Borates and salt - how to test?

[jleonard]

Any suggestions for testing borates and salt levels? LaMotte strips?

I'd like to explore borates for water feel and stabilization, but before adding Borax, I'd like to get a sense of my current levels.

My SWG (Goldline) remote displays a salt level of 3400ppm (I just loaded up for the season.) Should I trust this display, or get the strips?

I have the TFT100, but it looks like I need to expand my water testing portfolio.

Thanks!

 

[duraleigh]

When I needed to include a salt option with the TF100, I asked Evan (waterbear) and he suggested the aquascheck salt strips.

He IS the testing guru and I have not been disappointed in his advice....either on the strips or the other testing issues he has helped me with. That's a long-winded way of saying I recommend aqua-check salt strips but I wanted to give it some background.

 

[jleonard]

Any suggestions for borates?

 

[txborn]

Hi jleonard, for Borates, use the LaMotte Insta Test strips for Borates. I got mine on ebay but waterbear has a link for them at a pool supply store. I'm sure he will chime in soon with the link. Thay are accurate.

Don't get the Aqua Check strips. I had them last year and they didn't work. Tap water showed 50ppm There are others who had similar bad readings with them.

Good luck!

 

[Guest]

For salt the AquaChek salt strips are easy AND accurate, much more dependable then the Taylor drop test for salt, IMHO. (I have both and use the strips. The results of the two are basically identical if you do the drop test right, which is a big IF! )

For borates the LaMotte borate strips are the best generally available test I have found. Much easier to read than the AquaChek or Proteam. Once opened the AquaCheck strips seem to deteriorate quickly and become useless. I just threw out two vial of them that were NOT that old! Proteam does make a drop test for borates but it's pricey and not generally available...We are a Proteam dealer and our local distributor doesn't carry them! :x

If you can't find the borate strips locally I have ordered from Lambert's Home Services. They are fast on shipping and their price is excellent.

They also tried to spam this forum a while back, unfortunately.