Calcium Hardness & Ice Melt

Jump to latest Follow Reply
W

Winger 03

0
Sep 7, 2009
376
Frederick County, MD
Pool Size
19800
Surface
Fiberglass
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Pentair Intellichlor IC-30
Winter here on the east coast making it a great time ot pick up some ice melt to use to up the CH in my pool this spring.

Quick question - the ice melt I am seeing is a mixture of Calcium Chloride, Magnesium Chloride, and Sodium Chloride. Is this OK to use or should I seek all Calcium Chloride pellets?
 
Winger 03 said:
Winter here on the east coast making it a great time ot pick up some ice melt to use to up the CH in my pool this spring.

Quick question - the ice melt I am seeing is a mixture of Calcium Chloride, Magnesium Chloride, and Sodium Chloride. Is this OK to use or should I seek all Calcium Chloride pellets?
Click to expand...

You really want pure calcium chloride if possible. The other chlorides won’t do any harm but you’ll have to guesstimate a bit on the amount to add. Just make sure the stuff doesn’t contain a lot of dirt, some ice melts add sand to the mix to improve grip. You could predissolve it on a bucket first to see if any impurities settle out.
 
I was going to suggest purchasing this but noticed the price has jumped significantly. I purchased the same for $24 in October '18. It's good clean stuff. I wonder why the dramatic jump?

Amazon.com : Puri Tech Pool Chemicals 25 lb Calcium Hardness Increaser Plus for Swimming Pools & Spas Increases Calcium Hardness Levels Prevents Staining on Surfaces : Garden & Outdoor

Amazon.com : Puri Tech Pool Chemicals 25 lb Calcium Hardness Increaser Plus for Swimming Pools & Spas Increases Calcium Hardness Levels Prevents Staining on Surfaces : Garden & Outdoor
www.amazon.com
 
JoyfulNoise said:
You really want pure calcium chloride if possible. The other chlorides won’t do any harm but you’ll have to guesstimate a bit on the amount to add. Just make sure the stuff doesn’t contain a lot of dirt, some ice melts add sand to the mix to improve grip. You could predissolve it on a bucket first to see if any impurities settle out.
Click to expand...

Thanks Matt - so you are saying that the other chlorides will not increase the hardness at all but will do no harm - I guess that is OK in a pinch. I'll keep looking as I am about town.
 
They do that mix because calcium chloride is expensive and most people won't want to buy it.

You should be able to find pure calcium chloride somewhere though, cause it has the lowest overall melting temp.

I maintain two buckets of ice melt at my house. Regular sodium chloride for temps above zero, and pure calcium chloride for when it goes lower and there's ice on walkways.
 
  • Like
Reactions: aggiejet
Winger 03 said:
Thanks Matt - so you are saying that the other chlorides will not increase the hardness at all but will do no harm - I guess that is OK in a pinch. I'll keep looking as I am about town.
Click to expand...

Magnesium will increase your GENERAL hardness number (magnesium + calcium hardness). But, because magnesium compounds don’t generally scale out of solution until the pH get really high, it doesn’t matter much. I wouldn’t call it totally benign but I wouldn’t lose sleep over it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CharliesPool
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply