Thinking about adding borates for pH stability, anyone actually run the numbers

Started by Priya Raman · · 4 replies
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#1
Been reading about borates smoothing out pH swings and I'm tempted, mostly because my pH still creeps from 7.6 toward 7.9 within a week even with TA sitting at 80 all season (CYA's at 45 right now if that matters). Before I dump borax and acid in and mess with my routine I want to hear from someone who's actually tracked before and after numbers, not just the general theory.

Does it actually flatten the weekly pH drift or just slow it down a little. And is dosing finicky enough that it's not worth it for a 12k gallon pool. I log everything anyway (screen cage so debris isn't muddying the data) so I'm fine tracking it, just don't want to add a variable that doesn't move the needle.

4 Replies

#2
It's not gonna flatten the drift to zero, just slows the climb some, so don't expect miracle numbers in your log. Mine still creeps 7.6 to high 7.7s over a week, just takes longer to get there than before I added it. CYA at 45 plus TA at 80 already puts you in decent shape though, so the drift you're seeing might just be aeration from the return jets more than anything borates fix. Worth doing on a 12k pool since dosing isn't the finicky part, it's a one time thing, the finicky part is getting a test kit that actually reads borate level accurately and most the strips don't.
#3
Priya, before you buy anything, are you running that heat pump enough to be splashing water around the equipment pad or just normal returns and skimmer, because mine used to creep the same way till I realized my aeration was doing half the pH lifting on its own, borates or not.
#4
Ray, when you say the finicky part is testing borate level accurately, what are you actually using for that. Taylor doesn't have a borate test in the K-2006 kit and I'm not buying a whole separate reagent set just to babysit one number if it's a one-time dose anyway.

Chuck, no heat pump, just standard returns and skimmer, no aeration features running, so that's probably not my culprit but good thing to rule out.
#5
no borate experience here so cant help with the testing side, but Ray's point about aeration from return jets is something i didnt think about till just now, i run mine kinda high and always chalked my pH creep up to just being phoenix water, might be worth me watching that too