Calcium???

[PJM361]

I know this is old but, I figured it would be good to add to this info. My situation is vinyl liner over concrete walls with SWCG. I know that calcium is not a concern but, I have Cambridge pavers for my coping and even though I have an auto cover closed except when swimming or cleaning I'm getting white effervesces on the underside of the coping that hangs over the pool. How many PPM should I have in my water to stop this? Right now it's at 30-40PPM pool is 1 year old. Thanks in advance for all the help.

[PJM361]

Talked to a guy at the pool store and he thinks the white stuff on the coping is from the salt and not from the lack of calcium, does that sound right?

[waterbear]

Does it dissolve readily when wet? If so it is salt. IF not it is either calcium scale or the dreaded silica scale which is much harder to remove.

[PoolDoc]

You can test for calcium carbonate scale using a drop of muriatic acid. If it's calcium carbonate (like limestone or marble in plaster), it will fizz, from released carbon dioxide.