Either adding Salt to a non SWG pool or borates? Which is preferred to obtain the soft silky feel of the water. I understand both would be best but if you had to done one which one?
Borates or Salt
- Thread starter Lowertc
- Start date
I asked the same question...and the consensus was...whatever you prefer! So I looked at prices...since the BBB method is here to save us money. I decided to go with the salt, it was less expensive in the long run.
I'm going out today to buy my 12 bags of salt! :-D
I'm going out today to buy my 12 bags of salt! :-D
The water may or may not feel better to you, regardless of which you use.
From reports here on the forum, I would say probably more than half report an improvement but perhaps not much more. It seems to be pretty subjective so taking the least expensive path may not be a bad thing.
From reports here on the forum, I would say probably more than half report an improvement but perhaps not much more. It seems to be pretty subjective so taking the least expensive path may not be a bad thing.
ok, Added some salt today will add more Wednesday if needed, I am targeting 1800-2000 PPM... Used the Morton crystals, dissolved very quickly. About how long before I can get a accurate reading 24hrs? Will leave the pump running tonight.
mid day prior to salt
FC 4 Target 6
TC 4 Target 6
PH 7.5
TA 110
CH 220
Borates ?
Going to try borates in the hot tub.(Borax and Acid route)..Can I use a PH down in place of acid when adding Borax? Should i bring the PH down to 7.0 prior to adding?
Pool store mentioned gentle Spa which is the same as Supreme plus!
Perhaps i will add to pool later in the year!
mid day prior to salt
FC 4 Target 6
TC 4 Target 6
PH 7.5
TA 110
CH 220
Borates ?
Going to try borates in the hot tub.(Borax and Acid route)..Can I use a PH down in place of acid when adding Borax? Should i bring the PH down to 7.0 prior to adding?
Pool store mentioned gentle Spa which is the same as Supreme plus!
Perhaps i will add to pool later in the year!
The advantage of Supreme Plus or Gentle Spa is that you don't need to add acid. For pool quantities, people seem to find it cheaper to buy straight boric acid from a chemical supplier.
In the spa, I wouldn't bother lowering pH to 7.0 first; you should start at the pH you want to maintain, and if you measure the chems correctly, the end result should be pretty close. Seems to me in principle you should be able to use pH Down (dry acid) instead of muriatic but the Pool Calculator won't calculate that for you.
--paulr
In the spa, I wouldn't bother lowering pH to 7.0 first; you should start at the pH you want to maintain, and if you measure the chems correctly, the end result should be pretty close. Seems to me in principle you should be able to use pH Down (dry acid) instead of muriatic but the Pool Calculator won't calculate that for you.
--paulr
The Pool Calculator in the pH adjustment section does list "dry acid" amounts by both weight and volume in addition to Muriatic Acid.PaulR said:
The borate section doesn't show/allow you to select dry acid, because using dry acid is not recommended. Using dry acid in those quantities adds a lot of sulfates to the water which can cause problems for SWG cells and possibly plaster. Dry acid is also enough more expensive that using boric acid is less expensive (and much simpler). If you are concerned about price you should use borax and muriatic acid. If handling muriatic acid bothers you, or you want convenience, you should switch to using boric acid instead.
sorry about posting in both places...
Boric acid? Where can this be found? Not good for pets correct?
Boric acid? Where can this be found? Not good for pets correct?
Boric acid is available on the Internet at places like The Chemistry Store and Duda Diesel. It is also sold in pool stores under a variety of brand names, like ProTeam Supreme Plus, Haviland Salt Support, and Omni/Guardex/Simplicity Maximizer.
svenpup
LifeTime Supporter
Borates in general are not good for pets, regardless of whether they come from boric acid or borax or proteam or _____.Lowertc said:
As long as the pets aren't getting the majority of their drinking water from the pool they will be fine. Pets should be trained not to drink pool water anyway.
think i'm going with the salt first.... I'm trying to balance TA and PH before adding borates...eventually i'd like both...
? D ?
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I'm going the Borates route first as it apparently helps with eradicating the backswimmers 
Then I'll get an Intex SWG for the salt.
Then I'll get an Intex SWG for the salt.
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