So you want to add borates to your pool--Why and How

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Butterfly said:
kjdiver said:
Happy Spring! This year I am looking into adding Borates into my pool. Have had the pool open a week and getting it stabilized. Here are my current numbers, is there adjustments I should do before working on the borates (other than increase my Salt and CYA for my SWG)?

FC - 8 (just about finished shocking)
CC- 0
PH - 7.5
TA - 130
CH - 300
CYA - 20
Salt - 3000

Thanks!

~32k gallon gunite pool.
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Happy Spring to you, too :wave:

Go back to Page 1, Post 1, of this thread for specific instructions. Get everything balanced, especially TA, before you start working on the borates.
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Thanks...feeling stupid...read page one a month ago and since pool calc said I was balanced thought I might be good to go. Of course that is why I posted this message! thanks For responding!
 
This is some expensive stuff.

http://www.amazon.com/Twenty-Mule-Team- ... ords=Borax

This is the cheapest borax I've found so far. Walgreens was more expensive.

17 boxes is around 150 dollars

http://www.spa-daddy.com/Pool-Solutions ... 4AodAVQAnA

I have this instead of Acid which if I read right I could use instead.

Either way its a bunch of money. Basically ideally you would only need to do this once for the whole season. That's 189.95 for the PH- if the 10.8 ounce weight per 8 ounce volume Muriatic acid is an accurate conversion.

http://x.havuz.org/viewtopic.php?t=7940

348.92 for a season of great feeling sparkling water not including other chemicals....If we swim through August thats 87.23 a month...

I suppose I could find cheaper sources maybe, but sheesh....I'm not sure its worth it. I guess I do have some lower costs to factor in considering the need for less Chlorine and other stuff...

My head hurts.

Maybe I'm missing something or this is only for rich people
 
I use boric acid and spend about $50 a season for boric acid for my 19,000 gallon pool. Of course, the first time I added borates it was almost three times that much because the level started at zero instead of 30.
 
Raiken3712 said:
This is some expensive stuff. ...Maybe I'm missing something or this is only for rich people
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No doubt it is optional.

55 lbs of Boric Acid (I think about what you need) will cost you about 100 lbs shipped to Texas from dudadiesel. That is the way I would go (and went)if you decide to do this. No need for the acid then. Then top ups each year would be maybe no more than 1/3 of that.

The "great feel" part is harder to judge, and I can't really say that I am using less chlorine because I don't have that data, but I know my ph is rock solid all season long, and I have a swg. If I didn't have the swg, I might be less motivated to do it however.
 
I checked Walgreens and it said 8.99 for one box. Walmart wasn't listing their price online, but I didn't figure it would be that much less. Guess I should check it though that Dudadiesal seems like a good deal.

They seem to have free shipping on a bunch. I could order 2 25 lb Granular with free shipping and 1 5 pound?

I see Granular Boric Acid 99% Tech Grade and Powder. I could get 2 20 lb powder 1 10 and 1 5?

What are the differences between powdered and granular? Anything important. It looks like granular would be easier.

It looks like with 2 25 lb granular and 1 5 pound the total is 126.85 with free shipping.

That is pretty decent. Unless I am missing something.

If I do this I need to adjust my PH first though. My TA last night was 110 with a pH of 7.2. I've seen various recommendations between 7.2-7.8. One site mentioned up to 8.1 or something. Would my ideal be based on my location? I'm in Lewisville, TX so perhaps that factors in.

My CYA right now is 30. Calcium Hardness was 200.
 
linen said:
Raiken3712 said:
This is some expensive stuff. ...Maybe I'm missing something or this is only for rich people
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No doubt it is optional.

55 lbs of Boric Acid (I think about what you need) will cost you about 100 lbs shipped to Texas from dudadiesel. That is the way I would go (and went)if you decide to do this. No need for the acid then. Then top ups each year would be maybe no more than 1/3 of that.

The "great feel" part is harder to judge, and I can't really say that I am using less chlorine because I don't have that data, but I know my ph is rock solid all season long, and I have a swg. If I didn't have the swg, I might be less motivated to do it however.
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What do you mean by it will cost you about 100 lb shipped to Texas? Is there a minimum I have to buy? Would the 2 25 lbs of granular and 1 5 lb not work?
 
Granular is much easier to handle, though the powdered form will work. The most cost effective option for boric acid in most parts of the country is DudaDiesel's 55 lb tub. Occasionally they offer a better price on eBay.

Borax is about $5/box where I am, and muriatic acid is $5.50/gallon. Prices vary somewhat by location, even from the same chain.

I've never noticed any taste from adding borates.
 

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JasonLion said:
Granular is much easier to handle, though the powdered form will work. The most cost effective option for boric acid in most parts of the country is DudaDiesel's 55 lb tub. Occasionally they offer a better price on eBay.

Borax is about $5/box where I am, and muriatic acid is $5.50/gallon. Prices vary somewhat by location, even from the same chain.

I've never noticed any taste from adding borates.
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The 55 lb tub has shipping costs. Is there a problem with buying the 2 25s and one 5 with free shipping instead?

Lol..I need to actually look at the costs....never mind its actually cheaper to get the 55 pound with the shipping costs than the others with free shipping.....the costs is less for the bigger amount offsetting the free shipping....I'm an idiot don't mind me.

102 dollars doesn't sound nearly as bad as 300 something lol. Thanks for the link thats a good place.

We do have a leak problem, but I don't think it'll be that much replacement we'll need, and perhaps we'll get the leak addressed sometime this year.
 
linen said:
Sorry about that I meant $100 dollars not lb :hammer:

I think it ends up being cheaper getting 55 lb bucket and being charged seperatly for shipping...that is where I got the $100 including shipping.
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No problem...I should have been able to figure that out considering I did the calculation after and came up with 102 dollars....lol

So game plan is run the filter clean the filter till clear while maintaining proper chemical balance and adjusting pH. Than after its clear add borates perhaps. I guess its probably best to adjust the pH up after getting it cleared though.

So clear the water and maintain FC levels and than raise pH to 7.6-7.8 before adding borates.
 
Mitchum said:
Can someone else that has added borates already please comment on that?
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My wife has a very sensitive sense of taste and smell and she did not notice any negative difference after adding the boric acid. On the other hand, if I ever use any stabilized chlorine product, say to slowly increase CYA, she immediately notices a metallic or chemical taste in the water that takes about a day or two to go away from the pool water. I've never been able to figure out what she is tasting and figure it's some sort of impurity or by-product in stabilized chlorine products.
 
Been lurking for two years since buying this house. Learned an amazing amount that has helped me keep the pool running--thank you all for sharing your knowledge and experience.

Just did the borates this morning and I'm amazed at the clarity and brilliance of the water already. It was clean and clear before, but now it genuinely sparkles. Had to hit 5 stores to scrape up all 18 boxes of 20 Mule Team, but it's completely worth it. Downside: now you can see all the flaws in the very old plaster r-e-a-l-l-y clearly...

Looking forward to the benefits of more stable pH and reduced chlorine use. Funny thing--I almost never use the pool, just keep it up for the family and guests. Who knows...maybe with the slightly reduced workload pool might look more inviting. :party:

Thanks again!
 
linen said:
Welcome to tfp, up_periscope :wave:

Now go enjoy that pool (unless it is like mine and still has a massive block of ice in it).
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Oh, come on you can still swim under the ice. Just don't let it freeze over your head :p

Get some protection for your feet, hands, and ears and go at it :p

Short amounts of time till you get used to it and you'll love doing it in no time. Its a rush heh

I'm somewhat kidding but there are some pretty great benefits to swimming in cold water. Mild cold stress works too though and is much less daunting and you don't have to be as careful because of hypothermia concerns.

http://www.hypothermics.com/

Ray Cronise focuses mainly on 80 degree water or 50-60 degree air for the benefits. Much less hard. Its a great way to lose weight as long as you don't overeat burns tons of extra calories if you need to or lower inflammation. Tons of benefits :)
 
SO because i'm constantly fighting PH rise all the time I decided to try and added borates to my pool and 250 gallon stand alone hot tub. Instructions in the first post were very easy to follow. My TA was good so I just needed to lower my PH, did that and then added borates and acid per instructions. Tonight marks 48 hours so i'll be checking PH again (but of course i've already tested it last night and all is well).

Unfortunately i can't actually say anything about how the water looks. BUT i can say that the water in the hot tub is silky smooth, sides of hot tub are squeaky clean, and I can't smell anything, if anything i say it smells fresher but THAT COULD JUST BE IN MY HEAD.

I should be in the pool tonight, or tomorrow night so i'll post an update then. I bought all wal-mart had, 8 boxes, used 7 in the pool which should have gotten me to 30 PPM, today i'm getting the rest of the borates and will put them in tonight. So by tomorrow night it should be at 50, just ordered the borates test and will test as soon as i get it.
 
Thanks, harleysilo. I look forward to hearing how things go, especially related to how stable your ph becomes in the coming weeks (I too fight rising ph levels every week) and any taste/smell effects. I'm less worried about how sparkly the water looks as that's a minor advantage in my opinion.
 
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