Scale removal and pool closing

[RJPassan]

Greetings from PA ... new Diamond Brite finish May, 2015. Kept numbers good May thru October, even CSI mostly negative. Opened 2016 to scale. Keeping ph lower (7.2-7.4 rather than 7.6-7.7) and it got better, but still have some scale on walls. Any of the scale removal products recommended? Would rather the less drastic products like McGrayle's Scaletec or Natural Chemistry's Scale Free rather than a Jack's #2 Copper and Scale Stuff if they work. All these want a low chlorine reading ... are their 1-3 chlorine needs just that, or can you "cyuranic acid adjust" the 1-3?

Also like to know what if anything recommended to use in pool over the closed winter season to avoid scale revival next year? The scale "may" have been due to the Diamond Brite not cured for a year until May, 2016 but I'd like to have some insurance if I can. Thanks for the input!

 

[pooldv]

You can lower the CSI now to -0.8 to -0.9 and brush scaled areas aggressively to remove scale. This is the least aggressive way to treat scale. You can also use wet/dry sandpaper to smooth rough areas. You can also use dry acid in a sock on stubborn areas.

For winter, CSI is temperature dependent so be sure to take temp into consideration when calculating your CSI over the winter. Keep it -0.3 to 0 to prevent scale.

More here, Pool School - Calcium Scaling

 

[RJPassan]

Hello Pooldv,

Thanks much for the response! I've read a ton about scaling on this and other sites. Ran my CSI at almost -1 and brushed a lot for a week a while back. Seems the lower ph helps and perhaps some of the products I used (Beautec and Scale Free). My CSI at opening was negative, but the ph was 8. Seems to me that the scale came with the new Diamond Brite not cured yet as my numbers (other than the opening 8.0) were all good. Looking for a good "insurance" sequestrant for the winter ... probably use Beautec and address rest of scale next year. Cheers!