Borax causes salt increase and need to half drain pool?

[mr-mark]

The pool store said my pH was 8.0 and my hardness was low and told me the right chemicals to add to my 19k gallon pool. I had a brain fart and mixed up the chemicals and accidentally added 15 lbs of pH down instead of calcium reserve. I was supposed to add 2 lbs 6 oz of pH down. According to a test strip, the pH level was off the chart low. poolcalculator.com told me I had lowered my pH by 2.1

It was Sunday evening and pool stores were closed, and I happened to have a couple of boxes of 20 mule borax on hand, so I added 8 lbs. poolcalculator.com told me this would raise my pH by .73, and my test strip confirmed I was in that neighborhood.

I went back to the pool store the next day and they had my pH at 6.3 and said I needed to add 15 lbs of sodium hydrogen carbonate to raise the pH. That sounded fine.

However, they also told me my salt levels had gone from 2790 ppm to 7580 ppm, which is too high. They told me I would need to drain half the pool and refill to get the salt level back down. This seems extreme, and I can't find anything on the internet where borax caused this problem for other people. And a lot of people seem to be using borax. Anyone have thoughts as to what could be going on and if I really need to take such extreme measures?

 

[Homebrewale]

You need to stop going to the pool store and get yourself a proper test kit - either TF-100 or Taylor K2006C. Also you need the Taylor K-1766 salt test kit.
Test Kits Compared

For pH, you need to use muriatic acid, not pH down, to lower the pH since you have a SWG.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

I agree with Homebrewale on all points, but will also give you another reason to *not* use pH Down product. The sulphates it contains are not good for your plaster either. Muriatic Acid is the way to go.

Now.... on to your problem....Please use PoolMath as it contains the recommendations TFP uses. Others vary and may base their advice on some questionable testing such as strips. (We call those "Guess Strips"!)

Many pool chemicals leave behind some residual salt....but that does sound excessive! The Taylor K-1766 salt test kit would tell you for sure. It may be available locally, but also online.

Do you have a basic pH test to run yourself? Taylor K-1000 should be easily obtained at a pool store.... get one and re-do the test.

You DO need your own quality test kit and stop relying on pool stores.

Test Kits

tftestkits.net

I prefer and use the TF-Pro, but the basic TF-100 kit would get you off to a strong start and give reliable, repeatable results.

Maddie

 

[JoyfulNoise]

You also shouldn't be using granular acid (sodium bisulfate) but instead should be using muriatic acid (20 Baumè HCl). The sulfates from the dry acid will shorten the life of your SWG considerably and can cause sulfate damage to cement surfaces.

 

[JamesW]

However, they also told me my salt levels had gone from 2790 ppm to 7580 ppm, which is too high.

There's no way that the salt changed that much.

What does the SWG readout say?

 

[proavia]

Welcome to TFP!

I suggest you stop using poolcalculator.com as it is no longer maintain and is outdated. Instead, use PoolMath as it is actively maintained.

Have a look at Test Kits Compared
We won't provide guidance based on pool store test results or test strips.

 

[mr-mark]

There's no way that the salt changed that much.

What does the SWG readout say?

On the SWG, the check salt light is on and it's giving me a reading of -0 for salt level. Water temp is 55°.

 

[mr-mark]

Thank you everyone for your tips as well as giving feedback on my question. I am recent first time pool owner after buying a house with a 3o year old pool. I was a bit intimidated at first by the idea of the test kits, but the community here seems pretty supportive, so I'll give it a try.

In this case, I was mainly looking for a sanity check that adding 8 lbs of borax to a 19k gal pool shouldn't make the salt numbers go through the roof like that. What I'm hearing is that those salt numbers seem unlikely, but I need to get reliable test results to know for sure, and to know what to do next.

I'll update when I get more data or a resolution.

Thanks!

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Well, you need to first get a grasp on that pH. If it truly is only 6.5 you need to address that pronto. The pH has a lot to do with maintaining your plaster and equipment.
Okay?

Maddie

 

[Newdude]

I was a bit intimidated at first by the idea of the test kits, but the community here seems pretty supportive, so I'll give it a try.

I was crazy intimidated and threw the card across my workbench when I finally sat down and tried a couple weeks later. Each last step is stupid easy. The whole instruction card looks like rocket science. Any sentence is 'add 5 drops of this'. Or 'swirl'

Testing for dummies like me