I am preparing to open my pool for 2019 season! Yay! I had read about the benefits of adding borax and mutations acid to pool. The information I have stated importance of making sure TA and PH levels are just so, before adding the recommended amounts of borax and acid. My question is, do I still add my bleach when I open as usual? There was no mention of adding chlorine/bleach or maintaining that in the borate article. Would I open pool as normal then add my borax and acid? Also would I then continue to test daily and maintain levels as usual? Thank you
Questions about Borates
- Thread starter misslace
- Start date
Hold off on the borates until everything else is balanced and stable. It's just one more parameter to juggle amd you don't need that at the moment. Once everything is humming along, then you can add it if you want. Remember, borates are completely optional and a lot of us don't bother. Borates are not the magic cure-all that people hope for. Your pool will still need regular testing and adjustments.
- Oct 25, 2015
- 5,184
- Pool Size
- 25000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
Miss,
I converted to borate buffer about a month ago after I completed conversion to salt pool. Not really related to the salt conversion. I wanted to do both and just decided to do salt first. My only reason for doing borate addition was to get better pH control.. There are a number of different ways to do this. At the recommendation our chemistry experts I used boric acid instead of the more complex borax plus MA. You probably found this thread but just in case you can click here for a lot of borate information. Your cost should be under $100 using the boric acid. The process was easy peasy! I got my pool water balanced per instructions and it was all done in one day. I tested for borate with a test strip then added half the boric acid needed per Pool Math, tested with a test strip, then added the final amount a couple of hours later. Tested again and was done. Everything dissolved very, very quickly. Did all the normal tests the next day plus over the next week I made adjustments just like I had right before.
What I found is pH is more stable than previously and it also takes more MA to adjust pH downward when i do have to adjust. Also running pH higher in the normal range seems to work better. So I lower pH to around 7.7 and let it drift up to about 8 (never go to 8.2) then adjust. Seems to work fine. I pay a little more attention to CSI since I have a salt cell but it's really only making me more confident the chemistry is very good and healthy. To get an idea of how your acid consumption will change put a "test pool" in your Pool Math app. Set your chemistry to the range you expect to be in and raise pH to 8.0. Then add borates. In my case MA increases about 4x for 50 ppm of borate. Not a huge issue and worth it for the improved pH stability in my mind.
There's a lot written about other aesthetics benefits to the water. I am trying to be very objective and I really can't see a huge improvement. I'm sure that's partly because my pool has been absolutely sparkling, crystal clear for the past 4 years of TFP methodology. So for me the only real reason to add borate is pH control. It is quantitatively better for me. Also, I've been watching my FC like a hawk and I run at the low end of the range. Prior to salt and borate this would eventually cause some small spots of very thin green algae after a few days in the hot Florida sun and water constantly 87-92 deg. Now it just doesn't happen. Don't know if this is a salt or a borate benefit or both,. But I sure do like it.
I hope this helps.
Chris
I converted to borate buffer about a month ago after I completed conversion to salt pool. Not really related to the salt conversion. I wanted to do both and just decided to do salt first. My only reason for doing borate addition was to get better pH control.. There are a number of different ways to do this. At the recommendation our chemistry experts I used boric acid instead of the more complex borax plus MA. You probably found this thread but just in case you can click here for a lot of borate information. Your cost should be under $100 using the boric acid. The process was easy peasy! I got my pool water balanced per instructions and it was all done in one day. I tested for borate with a test strip then added half the boric acid needed per Pool Math, tested with a test strip, then added the final amount a couple of hours later. Tested again and was done. Everything dissolved very, very quickly. Did all the normal tests the next day plus over the next week I made adjustments just like I had right before.
What I found is pH is more stable than previously and it also takes more MA to adjust pH downward when i do have to adjust. Also running pH higher in the normal range seems to work better. So I lower pH to around 7.7 and let it drift up to about 8 (never go to 8.2) then adjust. Seems to work fine. I pay a little more attention to CSI since I have a salt cell but it's really only making me more confident the chemistry is very good and healthy. To get an idea of how your acid consumption will change put a "test pool" in your Pool Math app. Set your chemistry to the range you expect to be in and raise pH to 8.0. Then add borates. In my case MA increases about 4x for 50 ppm of borate. Not a huge issue and worth it for the improved pH stability in my mind.
There's a lot written about other aesthetics benefits to the water. I am trying to be very objective and I really can't see a huge improvement. I'm sure that's partly because my pool has been absolutely sparkling, crystal clear for the past 4 years of TFP methodology. So for me the only real reason to add borate is pH control. It is quantitatively better for me. Also, I've been watching my FC like a hawk and I run at the low end of the range. Prior to salt and borate this would eventually cause some small spots of very thin green algae after a few days in the hot Florida sun and water constantly 87-92 deg. Now it just doesn't happen. Don't know if this is a salt or a borate benefit or both,. But I sure do like it.
I hope this helps.
Chris
Steve_in_C
Bronze Supporter
When I added borates, I turned the valves to get the heater out of the circuit. then added 20 mule team borax + muriatic acid. I divided this up into thirds, so it took 3 times to get it all in. Left pump on to agitate and came back the next day for fine pH adjustments. Nothing to it.
Thank you all so much! Very helpful input! I have been using TFP method solely since installing our pool 3 years ago and my water is almost always crystal clear I just wondered if it would maintain the clarity with less bleach application for longer. The Iowa summers get very hot in June July 90’s to 100 degrees at times and the water also gets very warm and can get a haze during very hot days. I’m still up in the air about borates but appreciate the input!
- Sep 23, 2015
- 1,591
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Astral Viron V25
Borates wont affect your chlorine consumption. What is your CYA at? Maintaining your CYA at the recomended levels is the best way to maximise your chlorine use, or reduce the amount lost to UV degradation.
- Oct 25, 2015
- 5,184
- Pool Size
- 25000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
Miss,
Steve is right on the money. Borates are listed as an optional enhancement for pH control in Pool School. There are a lot of writings about other aesthetic benefit but none are scientifically proven. One of the things I like the most about TFP is they stick to objective science. By far the best way to protect FC is to keep the proper CYA ratio. I have seen some articles that claim improved disinfection but never any supporting evidence. The only proven benefit is for pH control.
Chris
Steve is right on the money. Borates are listed as an optional enhancement for pH control in Pool School. There are a lot of writings about other aesthetic benefit but none are scientifically proven. One of the things I like the most about TFP is they stick to objective science. By far the best way to protect FC is to keep the proper CYA ratio. I have seen some articles that claim improved disinfection but never any supporting evidence. The only proven benefit is for pH control.
Chris
Steve_in_C
Bronze Supporter
I keep borates about 50. My pH is very stable at 7.6-7.8. You can open your eyes under water when swimming. I added muriatic acid about 3X last year. Due to turning out water from heavy winter rains, I had to put in 4 boxes this year to get back up to 50. Borate strips are too hard to read. Here's a link to the homegrown version of the drop test:
www.troublefreepool.com
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