Borates won't do much for me, right?

[Brian PacNW]

I'm new to pools, but the TFP method is going great so far! The typical numbers for my above ground 3800 gal (aww so cute!) vinyl pool are:

• pH 7.2 when cover has been on for a while
• pH 7.6 at the end of the day if there has been some splashing by the kids. The bubble solar cover goes on pretty much all the time except when in use.
• TA 120 ppm
• CYA 40 ppm
• CH 200 ppm
• temp 87 deg F; have had to top-off CYA about 10 ppm or so in the past month.

I use liquid chlorine daily, bringing it to 6–8 ppm at night depending on my current CYA level.

What do you all think of adding boric acid? Our pH has never crept up above 7.8 at all because the cover goes on every night and any aeration is only from a few hours of splashing by the kids. So I certainly don't need borates, but the sparkle and silky sound interesting, and I don't mind a mild anti-algae growth agent.

If I do add it, PoolMath shows that my pH would lower by about 0.3 if added all at once. (And no added alkalinity, unlike borax + acid!?) The decrease in pH is the only downside I can see. So if I do go for it, would adding it over the course of a week and leaving the cover off more than usual help the pH recover to my normal 7.2–7.6 levels? Is that how these things work?

I already have enough boric acid granules from Duda Energy to go for it. I would not try to lower my TA before adding it.

 

[Bperry]

I'm new to pools, but the TFP method is going great so far! The typical numbers for my above ground 3800 gal (aww so cute!) vinyl pool are:

• pH 7.2 when cover has been on for a while
• pH 7.6 at the end of the day if there has been some splashing by the kids. The bubble solar cover goes on pretty much all the time except when in use.
• TA 120 ppm
• CYA 40 ppm
• CH 200 ppm
• temp 87 deg F; have had to top-off CYA about 10 ppm or so in the past month.

I use liquid chlorine daily, bringing it to 6–8 ppm at night depending on my current CYA level.

What do you all think of adding boric acid? Our pH has never crept up above 7.8 at all because the cover goes on every night and any aeration is only from a few hours of splashing by the kids. So I certainly don't need borates, but the sparkle and silky sound interesting, and I don't mind a mild anti-algae growth agent.

If I do add it, PoolMath shows that my pH would lower by about 0.3 if added all at once. (And no added alkalinity, unlike borax + acid!?) The decrease in pH is the only downside I can see. So if I do go for it, would adding it over the course of a week and leaving the cover off more than usual help the pH recover to my normal 7.2–7.6 levels? Is that how these things work?

I already have enough boric acid granules from Duda Energy to go for it. I would not try to lower my TA before adding it.

--Brian

You’ll get way more pH stabilizing from lowering your TA. Lower it to 60 and you’ll notice a big improvement.

 

[Brian PacNW]

Do you mean that my 7.2–7.6 range isn't considered all that stable, compared to if I drop down to 60 ppm TA and add some borates?

 

[mgtfp]

If your pH is stable, then I wouldn't bother. I never got the hype about the silkiness.

I do have borates, and I do love them for keeping my SWG cell clean. But my water still feels absolutely the same. Mainly wet.

 

[Bperry]

Do you mean that my 7.2–7.6 range isn't considered all that stable, compared to if I drop down to 60 ppm TA and add some borates?

I must have missed that part. If your pH never goes above 7.6 (that’s a little hard to believe) then there’s no need to add borates to slow the pH rise. I didn’t notice any difference in water feeling after using borates. It did maybe slow the pH rise a small amount. Was really hard to tell the difference.

 

[SoDel]

From recollection, borates won’t do a whole to slow pH rise until pH gets something over 9?