numbers day after adding borates

[kenny]

Added borates yesterday with the borax/acid method.

Here's the latest,

FC 3
TC 2
PH 8
TA 140
CH 225

Will test the borates tomorrow.

Should I correct the PH and TA now or wait another day to see if they come down?

 

[reebok]

Re: numbers day after addding borates

your fc and tc are off. did you reduce the ta before you added borates? I believe JasonLion has mentioned it is much harder to lower TA after borates.

 

[kenny]

Re: numbers day after addding borates

I did lower the ta and was surprised to see it so high.

 

[reebok]

Re: numbers day after addding borates

the 20 mule team borax I used raised my TA by 20 (from 80 to 100). have you read waterbear's post about halfway down the page in this thread?
so-you-want-to-add-borates-to-your-pool-why-and-how-t4921-60.html
he talks a bit more about the ph.

 

[JasonLion]

Re: numbers day after addding borates

I would go ahead and lower the PH to around 7.5.

 

[kenny]

Re: numbers day after addding borates

thanks,

what's up with the FC and TC is that a false low on the TC?

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Re: numbers day after addding borates

thanks,

what's up with the FC and TC is that a false low on the TC?

Repeat the test.... testing error? TC cannot be less than FC. Not possible.

 

[kenny]

Re: numbers day after addding borates

error on my part, yup that seems about right.

thanks.

 

[JasonLion]

Are you getting the TC reading from the OTO test (drops turn the sample various shades of yellow)? Using the OTO test it is very difficult to distinguish the shades of yellow for TC levels from 2 to about 8, they all look very similar and don't really match the color samples for 3 and 5. It takes a lot of practice, and comparisons back to the FAS-DPD test, to be able to read OTO values above 2.

 

[kenny]

I'm using the Taylor Test kit from Leslie's.

How long should I wait to retest after adding acid?

 

[kenny]

Getting better.....

FC 5
TC 5
PH 7.2 (aerating)
TA 110
CH 175 (pool company told me not to add CH for 90 days after construction)??
CYA 50

 

[JasonLion]

When was your PebbleTec applied?

 

[kenny]

It's been 30 days.

 

[JasonLion]

You don't want to lower your TA too far before you raise the CH level. I would normally add CH after four to six weeks. But you don't want to do anything that would jeopardize the warranty.

 

[kenny]

Thanks, that's what I was thinking too......keeping the TA high with the low CH. Once I can start adding CH, what would be a good TA and CH level to maintain?

The pentair manual for the SWG recommends a TA at the high end of 120 but that seems opposite of the recommended levels on this site.