how long for Borax to ..

[alexstjo]

Hi,

PH is 6.8 and i added half a box of borax about 4 hours ago with pump running. no noticable change in ph.

My question is how long does it take for borax to work??

thanks
Alex

[BigDave]

How big is the pool? 4 hours should be plenty for Borax to dissolve and mix. If 6.8 is the lowest on your comparator, the pH might be significantly lower. keep dosing Borax, mixing, and measuring until you see improvement.

[chem geek]

Check your TA. If it's 0 (immediately red), then the pH is 4.5 or lower and you can use pH Up (or Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda) to raise the pH since you'll need to replenish carbonates (TA) in that case anyway. If you have TA, then using the Borax is fine for raising the pH, especially if your TA is in the ballpark (say, above 60 ppm).