How long after last Borax / Mur Acid addition, can we swim?

[ross5928]

Hi there,

OK I'm another person who will do the Borate addition.
I plan on doing it today . I have my 12 boxes of Borax ready
and my 3+ gallons of Mur Acid. So.....

HOW LONG after the last addition and wall scrubbing,
can we go swimming.

Also it was stated that the pH
will need 48 hours to stabilize, but should I do some pH or TA
testing TODAY, and what levels am I looking for ?

TA is Now at 90, pH is between 7.4 and 7.5

 

[JasonLion]

Wait at least an hour after the borates addition with the pump running, then test the PH. If the PH is between 7.2 and 7.8 you can swim. After 24 hours, test the PH again before swimming. Regardless of what the PH is now, test it again 48 hours after the borate addition and adjust as needed at that point.

 

[ross5928]

EXCELLENT Borax/Muriatic acid RESULTS ***

A GREAT follow up to my previous post.
2 days ago , in keeping with BBB, I switched to 12.5% bleach as my chlorine source.
Also, 2 days ago, I did the scary part and added 12 boxes of Borax and the 3+ gallons of Mur acid. I precisely followed the directions of Waterbear, with my wife still wondering " are you SURE
about the TWELVE boses of Borax?".
The pool is now STUNNING. Everyone comments on the clearness and shimmer. To me it looks like liquid crystal, and it was already good water to begin with. Some have mentioned a softness. I like the algaecide properties, since we have constant leaves from the trees that shade the pool.
Out of curiosity I did full tests today, using FAS-DPD, another great TFP recommendation, and using the other TF-100 Taylor kit tests and LaMotte test strips.... numbers are:

Borate : 50 :-D , FC : 7.5 ( after adding 3 ppm today), CC less than 0.5, CYA = 55, pH = 7.4 , TA = 100 , CH = 350, Phos = 200 . Seems good to me !
I think I also read that the pH will tend to naturally rise, since I have a aerated spa that spills into the pool , and since I am now using bleach.

I want to thank all of you, WaterBear in particular, who have helped me
with the pool that came with my house, when I moved in 2 months ago.
I am now a true believer of the unbiased opinions of the TFP website.
I still go to the pool store to get 12.5% bleach, 5 gallons for $20, but
not much else. I now cringe when I see all those huge containers of
Tri-Chlor and Cal-Hypo, because I was never steered away from them.
I was just told " drain 1/2 the pool when CYA gets too high" and "add Caltreat
when the Calcium gets too high" :blah: . And I was NEVER told that FC of 2-4 is too low based on my CYA of 55 with my outdoor pool .

Thanks to TFP I now feel I can help my neighbors and friends that have a pool.

Thank you all, now it's time to have some wet FUN
Ross in sunny 95 degree , Nor Cal .

 

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I agree with Ross. With Borax, the water looks crystal clear, shimmers, and feels softer. And, he's right, the pool stores know nothing about calculating the CYA level when adjusting your chlorine/shock level. Thanks again to TFP.