TA and borates low, but pH high - order to adjust?

[dawgdr]

I am just starting to open my pool for the season and got starting numbers to make sure I bought enough supplies. This is what I got:
pH >8.2
TA = 50
borates = 20
Still covered (looplock), no chlorine added yet, I have not started the pumps and filters, and got the water sample from a skimmer accessible before removing the cover. I don't usually open this early but it's a little green and I don't want to wait and have it get worse.

My question: In what order should I tackle these issues? I want to avoid wasting acid and moving numbers up and down and up and down to get it balanced. Should I adjust TA with baking soda first, then lower pH and then do borates with the required amount of acid? I'm just not sure where to start here.... Thanks!

 

[duraleigh]

I would circulate the water before adjusting anything......you'll be off to a better start.

Then, If TA is still 50 or less, I would bring it up to around 80 or so (Do you have an SWG?)

Next, get your pH down into the mid or lower 7's.

I have always considered borates an option (I don't use them) so they can be adjusted any time later.

 

[JasonLion]

Welcome to TFP!

duraleigh pretty much covered it, but I do want to emphasize that you want to get the PH down reasonably soon. Also, adjusting PH will change TA a little, and adjusting TA will change PH a little. After you adjust one, test the other before adjusting it. You may even need to do two or three rounds of adjustments to get everything where you want it if you are making fairly large changes (the PH change is going to be what I call fairly large).

 

[dawgdr]

No SWG, just bleach....
That gives me a place to start. I will just make sure I have enough baking soda, acid and bleach to get started and worry about the borax later. But I have to say that I have fought algae since I bought this house and last year with borax I had no algae issues - of course last year was my first year using a complete test kit and exactly following BBB so who's to say what helped the most - but I am not fixing what worked last year!
Thanks again!