Is it beneficial to have 20ppm of borates or is it a waste of time? I have a dog that does not drink from the pool but likes to swim, make splashes with front paws then tries to eat the splashes.

20 ppm Borates will have some pH buffering effect, but it won't have very much algicidal effect. Of course, if you are keeping your chlorine levels up high enough, then the algicidal effect may not be that important, but if you were looking at using the Borates as "insurance" or to keep the chlorine level at the low-end, then that won't work very well at 20 ppm.

chlorine levels are checked daily so that's not an issue. I was hoping to have a buffering affect to the PH swings. Not being sure how much water the dog ingest, I didnt want to make a toxic environment. Sound like if you manage the pool Borates aren't that important, right?

what do borates have to do with chlorine levels? I thought it was based on CYA levels etc.

Even at 50 ppm, it's not going to kill your dog. If your dog were to drink a lot of water every day from the pool, then a male dog might be getting close to the edge of first symptoms (smaller testicles). We just mention it to be conservative. There was no observed adverse effect from a 22 pound dog drinking 7-1/2 cups (almost 2 quarts) of 50 ppm Borate water every day. First symptoms were seen when drinking 24-1/2 cups (a little over 6 quarts) of 50 ppm Borate water every day. We don't know exactly where in between these two measurements symptoms actually start.


The CYA level determines the minimum FC you need to prevent algae growth, but 50 ppm borates are a mild algicide so can act as "insurance" for those who don't consistently maintain the proper chlorine level in their pools. We do not give specific lower FC levels one could potentially use when they have 50 ppm Borates in the pool. We still say to follow the normal chart and treat the Borates as extra protection only used if one isn't maintaining the FC level consistently.

Anyway, if you are just looking for some pH buffering to slow the rate of pH rise, for example, you can certainly use 20 ppm borates if you want to if you feel more comfortable with that. The amount of additional pH buffering you get is roughly proportional to the amount of borates.

Thanks for the reply! you guys are awesome and Its nice to have educated answers to questions. This has been the best information for the first time pool owner found on the net!

Thanks again!