiberglass pool a little over two weeks ago. while waiting for the system to rid my pool of chemicals, it was cloudy. As it started to clear my ph rose above 7.5 and I got an algae bloom. very frustrating when I am trying a new system. I put a yellow out in it and it made it worse. I drained off some of the water and refilled with new in order to help it clear. Ironically, the water is clear, not hazy, but it is still a lovely green color. I have been told that my chemicals don't necessarily have to match what a concrete pool numbers are because of the general make up of the pool, but what about with the ecosmarte system. How close should I keep my numbers compared to the book?... David Gall

Hi Wendy, We are in the process of getting bids on a pool. We have not yet decided on a builder. I started looking into all the methods to sanitzie the pool. When I ask the builders about the copper ionization they really don't know much about it, or feel that it could not do the job adequately. The one thing they all tell me is that the copper will stain the pool, unlike what the website says. How long have you been a dealer? What is your take on staining? Is there anything I need to consider when building my pool that will work better with the system? I wonder why if it is such an amazing thing why pool builders are not out there promoting it. As much as I know I want to get away from chlorine and even salt water, I am somewhat skeptical of the system. My husband is very skeptical. Thanks for any input you could give me. Tina