Boric acid and pH

[CatDr]

Hello let first say this place is amazing. My pool looks great and I have fairly stable chemistry. I recently added 25 lbs of boric acid to the pool per Pool Math to get 50 ppm The reason was to try and control pH rise due to my SWG. I was needing to add 10 oz of 29% muriatc acid 3x per week to keep pH between 7.6 and 8. Ph has risen back to 8 today and pool math is telling me to add 52 oz of acid!!!
Is this correct. Current chemistry:

FC 7
CC 0.5
pH 8
TA 70
CYA 60
Borate about 50ppm (dipsticks tough to read)
Temp 82
Salt 3600
CH 375

With Borates should I expect more acid but less frequency? Or am I missing something

 

[bobloblaw42]

When your PH tends to drift up, borates don't change the amount of acid you need to use, but they do allow you to add acid less often. They also allow you to lower your TA level more than you could otherwise, reducing the upward pressure on PH.

Borates - Why and How

Borates - Why and How Why Adding borates can improve your experience with your pool, but is completely optional. If you do plan to use borates, wait until everything else is settled down before adding borates, especially TA and PH. The only situations where we specifically recommend using...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Mdragger88]

Yes - the addition of borates means you need to use more acid to do the same job of lowering ph if all other things are equal.

While borates lend a helping hand at reducing ph rise frequency they aren’t going to stop it.
If you have higher ta fill water it will be a continuous battle.
Letting ta go as low as 50 can help as well.
Most find that the lower their ta gets the less intense the ph rise is.
Also try letting ph hang around in the high 7’s. You may find it stays in the high 7’s for a bit. That’s totally fine
Borates do have other advantages as well so ph rise isn’t their only thing. Like reducing scale potential within your swcg cell.
You should test your fill water ta & ch so you know what you’re up against as you add water to replace evaporation.

If your plaster is newish it’s normal for the ph to rise more frequently also.

 

[CatDr]

Ok then I will add the recommended acid and monitor. Just seemed extreme to me 5x increase in acid
My TA Increased a bit with the boric acid. 60 to 70
Once I have a handle on my new acid requirements and frequency I’ll drop the TA to 50
Pool looks great….i was just trying to decrease the pH rise
Always a learning curve

 

[Mdragger88]

Ok then I will add the recommended acid and monitor. Just seemed extreme to me 5x increase in acid
My TA Increased a bit with the boric acid. 60 to 70
Once I have a handle on my new acid requirements and frequency I’ll drop the TA to 50
Pool looks great….i was just trying to decrease the pH rise
Always a learning curve

Boric acid is an acid- it doesn’t increase ta.
The ta may have risen or it maybe a testing anomaly but it wasn’t the boric acid.
Borax will but not 100% boric acid.
What exact product did you use?

 

[CatDr]

I added 25 lbs of boric acid from Dudadiesel

 

[Mdragger88]

Great that’s what is recommended.
I was informed that boric acid can indeed cause a slight increase in ta. In my experience using it in my pool & spa I have never noticed this to occur so made the assumption your 10ppm ta increase was due to other factors. Nevertheless 10ppm is no biggie. Hopefully you’ll begin to see the benefits of borates on your ph as you continue to manage your ph & lower your ta.
I apologize for any confusion.

 

[CatDr]

Update. Yesterday pH was 8. Pool math recommended 52 oz of 29% muriatic acid
I ran out -only had 26 oz on hand so that’s what I added. pH this am is 7.5? Not concerned about my chemistry but pool math has NEVER been wrong in my pool. I must say I am a little sad?! Anyone else experienced this? Only thing I can think of is I am misreading the BORATE test strips-maybe my level is not actually 50ppm. Is there a better test?

 

[PoolStored]

Only thing I can think of is I am misreading the BORATE test strips-maybe my level is not actually 50ppm. Is there a better test?

This post, #135, describes the chemicals and process to roll you own Borate test. It is what I, and many others, use:

New borate drop test at piscines-apollo vs. test strip

Thanks, SunnyBlues. You have been reading and learning a LONG time to remember all those experts. Thanks for your testimonial.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[CatDr]

Oh that’s a lot…. Doable for sure. I think I will follow my pH for the next week daily and if it’s still rising fast I’ll ck my boric acid level that way…