First off, great site, and the iPhone App is cool Jason! (when is the Borate calc coming? ) 
So here's the story; our pool is going on three years old. 13' x 28' x ~4.5' infinite edge with a 3.5' x 26' x 2' overflow sump which equates to around 13k gallons total. SWG, Pebble-Tec, Sand filter and CoverPool automatic cover. I'll attach a couple of pics here if I can in a bit.
About six months after startup, we began noticing scaling starting at the bolt holes on the infinite edge where the CoverPool track is installed. The track is mounted to stainless steel standoffs that were drilled down through the tile. I had been using test strips (first mistake) since the inception and had felt that I was keeping things well enough in check. My assumption was that the CoverPool install guys had not sealed up the holes well enough and so the scaling was a direct result of leaching from the concrete wall underneath. Things have gotten steadily worse to the point one of the tiles on the edge actually popped off as it was lifted by the scale underneath. Other scale streaks are running down the outside back wall of the edge which is covered in Pebble-Tec. I was prepared to go to battle this spring with MA or media blasting to clean the mess up.
I had my above ground spa worked on earlier this week, and the tech inquired if I had any issues with the infinite edge, to which I complained about the scaling. After he looked at it, he said it was due to poor chemistry, that the test strips were not the best, and to get things in order and try Scaletec to loosen things up.
In my Googling of Scaletec, I stumbled upon this site and the rest is history. Tuesday I went to Leslie's and got a Taylor kit and here is what the initial readings were:
FC = 5
CC = 0
pH = 8+
TA = 170
CH = 240
CYA = 35
Salt = 3200
temp = 55*
Running my aerator and edge pump continually (shut off SWG for now) over the past couple of days I've managed to bring TA down to 90 as of this AM and CYA is 50 and rising. So far it has taken ~3.5 gallons of MA. My goal is to get TA down to 60, and then shut down aeration, get pH to 7 or below (no heater, cover fully retracted) and begin the Scaletec treatment. Does this sound like a good plan?
My own well is the source of the water (although the inital fill was about 50/50, hauled Scottsdale City water/my well) and here are the readings out of the tap:
pH = 8+
TA = 170
CH = 0 (a bit odd for AZ well water I *think*)
As a secondary question, and I know it will vary by season, but how should I gauge the amount of time to run the edge pump to sanitize the ~1,600 gallons in the sump? Seems like a fine line between adequate filter time vs raising pH. Seems like Borate might be a possibility to help buffer this situation...
These pics were taken not too long after startup, as the wok pots were not done yet and the temp pool fence was still up. Note in the overhead shot the start of the scaling on the blue edge tile, which started at the CoverPool track bolts:
So here's the story; our pool is going on three years old. 13' x 28' x ~4.5' infinite edge with a 3.5' x 26' x 2' overflow sump which equates to around 13k gallons total. SWG, Pebble-Tec, Sand filter and CoverPool automatic cover. I'll attach a couple of pics here if I can in a bit.
About six months after startup, we began noticing scaling starting at the bolt holes on the infinite edge where the CoverPool track is installed. The track is mounted to stainless steel standoffs that were drilled down through the tile. I had been using test strips (first mistake) since the inception and had felt that I was keeping things well enough in check. My assumption was that the CoverPool install guys had not sealed up the holes well enough and so the scaling was a direct result of leaching from the concrete wall underneath. Things have gotten steadily worse to the point one of the tiles on the edge actually popped off as it was lifted by the scale underneath. Other scale streaks are running down the outside back wall of the edge which is covered in Pebble-Tec. I was prepared to go to battle this spring with MA or media blasting to clean the mess up.
I had my above ground spa worked on earlier this week, and the tech inquired if I had any issues with the infinite edge, to which I complained about the scaling. After he looked at it, he said it was due to poor chemistry, that the test strips were not the best, and to get things in order and try Scaletec to loosen things up.
In my Googling of Scaletec, I stumbled upon this site and the rest is history. Tuesday I went to Leslie's and got a Taylor kit and here is what the initial readings were:
FC = 5
CC = 0
pH = 8+
TA = 170
CH = 240
CYA = 35
Salt = 3200
temp = 55*
Running my aerator and edge pump continually (shut off SWG for now) over the past couple of days I've managed to bring TA down to 90 as of this AM and CYA is 50 and rising. So far it has taken ~3.5 gallons of MA. My goal is to get TA down to 60, and then shut down aeration, get pH to 7 or below (no heater, cover fully retracted) and begin the Scaletec treatment. Does this sound like a good plan?
My own well is the source of the water (although the inital fill was about 50/50, hauled Scottsdale City water/my well) and here are the readings out of the tap:
pH = 8+
TA = 170
CH = 0 (a bit odd for AZ well water I *think*)
As a secondary question, and I know it will vary by season, but how should I gauge the amount of time to run the edge pump to sanitize the ~1,600 gallons in the sump? Seems like a fine line between adequate filter time vs raising pH. Seems like Borate might be a possibility to help buffer this situation...
These pics were taken not too long after startup, as the wok pots were not done yet and the temp pool fence was still up. Note in the overhead shot the start of the scaling on the blue edge tile, which started at the CoverPool track bolts:
Good chance you'll get the "I'm sorry, but we cannot take chemicals back; it's the law" spiel. I'd start in with a good attitude and hope you get someone with some compassion!
Now I maintain my CSI in the negative. Because my pool is FB and I have no heater or equipment other than my pump, I can get away with my negative CSI a little better. On a whim, I also decided to experiment and added one bottle of Scaletec a couple days ago. Even though they say to give it 4-6 weeks, honestly I don't expect any miracles with that product, but we'll see. More than anything, I expect the lower pH to do its job over time to pull the scale off of the pool surface. I'm tracking everything on my spreadsheet and plan on reporting my progress either here on this thread and/or another thread of a fellow FB pool owner who is working on a scale issue as well. Just another "live & learn" lesson I've had to deal with. At least now I know how to manage it properly.