Ascorbic Acid Cloudy Pool

[Briar]

Hello. I would like some help in guiding me thru the bluish milky water stage of my ascorbic acid treatment. Here’s what I did.

My pool is an IG, Plaster, Indoor, 20K Bromine about 13 years old. I bought the house 6 years ago and the pool was atrocious. Half empty, black water, dead rodents in water...you get the picture. I had several major issues to deal with as both return lines were corrupted and not accessible. The pool company I hired did a great job at overcoming many tough hurdles to save it. We addressed everything necessary to get it up and running which included cutting a spill between the connected spa and converting the fill line into a return. It is not ideal for circulation but it works. We replaced all equipment and disconnected the homespun solar array. Switched over to bromine to eliminate the chlorine smell that permeated the house. It’s a sweet pool. Very easy to care for. We did not drain and acid wash which in hindsight I wish we would have done during the renovation. The pool has a tea tinge on almost all of the surface. There are a few dark splotches and mottling. Someone had thrown chlor pucks into the pool and they left white etched circles. Horrible. They bother me the most. I decided to test with ascorbic acid and it faded about half of the first step so I thought it was a go. I zeroed out the Bromine. Added Jacks Filter fiber, place a CUlator in the pump basket, and added 3 1/2 pounds of Nat Chem Ex strength Stain Free. That was last Sunday. I followed the instructions and let it sit overnight and the next day, I added dose of Metal Free. Brushed the pool really well, turned on the pump, vacuumed and let it run. No improvement on Mon. By Tuesday, I could see a brightening, the step down in the spa became very clean. It was the first time I could see the finish which had a bit of flecking and sparkle in it. Pretty! The water was very clear and then came Wed. I got up to a bluish milky soup. I didn’t panic because I read so many blogs and forums where others describe their cloudiness. The ph went down to 6.8 and I started to panic as I can’t bypass my heater. I added 4 lbs of Borax and brought it up to 7.2 and it has remained there. The TA is always on the high side and it ran up to 130-140. This morning I put a jug of Nat Chem Pool First Aid and let the pump run all day. No improvement. My last test results (Taylor K-2005) were

BR: 0
TA: 130
pH: 7.2
CH: 200
CYA: 40

I turned the brominater back on yesterday but it will take some heavy lifting to get it back. I know I am supposed to bring that back up slowly and keep the pH low.

THE THING THAT HAS ME SCRATCHING MY HEAD

I noticed when I brushed the pool, the surface had changed. It has always been very rough. The brush just glided across the walls and floor. It made me wonder about the possibility that there is a calcium issue. I have tried to find a connection with ascorbic acid and scale/calcium. Does it have an effect on it? Some manufacturers claim their AA is good for stains and scale but I see many pool gurus who say it does not help with scale. I’m inclined to trust the gurus over them. Has anyone had results regarding AA affecting scale/calcium? I am wondering if this persistent milky blue cloud could be calcium going into the water. If that is the case, can I remove it by filtering or would I have to drain the pool? I can’t see whether the stains have lifted as the water is so cloudy. I am getting worried now. Any guidance would be so appreciated.

[Teapot]

As you are a bromine user I won't make comments on what the pool shop are selling you except it's bullshit, none of the ex this or metals out do nothing to remove metals. They just bind it for a while.
Why have you got CYA in your indoor bromine pool?
Yes ascorbic acid can remove a bit of lime scale, it's why it's used for descaling kettles and coffee machines

[sktn77a]

Non-drain stain removal usually results in the pH going way low (4-5) for a week or so. Short term exposure to low pH shouldn't harm your heat exchanger - it's chronic exposure to unbalanced pool water that does the damage (especially high chlorine).