SC-1000 vs. calcium issues

We commonly find confusion about what type of calcium deposits are actually in a pool. Is it carbonation? Calcium dust? Scale?  Calcium crystals? While they are different calcium compounds, they are hard to tell apart. One way to think about it is this:

• Scale (calcium carbonate) is formed when too much calcium is in solution in the water, and it falls out of solution and hardens on surfaces. It will be evident on the face of tile, inside pipes and heat exchangers, salt cells, etc. The hotter the water, the more likely scale will occur. It occurs due to an LSI violation of being above +0.30 on the LSI.
• Calcite Crystals occur when not enough calcium is present in the water, and the water stays cold for a prolonged period of time. The water is aggressive because it is hungry for more calcium…it seeks equilibrium and wants to be properly saturated. It will extract calcium from wherever it can. The most available source? Plaster and grout. Crystallized calcium is usually some form of calcite that grows out of the plaster surface and hardens. We know of at least 4 different types of calcite crystals. SC-1000 can help soften some of the types, but not all. Unfortunately, some types of crystals require physically grinding them away.

SC-1000 is not a replacement for balancing your water. It also cannot reverse etching already done. Because of this, if you’re going to stray from the LSI safe zone, err to the high side, because carbonate scale is treatable. Etching, however, is permanent damage.