I'm planning on adding borates and I lowered my TA to 70 in preparation. I had the water tested at the pool store for CYA (it's 61) and they pointed out the adjusted TA is only 57. Do I need to bring this back up before adding the borates? Which number matters, the TA or adjusted TA?
TA & Borates
- Thread starter tanikir
- Start date
Your TA is fine and you can use The Pool Calculator to calculate the saturation index. If it's low and you have a plaster pool, then you can always increase Calcium Hardness (CH) or target a somewhat higher pH to compensate. It looks like you've got an above-ground pool which is probably vinyl so the saturation index isn't as important so the low TA is just fine.
The Borates will help stabilize your pH. The only reason you'd want a higher TA was if you were using an acidic source of chlorine such as Trichlor pucks/tabs but I suspect your using chlorinating liquid or bleach where a lower TA is better.
The Borates will help stabilize your pH. The only reason you'd want a higher TA was if you were using an acidic source of chlorine such as Trichlor pucks/tabs but I suspect your using chlorinating liquid or bleach where a lower TA is better.
Here at TFP, we always use TA numbers directly from the test kit. All of the Pool School articles assume TA numbers are straight from the test kit.