Trouble lowering PH after adding Borax

Jump to latest Follow Reply
D

davidk74

Member
Dec 4, 2020
11
West Sacramento California
Pool Size
12000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Good Afternoon,
I decided to add Borax to my pool after reading the benefits of borites. I used pool calculator which suggested 40 lbs of borax for my 12000 gal pool followed up with 2 gal of MA.
I added the 2 gal + another gallon and the PH is at 8.6 according to my PH meter and super pink when tested using my Taylor K2006. I decided to see if dry acid would move the needle so used pool calculator to determine 25 oz should move me from 8.6 to 7.5. I tested 2 hours after adding and IM still at 8.6. My initial TA was 80 and FC around 5. Anyone else run into this issue?
 
Not sure which benefits of borates you were hoping for, but the primary benefit of introducing borates is that water becomes more resistant to pH changes. You're going to need quite a bit of MA to bring it down. The plus side is that this resistance goes both ways so once you get it down it will not rise back up so quickly.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: davidk74
Donldson said:
Not sure which benefits of borates you were hoping for, but the primary benefit of introducing borates is that water becomes more resistant to pH changes. You're going to need quite a bit of MA to bring it down. The plus side is that this resistance goes both ways so once you get it down it will not rise back up so quickly.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your reply. Yeah I neglected to put my borate level in the calculator. Im gonna need allot more than 24 oz of dry acid. More like 13lbs:oops:. I will add the 8 lbs I have and re-calculate for MA and post back.
 
Dry acid is sodium bisulfate. The Sulfates build up in your pool water and will destroy metal and degrade concrete (plaster/pebble). Be very careful using sodium bisulfate.
 
  • Like
Reactions: davidk74
I had already bought the dry acid and plan on going back to MA. As it turns out, I needed twice as much acid as the pool calculator predicted. I am now at ph 7.5 ta 70. Life is good.
If I were to do it again, I think I would have used a PH balanced borate product it Boric acid instead of borax. Thanks for the help everyone.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply