Calcium Scaling

[bear31088]

I've read in some past posts that high ph can cause calcium scaling. If that is true, would it stand to reason that lowering the ph for a period of time would help eliminate the scaling? Just wondering...

FC 8
CC 0
PH 7.4
CYA 70
TA 80
CH 220

 

[jblizzle]

Yes, if you lower the CSI (see PoolMath) to be negative and with a lot of brushing, you can reduce the calcium scaling ... but this it over a period of months, not days.

 

[bear31088]

Thank you for your input. So...does CSI have to be at some specific negative value or just "negative"?

 

[JasonLion]

There are problems with this approach. The main one is that calcium scaling is typically patchy, various spots here and there. If you lower your PH low enough to remove calcium scaling, you will also be etching plaster off of the rest of the pool, where there is no scale, as well as removing scale. You don't really get the control you need. Also, low PH can damage other parts, especially gas pool heaters. Never attempt this if you have a gas pool heater. You also end up with lots of calcium in the pool water, which must then be replaced, or you will just have scaling all over again.

To effectively remove scale, CSI needs to be -1.0 or lower.

 

[jblizzle]

Thanks Jason, I did not realize you would need the CSI that low and good points about the patchy nature.

 

[bear31088]

Thanks all for the assistance. I appreciate your inputs. Now...what to do. I think I'll buy the wife some SCUBA gear and a good brush...

 

[Patrick_B]

Good luck with that, you may be sleeping in the pool if she reads this. :lol:

 

[gwc]

Yeah. Let us know how that works.