I have Bioguard's Optimizer Plus which is tetraborate pentahydrate. Can anyone provide me with the calculation that would show how much tetraborate pentahydrate to use to raise pH and the effect it would also have on TA? I am not looking for a specific number to raise pH, I would just like to be able to figure this out. The pool calculator only shows the calculation for raising pH with borax. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Fornula/calcuation for rasing pH with tetraborate pentahydrate
- Thread starter hoshiemotto
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You can still use PoolMath, but you just use 76% of the weight of Borax using your Optimizer Plus instead.
Ok, so to get to my desired pH pool math states that I need 2.64 oz by weight of boarx. So I would add 2.00 oz by weight (2.64 x 76%) of Optimizer Plus? Please confirm.
Also, when starting up my hot tub with Borates (tetraborate pentahydrate) which is 450 gallons, can I add the tetraborate pentahydrate and muriatic acid to a bucket of spa water to mix and then put all in the spa at once since it is not that much chemicals? Poolmath calls for 16.19 oz by weight of tetraborate pentahydrate and 10.10 oz by volume of muriatic acid. This would be added to a 450 gallon spa. Please let me know if I can do this at once or if I should to the tetraborate pentahydrate then muriatic acid over 3 separate occasions per to Bioguard instructions for a pool.
Last question. When starting up my tub with Borates I know I need to adjust the Alk and then pH before the Borates. However, I am not sure if I should adjust the calcium hardness before or after adding the borates. Please advise.
Thanks for your help!
Also, when starting up my hot tub with Borates (tetraborate pentahydrate) which is 450 gallons, can I add the tetraborate pentahydrate and muriatic acid to a bucket of spa water to mix and then put all in the spa at once since it is not that much chemicals? Poolmath calls for 16.19 oz by weight of tetraborate pentahydrate and 10.10 oz by volume of muriatic acid. This would be added to a 450 gallon spa. Please let me know if I can do this at once or if I should to the tetraborate pentahydrate then muriatic acid over 3 separate occasions per to Bioguard instructions for a pool.
Last question. When starting up my tub with Borates I know I need to adjust the Alk and then pH before the Borates. However, I am not sure if I should adjust the calcium hardness before or after adding the borates. Please advise.
Thanks for your help!
Yes, you calculated that correctly.
As for adding Optimizer Plus with Muriatic Acid, you can't do that well in a bucket because it saturates the water so you are limited with how much you can mix in the bucket. Instead you can split the dosages of each into fourths and add them back and forth into the spa, the acid first. Splitting into thirds as Bioguard suggests would be OK as well.
You don't need to adjust the CH before the borates. I presume it's low and you want to increase it to 120-150 ppm to minimize foaming, but it doesn't matter whether you do this before or after adding the borates.
As for adding Optimizer Plus with Muriatic Acid, you can't do that well in a bucket because it saturates the water so you are limited with how much you can mix in the bucket. Instead you can split the dosages of each into fourths and add them back and forth into the spa, the acid first. Splitting into thirds as Bioguard suggests would be OK as well.
You don't need to adjust the CH before the borates. I presume it's low and you want to increase it to 120-150 ppm to minimize foaming, but it doesn't matter whether you do this before or after adding the borates.
Thanks for the info chem geek. I usually leave 2-3 hours between my ALK and pH adjustments, can I do the same with the acid and Bioguard as well, or does that need more time (the directions state 8 hours between application, but that seems a bit much)? And can I do all these adjustments in 1 day, time permitting? If so I would do the ALK, pH and Bioguard on day 1 and then the calcium and my start up doses on day 2. Thanks again for your help
Their 8 hours in between is excessive if you have decent circulation. In my pool, 90% of the chemical is dispersed everywhere in the pool in 10 minutes if I add it over a return flow in the deep end (as measured in the FC test taking a sample at various points around the pool), but I have 3 returns, 2 floor drains, and a skimmer in a 16'x32' pool. I would think that 30 minutes or certainly an hour would be sufficient if the pump is running. And yes, you can do all these additions in the same day. Just remember that after each addition to lightly brush the wall and floor of the pool in the area where you add the concentrated chemical slowly over a return flow.
Since it is a hot tub with many jet pumps I would think the circulation is more than sufficient, especially compared to a pool. I think I will give 1-2 hour between doses to be safe. I appreciate your responses chem geek, thanks
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