- Mar 5, 2020
- 3,221
- Pool Size
- 66000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Astral Viron V35
Up to you.
My personal experience: I do have borates in my pool and am glad to have added them. They don't really slow down the pH-rise in the lower pH range, the buffering effect of borates at lower pH is not very significant. But they solved the scaling problem inside my SWG cell (because borates are a very effective buffer at the higher pH within the cell), and therefore gave me confidence to keep my pH a bit higher, where the pH rise is slower (both, because of less CO2 outgassing and because the borates buffering effect is starting to kick in).
Don't expect borates to significantly slow down pH-rise at lower pH like 7.2. Play a little with PoolMath. You will notice that you will need significantly more acid to reduce pH from 8.0 to 7.8 with borates compared to no borates. But you won't need much more acid to reduce pH from 7.2 to 7.0 with borates compared to no borates. That gives you an idea of the borates buffering capabilities at lower vs. higher pH. The real buffering effect kicks in above pH 9.
But borates will allow you to run pH a bit higher, where the rise is more manageable, without risking more scaling in your cell.
Don't expect much in regards to "water sparkle". The water just remains water in my experience. Also, the often mentioned algaecidal properties of borates are negligible in the concentrations TFP considers safe.
We usually recommend to make sure that members have fully understood their pool, and found the best possible working range without borates first. And then review whether borates will bring a significant improvement.
My personal experience: I do have borates in my pool and am glad to have added them. They don't really slow down the pH-rise in the lower pH range, the buffering effect of borates at lower pH is not very significant. But they solved the scaling problem inside my SWG cell (because borates are a very effective buffer at the higher pH within the cell), and therefore gave me confidence to keep my pH a bit higher, where the pH rise is slower (both, because of less CO2 outgassing and because the borates buffering effect is starting to kick in).
Don't expect borates to significantly slow down pH-rise at lower pH like 7.2. Play a little with PoolMath. You will notice that you will need significantly more acid to reduce pH from 8.0 to 7.8 with borates compared to no borates. But you won't need much more acid to reduce pH from 7.2 to 7.0 with borates compared to no borates. That gives you an idea of the borates buffering capabilities at lower vs. higher pH. The real buffering effect kicks in above pH 9.
But borates will allow you to run pH a bit higher, where the rise is more manageable, without risking more scaling in your cell.
Don't expect much in regards to "water sparkle". The water just remains water in my experience. Also, the often mentioned algaecidal properties of borates are negligible in the concentrations TFP considers safe.
We usually recommend to make sure that members have fully understood their pool, and found the best possible working range without borates first. And then review whether borates will bring a significant improvement.
