Sort of. It doesn't KEEP it higher but RAISES it through aeration after it's lowered.
I joined this forum to learn about borates
- Thread starter mikemass
- Start date
Right. I got that. But trying to drop TA from 100 to 70 and using aeration to keep pH from getting crushed isn't gonna fly. And I am impatient. Want to get these Borates in ASAP.
Running your spa on high and letting it overflow to the pool will be your best and fastest way to raise the pH without raising the TA. When I do this method, I'm able to drop the TA by 10 ppm per day even with my borates at 50 ppm to start with.
If you really want the borates in the water you can add them, but it is easier to lower the TA first with no boartes in the water. With the high TA, the pH will still rise and the idea is to lower the TA so the pH will lock in for a longer period of time.
If you really want the borates in the water you can add them, but it is easier to lower the TA first with no boartes in the water. With the high TA, the pH will still rise and the idea is to lower the TA so the pH will lock in for a longer period of time.
50 ppm Borates added to water at a pH of 7.5 will only raise the TA by 5 ppm. At a pH of 7.8, it raises the TA by 10 ppm. Since that rise is not from carbonates, you don't need to worry about that higher TA level since it does not result in any increase in carbon dioxide outgassing. I'm not sure why you saw it rise by 20 instead of 10 -- might be slight test error (on the edge between drops) or maybe you measured the TA before borates at pH 7.5 and after borates at pH 7.8 which would be another 7 ppm TA just from pH adjustment with a base (e.g. borax). If I were you, I'd see the rate of your pH rise currently. If it's fairly stable, add the rest of the borates. If it tends to rise, then you can do the lowering TA procedure before adding the rest of the borates (if you want -- not essential, but would help reduce the rate of pH rise).
you are 100% correct. my pH was a touch lower when I measure pre-borates. my rate of pH rise is always high. I can't tell you exactly how much. But I know I need to add acid frequently. That's why I want to get these Borates in soon to see if it starts stablizing the pH bounce.
I know my pool's "behavior" ----- I can prob dump 2 gallons of MA in there tonight to totally crush my TA (and pH in the process). and within 3 days my pH will bounce right back 7.8.
But I don't believe in causing drastic swings like that. I guess I'll just get the TA down over time.
I know my pool's "behavior" ----- I can prob dump 2 gallons of MA in there tonight to totally crush my TA (and pH in the process). and within 3 days my pH will bounce right back 7.8.
But I don't believe in causing drastic swings like that. I guess I'll just get the TA down over time.
Still have not added any more borates to get me to that 50ppm zone. But my test strips came yesterday and I guess I'm reading about 40 right now. (Exactly what pool store came up with last week)
If you scroll back in this thread to Harly's pictures my read look identical to that.
If I add more and overshoot the 50 mark is that bad? Is there a such thing as too much borates say if I went into the 60-70 zone? Or will this provide even greater buffering?
If you scroll back in this thread to Harly's pictures my read look identical to that.
If I add more and overshoot the 50 mark is that bad? Is there a such thing as too much borates say if I went into the 60-70 zone? Or will this provide even greater buffering?
Overshooting some is not bad. So if you want to add some more to get to 50 ppm and end up with 60 ppm or 70 ppm that is not a problem. The 50 ppm is an EPA limit for safety, but has a margin of exposure factor of 100 so going a little over is no big deal. The safety is in regard to drinking pool water everyday -- something one would not normally do. See Are Borates Safe to Use? for more details.