I went to pool school but still have a few quesitons

[doublewide6]

So do most people not run their automatic chlorinater at all if they are using the BBB? How do you go on vacation for a week if you are using bleach for FC? Or are most people on here just using bleach as their shock?

This question has to do with the calculator. If I want to raise my PH from 7.0 to 7.5 using borax the calculator says 13 lbs. of borax if my borate is 0 and my TA is 120ppm. I do not have borate test strips and I have never added borax before should I assume that my borate level is 0?

 

[zea3]

Yes, if you have never used a product with borates then the level should be 0. Most folks who follow the BBB method do not use the chlorinator on a daily basis but save it for occasions such as vacations or when they know their CYA is a little low and have pucks on hand. The key is knowing what your current levels are and how the chemicals you add to the pool will affect those levels.

 

[doublewide6]

Thanks for the quick response. So I'm assuming adding borax adds borate to the water, so I would need to find borate test strips. Are they sold at most pool stores? So it sounds like adding borax should be done with the addition of muriatic acid, but if I am using the borax to raise ph I would just skip the muriatic acid. Correct?

 

[duraleigh]

but if I am using the borax to raise ph I would just skip the muriatic acid. Correct?

Yes.

Some folks keep the chlorinator to use for just such things as a vacation. BBB will teach you that it's OK to use tri-chlor pucks as long as you understand the result and when to stop using them. I personally don't but many BBB'rs on here use a combination of pucks and Clorox just as you have considered in your first post.

 

[JamesW]

So I'm assuming adding borax adds borate to the water, so I would need to find borate test strips. Are they sold at most pool stores?

For your pool, it would take 74 pounds of Borax to reach 50 ppm. Every pound of Borax adds 0.676 ppm of borates to the water. As long as you keep track of how much you use, you should not need borate test strips.

If you do want to measure the borate level, then here is a source for the test strips.

http://tftestkits.net/Borates-Test-Strips-p29.html

This question has to do with the calculator. If I want to raise my PH from 7.0 to 7.5 using borax the calculator says 13 lbs. of borax if my borate is 0 and my TA is 120 ppm.

I'm getting 10 pounds of Borax needed to raise the pH from 7.0 to 7.5 for a 20,000 gallon pool with a TA of 120 and a borate of 0. Try 5 pounds, and then retest, and adjust as needed.

What is your cyanuric acid level?

 

[rjg202]

My chlorinator is hooked up and I adjust the dial to have just a water flow go through it, when I go on Vacation I throw a few pucks in several days before and stop BBB so I can tweak the chlorine levels where I want it, then right before I go I check the pucks and add one or 2 if need be and let it go. This way I don't have to worry about my neighbor bleaching himself or my liner or anythign else. When I come back I carefully pull the pucks out with gloves and goggles, I hate opening that thing. Wrap the pucks and dispose of them. I then go back to BBB immediately and see how bad my CYA looks from the pucks. I have been battling high CYA since pool store ran me up to 130 since their range is 35-150, I know better now and have drained a good bit of water and have it down to under 100. I just run my FC a little higher until it drops more.

 

[doublewide6]

My CYA is about 20 at least that is what the pool store told me. I tested it and can still see the black dot on the bottom of my test kit just slightly blurry. I have been running my chlorinator on level 3 of 8 to add cya. I still have combined chlorine, but I am waiting on the mail to get the K-2006 test kit.

 

[march2012]

So do most people not run their automatic chlorinater at all if they are using the BBB? How do you go on vacation for a week if you are using bleach for FC? Or are most people on here just using bleach as their shock?

This question has to do with the calculator. If I want to raise my PH from 7.0 to 7.5 using borax the calculator says 13 lbs. of borax if my borate is 0 and my TA is 120ppm. I do not have borate test strips and I have never added borax before should I assume that my borate level is 0?

I have a 15 gallon tank for bleach and use a small (stenner) pump to add the right amount each day. I went on vacation for 10 days recently and maintained chlorine just fine. You can go to the liquidator/chlorinator forum to read about the stenner pumps.

 

[doublewide6]

Thanks for the info on the bleach pump. At this point, it may be something to consider for next year.