Hello! Year 3 of my pool ownership. Have become savvy on chemistry but have NOT tried borates yet. Have a 13,600 gal salt pool and ph keeps rising all the time. Southeast Michigan. Would like to add boric acid so I don’t have to add a ton of muriatic acid after. Pool calculators online say I would need 45 lbs of boric acid! Is this legit..45 pounds??? That’s like 12ea $20 bags for $240. I just need a sanity check that this is legit??? Benefits seems amazing. If I don’t have to add acid every week to keep ph in check, and also get sparkling looking water I am down. But want to make sure I am making a good investment. Thanks!
Borates newbie! The unspoken secret chemical?!
- Thread starter brenmac03
- Start date
Don't take that to the bank! Borates make a difference for some owners but for others.....nothing. There is no harm using them (except for your wallet) but I believe the benefits are dubious
Read it again to make sure you understand that the amount of acid you use will be the same, it’ll just be using more less frequently. I didn’t find that borates made much of a difference.
- Jul 21, 2013
- 55,419
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Welcome to TFP.
With borates you will need to add MORE acid when you need to lower your pH.
I had borates and prefer just adding a splash of acid every few days to a week then the close to a gallon before. I find I am going through less acid without borates.
www.troublefreepool.com
With borates you will need to add MORE acid when you need to lower your pH.
I had borates and prefer just adding a splash of acid every few days to a week then the close to a gallon before. I find I am going through less acid without borates.
Borates in pool - Further Reading
www.troublefreepool.com
- Apr 10, 2018
- 5,647
- Pool Size
- 18375
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45
- Jun 30, 2012
- 21
- Pool Size
- 13600
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Turbo Cell (T-CELL-5)
My experience with borates has been positive. I've been using them for the past two seasons. I have the same size pool as you, and looking back at my logs I'm adding ~40 oz MA every 10 days. I'm also running a fountain 24/7 to combat the 100+ temperatures we're having in San Antonio. I bought boric acid from Duda Disease (boric granular | Duda Diesel Alternative Energy, Chemicals & Industrial Supply Store) - the current price is $75 for a 55 lb bag.
- Mar 5, 2020
- 3,217
- Pool Size
- 66000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Astral Viron V35
Before buying and adding boric acid, I'd suggest to get a good test kit first (Test Kits Compared), test all water parameters and post them here.
There may be some things we can do first to reduce your acid demand.
There may be some things we can do first to reduce your acid demand.
- Jun 1, 2018
- 14,349
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Btw - use
PoolMath for calculating additions
Duda diesel & bulk apothecary is the lowest price- make sure you get granular not powdered boric acid.
PoolMath for calculating additions
Duda diesel & bulk apothecary is the lowest price- make sure you get granular not powdered boric acid.