Drained 80%; 3/4 full now; can't wait to get balancing!

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jblizzle said:
Since generally the pH goes up in most pools over time, and adding a lot of bleach can make it go up some too (temporarily), it is good to start at a low pH so it does not get too high while you are in the shock process and can not test the pH.
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Why can't I test the pH while I am in the shocking process?

Or is it unecessary to test anyway if you know the pH before you start shocking and when you are using liquid chlorine?

Also, in my TF100 the ph test only has colour shades for gradations 7.2 , 7.5? I suppose there is no need to be more accurate than this? If the colour is in between do you just gestimate what the ph is when it is between 7.2 and 7.5 I suppose?
 
The pH test tends to be inaccurate when the FC > 10ppm. It drifts false high very quickly due to the chlorine.

You can test the pH if your FC happens to drop below 10ppm, but not really needed.

All pH tests use the color matching. I generally feel if the water looks pink then pH is too high. If it looks yellowish then pH is too low. If it looks more orangish then you are good.
 
Ok first and foremost I want to thank all you all so much, you guys rock!!!

I am shocking at the moment, the pool looks awesome and I know all my levels.

I am going to do my first OCLT tonight/tomorrow, and I suspect the level will drop less than 1ppm overnight.

Then I can start using my filter less.

Can't thank you guys enough for giving me the knowledge and power to control my pool.

I've never seen it looking this good!
 
Thanks Kim.

I am now waiting for the Chlorine to come down, it is coming down pretty slowly. (Only 2ppm per 24 hours, it is not very warm or sunny here at the moment!)

Once it is down to normal level I will start just checking my CL and ph levels daily.

I have bought a 25kg bag of boric acid which was 50 bucks which should last a while!

I have ordered some lamotte borate test strips and will add borates when I have the test strips and water balanced and all levels ok.

I am tempted to add half the required boric acid until I get the test strips, do you think that would be OK?

Thanks for your help - I am a BBB convert!

No more pool shop! :mrgreen:
 
I will let someone else answer about the boric acid as I cannot use it due to cats drinking out of the worlds biggest water bowl! :cat:

I SO know the good feeling of being in control of the pool! It is WONDERFUL! :whoot: It is all thanks to the site! See we had a pool before but I had NO idea how to do it. I trusted the pool store! My CYA got sky high and ruined the liner and NEVER looked good no matter how much money I paid for stuff or how much time/work I put into it. So I took it down and sold it. :?

Husband loved that darn pool though so I started looking to see if there was a better/cheaper way to do the pool and found TFP! Once I found this site I KNEW I could do it! I order the pool and the same day ordered the test kit! Now we BOTH love the pool! :party:

You will find that it gets even easier as you find out what your pool likes and does not like. I seemed to have found the sweet spot for the TA and PH and have not had to do a thing with my PH in a while! Now I just add my chlorine as my FC test tells me to. I do a OCLT about once a week to just make sure there is nothing about to happen. The one time I lost some FC over night I was ready! SHOCK Process and it never really happened and it only took 2 days to over come what ever wanted to happen! :tongue:

THANKS TFP! :rockon:

Kim
 
juzzie said:
Thanks Kim.

I am now waiting for the Chlorine to come down, it is coming down pretty slowly. (Only 2ppm per 24 hours, it is not very warm or sunny here at the moment!)

Once it is down to normal level I will start just checking my CL and ph levels daily.

I have bought a 25kg bag of boric acid which was 50 bucks which should last a while!

I have ordered some lamotte borate test strips and will add borates when I have the test strips and water balanced and all levels ok.

I am tempted to add half the required boric acid until I get the test strips, do you think that would be OK?

Thanks for your help - I am a BBB convert!

No more pool shop! :mrgreen:
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Hi Juzzie,

Where did you get the test kit from? I have been looking but seems they are only OS and no one seems to ship here.

Thanks.
 

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JKAU said:
Hi Juzzie,

Another question, how are you finding your pool since you added the borate? Pros and cons please.
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I will answer this question by hijacking a pinned post at the start of the BBB section...

1) more stable pH

I have found my pH to be extremely stable. So stable in fact that I have a used hardly any of a 15 litre bottle of acid I bought 5 months ago. Even when I shock the pool the pH doesn't seem to drift up at all which is what you would expect.

2) Algaestatic properties

Haven't had any algae as I keep my chlorine levels up at all times. If I go away I have people add bleach for me. It has gotten low on 1 or 2 occasions. Again no algae. Not sure if this is the borates or just luck. As they say, every pool is different.

3) reduced chlorine usage

I am not fussed by putting extra chlorine in. The liquid chlorine from bunnings is great value and the quality/strength is there. I never really monitored how much liquid chlorine I used before the borates, therefore I cannot comment on reduced chlorine usage.

4) silkier feeling water--less skin and eye irritation

Water feels great, but then again we have extremely soft water where I am in Bacchus Marsh, therefore I cannot say that borates make for less skin and eye irritation. Having said that myself and others never experience skin or eye irritation.

5) clearer, 'sparkling' water

Absolutley YES YES YES. The water has a sparkling jewel like appearance and looks amazing. Everybody comments on how good it looks, even young kids and people don't even know the changes I have made to the maintenance regime to achieve these stunning results.

Do these products live up to the claims made for them?
A definite YES!

Remember that all pools are different so you might see dramatic results or just a slight improvement. There are a lot of other factors that come into play. Do borates help simplify pool maintenace? Another definite YES!

Are there any downsides to adding borates?
I can only think of two.
1) They are an additional expense

I sourced a supplier in Melbourne where I bought a 25kg bag of boric acid for 50 bucks so it was a no brainer in terms of expense...

I was a bit put off by the cost of supermarket borax when I was first doing my research.

Boric acid is awesome IMO because I put about 18 kg in I think and pH didn't shift at all.

2) There has been some concern of toxicity if dogs drink large quantities of water from the pool.

Luckily my dog doesn't drink water out of the pool. Luckily she doesn't swim in there either!!!


I do have to say that most people find that their pools become much easier to maintain once the borates are in and several people on the PoolForum board have reported that since adding borates they have not had any mustard algae outbreaks.

The biggest downside for the BBB for me is that now that everything is stable, testing is a non event as nothing exciting happens. It's always the same result, I pop my numbers into pool calculator add my liquid chlorine (every second day) and that's all I do except for emptying the strainer basket, brushing where the creepy crawly doesn't reach and scoop out some leaves every now and then. It really is too easy.
 
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