adding borates, have a question

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lefty51

lefty51

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May 5, 2015
448
East of Royals country western MO
I'm going to start the borax treatment today. PH is 7.4, TA is 70, CYA is 60 ( I think)

I think I will leave CYA adjust till after borates (if you think that's wise)

My question is when adding the borax and acid can or should I aerate the pool as I go or just leave it on normal return. :-?
 
The most import thing you can do BEFORE adding borates is adjust your TA. Once you add borates it's really difficult to lower it. So make sure it's right where you want it.

The primary advantage to borates is that it helps stabilize pH. A problem in a SWG pool where pH rise is a constant problem.

When adding just divide the amount of borax and acid by three and then put 1/3 of the borax in followed by 1/3 of the acid, wait a bit, then repeat, on the final third, you want to check your pH before starting so that you can do any fine adjustments to it as you are finishing. Any slight errors in the volume of the pool or amount of chemicals could produce a wild swing in pH, so use caution.
 
chiefwej said:
The most import thing you can do BEFORE adding borates is adjust your TA. Once you add borates it's really difficult to lower it. So make sure it's right where you want it.

The primary advantage to borates is that it helps stabilize pH. A problem in a SWG pool where pH rise is a constant problem.

When adding just divide the amount of borax and acid by three and then put 1/3 of the borax in followed by 1/3 of the acid, wait a bit, then repeat, on the final third, you want to check your pH before starting so that you can do any fine adjustments to it as you are finishing. Any slight errors in the volume of the pool or amount of chemicals could produce a wild swing in pH, so use caution.
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Thanks, I was going to do a third at a time instead of half so I could get "extra" brushing in and allow more time for mixing . So I should check PH before adding final third and adjust for PH when adding final third ? That would make me feel a little better about PH swing, that's why I thought about aerating during process. Thanks again !
 
pabeader said:
Or use boric acid (roach powder) and not mess around with the MA.
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Well, before I could REALLY checked on boric acid prices, the boss came home with 14 boxes of 20 mule team (raided two Walmarts to get), so I went to Lowes and bought the MA. So this first time will be the hard route. She said she would happily use what's left over. I should at least have clean clothes (even if there's acid holes in them):)
 
lefty51 said:
Well, before I could REALLY checked on boric acid prices, the boss came home with 14 boxes of 20 mule team (raided two Walmarts to get), so I went to Lowes and bought the MA. So this first time will be the hard route. She said she would happily use what's left over. I should at least have clean clothes (even if there's acid holes in them):)
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Lol. You will be known as the holy man. Just try not to get the MA on you and I hope you cand hold your breath. It is strong stuff.
 
It won't be hard at all. I did the equal split. After adding Borax I brushed all sides well, then acid, bush all sides again, rest of Borax again brush vigorously all sides, finally acid, brush again. Keep the pump running the whole time and I ran it for 48 hours after. It had stabilized my PH and TA tremendously....
 
Defgufman said:
It won't be hard at all. I did the equal split. After adding Borax I brushed all sides well, then acid, bush all sides again, rest of Borax again brush vigorously all sides, finally acid, brush again. Keep the pump running the whole time and I ran it for 48 hours after. It had stabilized my PH and TA tremendously....
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I know the guide says acid than borax. does it matter as long as I'm brushing and don't take a long lunch in between the acid and borax ?:sleep:
 

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lefty51 said:
I know the guide says acid than borax. does it matter as long as I'm brushing and don't take a long lunch in between the acid and borax ?:sleep:
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Either way will work, just don't add one then leave it that way. I prefer to add borax first. I just worry more about what a very low pH would do.
 
Saturn94 said:
+1

I'm on my 3rd season where I haven't had to add any acid, even using a SWCG. :)
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That's my main goal for adding borates. It will be a nice bonus if everyone tells me it "sparkles". Well the mules hauled the acid down into the pool, so time will tell. I know..... someone is thinking "boy your fast at brushing" or "hey, you didn't brush enough !" Well mom, I must confess there were two brushes working on the pool and I was the relief man ! So how soon can I test PH and get an accurate reading 24 or 48 hrs ? ;)
 
Defgufman said:
My PH was normal in 30 minutes
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Well, I guess it's a learning process. checked the numbers this morning. PH went from 7.4 to 8, TA from 70 to 80. Even though I was positive about pool volume I might have to tweak that in the future. I was so concerned about PH drop I let it aerate all night (it's a 24 pipe with about 20 1/8 " holes drill at angles), so that would account for some of the rise. But the TA should have come out pretty even. I was (almost) dead on with the amounts of borax and acid according to pool math. (It's hard to be accurate with acid burning my finger and fumes:rolleyes:)

I'm posting these so other newbies like me will learn to slow down and think things through twice :oops:

So after imputing new numbers, I added the 46 oz of acid it called for. Then I thought, OH NO :shock:, I forgot to account for the borates ! Went back into pool math and it had me covered. It had the borates at 50 from my calculations from yesterday and assumed my borate level ! (Good pool math, good boy :grin:.) You should probably have a popup box after adding numbers that's says "Hey slick, did you double check all the numbers ?"

I'm at that dangerous point where it's getting easier each day, but with that confidence I forget some of the obvious stuff. Learn, goof up! Learn, goof up less, maybe someday, Learn, and don't goof up. :whoot:
 
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