Determine how much water you need to remove from your pool. If you are over the ideal calcium hardness range (400 ppm), you may need to drain about one-fourth of your pool to bring the level down.
Remember, you don't have to drain the entire pool to lower the calcium level. In many cases, replacing as little as 30-40 cm's of water will bring your pool back into the normal calcium range.
If you know the water from your tap in your area isn't hard then you can drain part of the water in your pool and refill with fresh water. If you don't have the option or option 1 then your next option is to use a flocculant to bind the excess calcium and filter it with your sand filter.
Naturally lower your aquarium hardness by soaking dechlorinated tap water in peat moss, Indian almond leaves or driftwood. A more precise method would be to dilute tap water with reverse osmosis (RO) or distilled water or to use remineralized RO water.
A way to safely and effectively clean these surfaces is to grab mild soap, sponges, towels, white vinegar, and baking soda. In a bowl, combine hot water with a couple of drops of mild soap, and using a sponge or rag, clean the surface. First, scrub as much scum off as possible and then wipe it dry with a towel.
The Effects of High and Low Hardness
Specifically, water with high calcium hardness gets cloudy unless the alkalinity and/or pH are low enough to compensate. As mentioned, the excess calcium carbonate will precipitate as crusty, grayish white scale on surfaces, piping, and equipment.
Hard water can be softened by adding sodium carbonate (washing soda) or by passing the water through an ion-exchange column.
With low alkalinity, your pool's water becomes corrosive enough to damage equipment. Rainwater can also mess up the calcium hardness in your swimming pool. Since the rain has 0 ppm calcium hardness, it could lower the water hardness if your pool has soft water.
Cal-hypo shock: Use this if you have algae issues or if you want a powerful, weekly treatment. You will need to use this at night and wait at least 8 hours before swimming. Be careful using it in saltwater pools, since it can cause scale build-up in the saltwater generator by increasing your calcium hardness levels.
High calcium is rarely a problem.
The truth is, having more calcium hardness is a benefit in most pools. Sure, at a certain point there can be too much calcium in the water, which makes it difficult to maintain LSI balance. But up until that point, calcium is our best friend in water chemistry.
Perhaps the best way to filter calcium from your water supply is to use a water softener. A water softener has been specifically designed to strip hard minerals, such as calcium and magnesium, from your water supply.
General guidelines for classification of waters are: 0 to 60 mg/L (milligrams per liter) as calcium carbonate is classified as soft; 61 to 120 mg/L as moderately hard; 121 to 180 mg/L as hard; and more than 180 mg/L as very hard.
Your calcium hardness should sit between 200 ppm and 400 ppm. There is, however, some wiggle room on the lower end of the scale. But to be safe, always adjust the water hardness once your calcium concentration falls below 150 ppm. To keep everything balanced in your pool, be sure it's thoroughly cleaned.
A good rule of thumb is to never mix pool chemicals with each other. After adding Calcium Hypochlorite a user should always wait 24 hours before adding chemicals that would alter their pH. Adjusting pH or Total Alkalinty after adding Calcium Hypochlorite can cause the calcium to temporarily cloud the water.
Calcium hardness should be kept at 250 ppm minimum. Once full, getting your pool to 250 ppm is important; from there if you're using calcium hypochlorite to add chlorine to your pool your calcium hardness will steadily increase. There is no real reason to lower your hardness.
The most effective way to address hard water is with a water softener. Water is softened when calcium and magnesium—the hardness ions—are collected by tiny resin beads through a process called ion exchange. The resin beads are charged with sodium or potassium ions.
Soften your kitchen water by boiling: Boiling will make the salts in water sink to the bottom of the boiler. You can then scoop out this water or pour the water in another pot leaving the deposits in the end. Install an ion-exchange filter to your kitchen faucet or use a water pitcher filter.
The time a water softener takes to soften your water supply is referred to as the regeneration cycle. This is when all the sediments that make your water hard are flushed out. A typical regeneration cycle takes between 60 and 90 minutes. Some may take a little longer.
Home water softeners, also called ion exchange units, are appliances that remove calcium, magnesium, and other minerals from drinking water. Resin beads inside the softener trap the calcium and magnesium and exchange them for sodium or potassium.
The reason you balance alkalinity, pH, then calcium hardness is that adjusting alkalinity often affects pH. Adjusting both alkalinity and pH often affects your calcium hardness, as adding sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and sodium carbonate (soda ash) can increase the hardness of your swimming pool water.
Calcium hardness is sometimes overlooked when having testing done. This is an important step due to the fact that if levels are too high it can cause the calcium to fall out of solution and cloud the water.
In over 90 percent of cases, the deposits disappear spontaneously, but this may take 12 to 18 months. Symptoms of pain can vary during this process.
In many cases, your body will reabsorb the calcium without any treatment. But the calcium deposits may return. Your doctor will first want you to ease your pain and inflammation with rest and an anti-inflammatory drug like ibuprofen or naproxen. If that doesn't work, you may need a cortisone injection.