Borates added...PH still rising strong

[Lando]

I added borates to my pool last week hoping it would help my battle with rising PH with it's buffering properties, I was wrong. I checked my PH and it has gone from 7.6. to 7.9 in the matter of a few days.Without intervention the pool will usually top out at around 8.1-8.2ph.

My TA was 90 before adding borates, after adding 50ppm of borates it is has gone to TA of 100. In a few weeks time I am sure that TA will drop with all the acid I put into the pool, after a few months I usually have to add baking soda to get it back into spec. My jets look fine, no air bubbles or substantial bubbles in the pump basket so I don't think it's an aeration problem.


So my question is what other ideas can I do keep this PH battle more stable?

 

[jblizzle]

Isn't the first step in adding borates to ensure your TA is lowered to around 70-80ppm (assuming you are not using tri-chlor pucks)? That is likely why your pH is still rising.

Now that you have added them, it is going to MUCH harder to get the TA lowered to the correct range.

 

[Lando]

Isn't the first step in adding borates to ensure your TA is lowered to around 70-80ppm (assuming you are not using tri-chlor pucks)? That is likely why your pH is still rising.

Now that you have added them, it is going to MUCH harder to get the TA lowered to the correct range.

Sorry, I have adjusted my values..my original ones stated were not correct (higher). Approximately how much muriatic acid should be added to get the TA down to 80?

 

[JasonLion]

See How to Lower Total Alkalinity, in Pool School, for instructions on lowering TA.

What form of chlorine are you using? Unless you are using trichlor or dichlor, or your TA is already down to 60, you should be lowering TA to slow PH increases. Higher TA levels cause the PH to rise more quickly. Adding baking soda just forces the PH to rise some more.

 

[Lando]

I primarily use bleach. I occasionally use tri-clor pucks for long weekend or vacations.