SC-1000 Scale & Metal Control

SC-1000 has become a favorite of pool builders, plasterers, and service professionals, and for good reason. SC-1000 is our award-winning, environmentally-friendly chelating agent that binds to metals and minerals. SC-1000 is great for pool startups (and is indeed essential to The Orenda Startup™ process). It is also used for ongoing maintenance to help prevent carbonate scale formation and metal oxidation/staining.

SC-1000 is one of the original Orenda Products and was originally used in industrial cooling towers and water treatment facilities.

SC-1000 contains no phosphates, unlike most metal control products available. This is meaningful because those same products (many of which are phosphate-based) would directly conflict with phosphate removal efforts…but SC-1000 does not.

When used as directed, SC-1000 controls metal staining and scale while being fully compatible with the materials of pool & spa construction and other treatment chemicals. It can also do wonders for removing existing scale in pool heaters, salt chlorine generators, and other equipment.

SC-1000′s formulation was awarded the Environmental Protection Agency’s Presidential Green Chemistry Award for its implementation of environment-friendly chemical technology.

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.

Add Calcium to the Pool Before It Is Full

Blue Moon Pools, a plaster applicator in San Diego, CA, was the first company to introduce Orenda to the idea of adding calcium to a pool as it was filling. This is video evidence from one of their own startups (filmed by Blue Moon Pools and used here by permission). They filled the spa with water and nothing else, following the traditional standard protocol. The Pool, however, using the same tap water, was filled using what is now known as The Orenda Startup™