Sediment/Crystals on pool bottom

funny that 2 people have this exact problem in a week. the article suggests spraying boiling acid on the crystals...well, get to it! lol! :stirpot: im more interested in the disolving in vinegar part of this. does it STAY dissolved in vinegar? its obviously a very light acid compared to what we are talking about, whether it be muriatic or hydrochloric. if you spray it on an area will it dissolve and be easy to scrape off? this whole thing is very interesting.
 
In case anyone didn't notice, it was the OnBalance guys who figured this out in the article posted by Zea...
We are in good company folks! Very fortunate that they are TFP contributors!



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It sure is funny that 2 folks experienced it so close together. And its interesting stuff too!

funny that 2 people have this exact problem in a week. the article suggests spraying boiling acid on the crystals...well, get to it! lol! :stirpot: im more interested in the disolving in vinegar part of this. does it STAY dissolved in vinegar? its obviously a very light acid compared to what we are talking about, whether it be muriatic or hydrochloric. if you spray it on an area will it dissolve and be easy to scrape off? this whole thing is very interesting.
 
I know, old thread. But I just opened my pool this weekend. This is the first opening since built last summer.

I have crazy amounts of this, and have vac'd it out and flushed the sta-rite filter. I'll have to see tomorrow if I have more.

I'm wondering if it came back for you? Or if this is a result of some plaster process from being new. Crazy.

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Few more:
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If it bubbles when you pour muriatic acid on it, it is calcium scale. I just had the same problem when I opened my pool for the first time this spring. Everyone will have various opinions but I've tried a variety of methods and so far have found two that work. First, using very very fine sandpaper and scrubbing the calcium off and second a no drain acid wash. The first works great but obviously you need to dive in the pool to get to the bottom which could take a while. So, instead I tried a no drain acid wash and so far I am impressed with the visual results. I am not 100% sure if it worked on the floor because the water is too cold to get in but the walls are no smooth again and the bottom looks smooth.

I noticed you are from NH, I actually think there are pool companies up your way that will dive and sand the calcium for a charge, must be common up your way.
 
Sorry I didn't see this sooner. It looks very similar to what I had. I believe I had what you have and another type of deposit also that was more elongated crystal like. Both were there the first year and there was quite a lot of it. The next year it was considerably less. The crystal deposit didn't react with acid and I didn't test the other deposit. Since it decreased over time I'm just attributing it to being new plaster. Especially since it was pretty negligible this year. One problem I've been having is keeping my pH down though. I'm wondering if it also has something to do with the pH rising and something is coming out if suspension over the winter. I would think if this was the case the deposits would react to acis when tested.
 
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