calcium buildup removal - is what i did ok long term?

[Cajun]

I have a new pool just finished in December. Shortly after getting things going I noticed calcium starting to build up around the natural stone wall in the back on the pool. There was both calcium in the mortar between the stones as well as building up on the waterline tile. See the red circles in the picture below.

I was able to remove all calcium with the help of a pumice stone, muriatic acid, a mini pool brush and elbow grease. I mainly used the pumice stone for the waterline tile.

For the natural stone and mortar areas I used a spray bottle with one part acid 2 parts water. I would spray the solution let the acid eat away the calcium for a bit them scrub the area with a brush. I would then rinse the wall by splashing it with pool water. Repeat several times as necessary….

I'm happy to say its all gone but is the acid safe to use on the stone and mortar in this way or is it eating away at those items as well? Can this cause other long term problems? Also what other options do I have to either remove or eliminate future calcium deposits?

Thanks

 

[maxepr1]

Cajun, I would say proper water chemistry has allot to do with the build-up. You could continue doing what have already done but over the long term acid on the stone and pumice on the tile is going to degrade the finish. What is CH of your water?

 

[Cajun]

Ch is currently at 270. Now it was around 160 until about 2 weeks ago when I got my test kit in.

Here are my numbers from my last full test on 4/19.

FC - 1.5
Cc - .5
Ph - 7.7
Ta - 130
Ch - 270
Cya - 40
Temp 76.

I also added adational acid over the weekend and my ph is at 7.5 now. FC is around 3.5 now as well.

Also when you say long term are you talking 4 years or 20 years?

Thanks

 

[duraleigh]

That could be calcium scale or efflorescence

Acid is the correct thing to use because it is about the ONLY thing you can use (whether it's calcium scale or efflorescence).

It'll have virtually no effect on your stone or ceramic but use it as sparingly as you can on the grout.

If it is calcium scale.....
Keeping your pH down in the low 7's and your TA around 80-100 will help a lot if it's calcium scale. Keeping your CH down is helpful, to. What is the CH of your fill water?

If it is efflorescence, (got a pic that's in focus?) it will come back regardless of what you do because it is migrating outward through the grout.

 

[maxepr1]

Looks kind of like effloresce leaching out of the planter to? Hard to tell in the picture? Your numbers look pretty good though. I would lower TA a little.

 

[Cajun]

yea sorry for the blurry picture. it was a zoomed in crop from a panoramic picture of the entire pool prior to cleaning the buildup.

I don't have a clear picture of it and since its all gone there is no way to take one of the full problem. Here is a closeup on a little spot that's left (I hope it was left and its not new growth).

Since it started it has always seemed to appear from the mortar or brick then overtime drip or grow down the mortar lines into the pool.

 

[duraleigh]

Still guessing a little but I believe it's effloresence. To my knowledge, the best thing you can do is clean it often so it doesn't get too built up and, at some point, it will stop.