Should I Raise the PH?

[poolneophyte]

Last weekend, we opened our BBB pool to clear water. This was our first year with a Loop Loc Ultra Mesh cover and there was only some fine silt on the bottom which went though the mesh. We brought it up to shock level based upon the CYA level and will let it come down to normal level before we turn on the SWG.

Here are the current test results:

FC=14
CC=0
PH=7.2
TA=60
CH=50
CYA=50
Borates=15
Temp=69

Should I use some 20 Mule Team borax now to raise the PH up to my target level of 7.5 or just let the PH creep up on its own? I'm thinking since I need to add borates anyway, it would not hurt to do this. Any opinions would be appreciated.

 

[JasonLion]

There is no need to raise PH as long as it is 7.2 or higher. It will probably drift up on its own, though with low TA that will only happen very slowly.

With a SWG you are going to want to raise the CYA level to 70 to 80.

 

[poolneophyte]

Thanks for the quick response Jason. Yes, I will target a CYA of 80 like I did last year. I didn't add any stabilizer yet because I brought the FC up to shock level and did not want to increase the CYA until I was sure that I didn't have any algae. The water is clear and I have no CC's so I'm assuming that there is no reason to continue at shock level. Since I need to add borates anyway, my thinking was that it couldn't hurt to put enough borax in to adjust the PH up to 7.5 and thereby gain a couple points of borates.

 

[JasonLion]

Raising the PH won't hurt, it just isn't necessary.