just started the bbb/very low ph after

[engine16]

I started with the following levels
ph- 7.2
alk- 90
cya-90
f.c.- 3.6
I put half dose of borax and ma, then did the other half. tested ph 20 minutes later and it is way below 7 and the alk turned red when adding the green drops. Is this normal? If it is how long do I wait to test again?
Thanks for anyone's help

 

[Bama Rambler]

Why were you adding borax and MA?

 

[engine16]

I thought ma was what you add with borax

 

[Bama Rambler]

You add either one or the other depending on what you need to adjust. From your results, you didn't need to add anything.

What were you wanting to adjust?

How much borax and MA did you add?

You probably need to add some baking soda to get the TA up a bit. Go ahead and run another set of test results and post the numbers.

 

[engine16]

ph is way below 7. and the alk test turns red instead of green in the 2nd step.
I added 14 boxes of borax with 76oz size which is 1060oz.
about 500oz's of ma is what i added.

 

[ship of fools]

ph is way below 7. and the alk test turns red instead of green in the 2nd step.
I added 14 boxes of borax with 76oz size which is 1060oz.
about 500oz's of ma is what i added.

Where did you come up with those #'s?? Seems like way too much of both.

 

[Bama Rambler]

Were you trying to add 50 ppm borates?

 

[engine16]

it was the first time for adding borax. through the pool chemical site and also did a forum to make sure the numbers were right and the moderator posted it was.

 

[engine16]

isn't that the bbb method I had started?

 

[Bama Rambler]

Adding borates is an addition that's completely optional. It's not an integral part of the BBB method.

However, now it's done so we need to concentrate on getting your numbers back in line.

Since we don't actually know where your pH and TA is, lets start with about 150 oz of washing soda or soda ash. Since your pH is so low you need to do that pretty quickly. If you can't find washing soda or soda ash you need to get about 200 oz of baking soda and start with that. You'll probably need a little borax also but hopefully you have some of that left over.

Let us know what you find and we'll guide you throught it.

 

[engine16]

just put 10 lbs of alk increaser and it shows i have 110.
I have put 250 oz's of ph increaser and it is just at 7. I'm going to wait about 15 minutes and check again and increase to 7.4. Going back to the bbb, I followed the guidelines and double checked. I should have left the pool alone. My numbers were usually pretty good this season, except a little algae because of so much rain this season.
Thanks for your help

 

[Bama Rambler]

No problem. The best thing about the BBB method is that you can fix just about anything you do to the pool.

You overshot the TA a little, but don't even worry about that. If the pH is at 7 I would not adjust it much if at all. It will probably slowly rise on it's own. If you think it's below 7 I would bump it up just a tiny bit to about 7.2.

 

[engine16]

Thanks for your help!
What did I do wrong with the addition of borax and ma to my pool? were the calculations off? Or should I added the borax first and lower the ph with the ma after?
Thanks again

 

[Bama Rambler]

If you were specifically trying to up your borates to 50ppm then you probably added too much at one time in the wrong order. However, if you were just interested in following the BBB method you didn't need to add either. You just got into an advanced area a little too soon.