Adding Borates???

[LuLu]

I want to add borates to my pool. My numbers are:

FC 7
CC 0
TC 7
Ph 7.4
TA 120

Question, how low do I need to get the Total Alk. down to before adding borax and acid?

 

[Hotrod30]

My numbers are close to yours; so I'll wait to see what kind of an answer you get. I was going to add borates to the pool until I read about adding salt to the pool. Now I'm not sure what I will add to make the water feel better and have a better look to it.

 

[sefrlw]

the only diff in your numbers and mine were that my TA was 90-100. I added the borax and acid following the directions to a T and nothing changed. I don't think you need to worry about the TA. But yeah wait for the experts to be sure.

 

[JasonLion]

The appropriate TA level before adding borates has a great deal to do with how much of an issue you have with PH rising from aeration. If you don't have a SWG, spa, fountain, or waterfall and don't currently have issues with PH rising, then TA can be at any reasonable level.

If you are adding borates to try and get PH rises under control then it is important to lower TA first, because that will be significantly more difficult once you are the borates. In this case you want to lower TA down fairly low, 50-80 depending on your CYA level and amount of aeration, at the lower end of that range with low CYA and high aeration.

 

[LuLu]

I was considering adding borates as an algae preventative. So far I haven't had any problems w/ rising ph even after running a fountain (via one of my returns) all day. I have been gradually lowering my TA the past few days. It started at 130 and the last time I tested was down to 120. I've purchased 12 boxes of borax and 3.5 gal of acid but was not sure about the beginning TA.