and SW

I am new SW pool owner and hear on from pool chemical dealers/suppiers that they are recommending putting sodium tetraborates in fresh water pools. Is there any benefit to the SW chemistry?

I'm not positive, but think the borates give 4 advantages...
1- slight algaecidic effects
2- makes water softer
3- increases TDS, which helps electrolytic action of SWCG without increasing salt more
4- works as additional pH buffer

We've had lots of good reports from owners with Borate levels of 50ppm.
BTW, Sodium Tetraborate is sold for about $.80/lb in your grocery store. It's called 20 Mule Team Borax and most of us use it as our first choice to raise pH, ahead of Soda Ash.
Pool dealers DO sell a Borate additive that adds borates at a higher level, but it's no better for your pool, just better for their bottom line.
Borax is the easiest and cheapest way to do it.

Even if you don't go the Borate route (I don't but have no objection to it), you SHOULD use Borax as your first-line pH increaser. It doesn't raise Total Alkalinity as much as Soda Ash does.

BTW, Soda Ash is ALSO available at your grocery store, as Arm&Hammer Washing Soda (in the yellow box). It's EXACTLY the same chemical, Sodium Carbonate, as the expensive pool brand pH raising chemicals.

Carl

I can tell you that borates are an excellent additive to a salt pool. I did an experiment with them in my pool (with a Goldline Auqalogic SWCG) several years ago along with chem geek and the results are documented in the china shop on this forum. I wanted to find out once and for all if the borate products worked or not since we sold Proteam products where I worked and Proteam holds the original patents on borate additives with the original test pools here in St. Augustine, Florida We found out that they do and I still keep 50 ppm borates in my salt pool! Since then I have used them in many customer's pools and also we gained a lot of experience with them on a different pool forum where I was a Moderator for several years (and initially wrote a big chunk of what became their Pool School!) I used 20 mule team and muriatic acid for the experiment, BTW. Borates have a pronounced algaesatic action and really help stabilize the ph at around 7.6-7.7 for an extended period of time. You also want to run your TA low (around 70 ppm) and keep the CYA at the top of the manufacuturers range (normally either 80 or 100 ppm) in a salt pool for best pH stability.
Borates also have a definite effect on the look and feel of the water. It is less irritating to the skin and the water 'sparkles'. These are subjective effects but they have been reported over and over again when people add borates to their pool.