Today I plan to start the process of reaching 50 ppm borates. Since this requires several alternate additions of borax and muriatic, and considering that these chemicals force pH in opposing directions, how long should I wait between subsequent additions? Normally I would wait several hours, but I would like to accelerate this process due to time constraints (I only have about 3 hours to work with in the evenings). Also, do borates evaporate? I know they don't get "used up" but I wasn't sure about evap.
Achieving 50 ppm borates
- Thread starter Poseidon
- Start date
No, borates don't evaporate. The main loss of borates is through splash out or draining of the pool.
You can add quite a bit of borax (say three or four boxes) and then add the corresponding amount of acid (say one gallon), and repeat as needed. Remember to pour quite slowly, borax into a skimmer, acid in front of a return.
The key thing is to wait several hours after the borax/acid additions, with the pump running to allow everything to mix, and then check the PH and adjust as needed. The brief PH changes during the additions are not a big deal, the crucial thing is to get the PH to end up in the right place.
Also, never premix the acid and borax! Add each one to the pool, not to each other.
You can add quite a bit of borax (say three or four boxes) and then add the corresponding amount of acid (say one gallon), and repeat as needed. Remember to pour quite slowly, borax into a skimmer, acid in front of a return.
The key thing is to wait several hours after the borax/acid additions, with the pump running to allow everything to mix, and then check the PH and adjust as needed. The brief PH changes during the additions are not a big deal, the crucial thing is to get the PH to end up in the right place.
Also, never premix the acid and borax! Add each one to the pool, not to each other.
The way Proteam recommends to add Supreme (their brand of sodium tetraborate) is to add half the acid, then half the borax, then the other half of the acid and the rest of the borax. I would suggest a good brushing after adding each chem to mix them. Wait about 48 hours and then make final adjustments to the pH.
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