Spa Boss Ultra Spa : Borate Additive

[Octoben]

For anyone who find this and wants the MSDS for spa boss ultra spa, here it is: MSDS

I hate it when spa chemicals don't show whats in them on the bottle, so I'm posting this to help anyone who is searching for this info.

Basically it's a pH neutral borate additive: ~30 % borax ~70% boric acid with sent added.

Arctic Spa, pool supplies Canada and others sells a rebranded version of this exact chem. It might be more common in Canada than elsewhere.

There is sent added but other then that its not a bad deal for what it is. I used to mix borax and muriatic acid but its a pain and a bit dangerous I often didn't get the ratio right and it would cause my ph and alk to go nuts. Going to try this out instead. It's only about $15 CAD per 800 grams.

I have the lamotte borate test strips so I'll post what borate level I get by following the label instructions if that would be helpful for others.

 

[mknauss]

Much wiser to use pure Boric Acid to add borates. Little effect on other chemistry parameters. And likely far cheaper.

 

[Octoben]

Much wiser to use pure Boric Acid to add borates. Little effect on other chemistry parameters. And likely far cheaper.

I agree but I don't have a good local source for boric acid, and I can just grab this when I grab any other chemical I need.

Instructions say 0.2 g / L. For my tub (1627L) thats 325 grams which is right around what PoolMath recommends for pure boric acid to get to 30 - 50 ppm!

Thats about 2.5 fills for $15. Thats basically $15/yr for me. Practically nothing in the grand scheme of things, and convenient.

This might be anecdotal, but I also noticed when I used the borax / muriatic mix, it added a slight musty smell to the water. That might be why they add the sent. Take that with a grain of salt, because the wife could not detect any difference in smell.

 

[Octoben]

Also, is pure boric acid actually pH neutral? Seems like it would be slightly acidic, which would explain why companies add the borax.

 

[mknauss]

Boric Acid is readily available in the USA. This thread is read by many so wanted to be sure they knew that unless you are in Canada were it is restricted, much cheaper to buy Boric Acid from DudaDiesel or Chemistry.com.

It is slightly acidic. Such that you can barely measure the change in pH. I suspect the mixed stuff you posted is not pure boric acid.

Borates in pool - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com