White substance collected by the pool cleaner

Put some of the flakes in a glass jar and put a few drops of vinegar on them. If they fizz, they're calcium flakes.

Can you post up a full set of test results?

You CH level is high and is likely the a contributing factor to your scaling issues. The only ways to reduce CH is through a water exchange or reverse osmosis service ($700-$800). Further CH rise can be reduced or eliminated by topping off with softened fill water. Your options are to connect to an existing whole-home softener, install a dedicated automated system for the pool, or use a portable RV water softener (link in my sig).

Chemistry can be adjusted to reduce calcium scaling by maintaining a CSI level between 0.0 and -0.30. Yours is somewhere around +0.55. As CH levels rise, this is more difficult to achieve. Lowering CSI can be done by lowering pH and TA. If you use Pool Math, enable CSI tracking. Here are a couple articles that may help you understand.



See this article on waterline scale:


Bead blasting is the most effective way to remove waterline scale. I paid $4 per liner foot a few years ago. Waterline scale can be minimized by maintaining a negative CSI.

My recommendation. Price out bead blasting. They'll need to drain down one foot of water or so. Ask them to drain down enough to get your CH in range (while they're at it). We can work out those numbers later based on your fill water CH but figure around 50% drain. You may need to pay a few dollars extra. Find a way to top off with softened water and you may not need to drain again.

IronMike said:

I have started to add muriatic acid trying to lower my pH to the 7.0 - 7.2 lever and planning to get a solar water fountain to add some aeration to the water. I should repeat the steps until my CH lowers to around 250-300 level, correct?

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This method is used for lowering TA. Lowering TA itself will help reduce scale in the SWG and will help to keep CSI in negative range.

The only way to reduce CH in pool water is through RO or water exchange. 650 is reaching the upper end of a manageable level.

Your fill water is CH is not "high," but even at 75 ppm will continue to increase the level in the pool. The TA level will work against you in bit, but you should be able to reduce TA with bit of work.

I assume the outdoor water is not softened. On some installs, the softened water bypasses the kitchen sink as there no real need for it there. Try testing a source from a bathroom sink, tub or shower. I would expect more of a difference between softened and unsoftened water.

IronMike said:

Regarding the waterline scale, is there a more cost-effective way or something I can do myself without a vendor? I have seen some online videos where people spray some muriatic acid or some solution to the affected area and brush off the scale. Just wondering if this method would work or if other DIY option is available. Thanks again!

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I haven't had much luck in removing scale from tile using MA. You can try mixing one part of MA and 3 to 4 parts water in a spray or squeeze bottle. A pumice stone may work, but it's real slow-going. Make sure it doesn't damage your tile. Here's a recommendation for a product from another post. I haven't tried it: