PH/chlorine levels out of whack already:(

[Watermom]

I think I would probably go with 1/4 cup Borax. Try to get it in there tonight if you can. Retest in the morning and add a little more to tweak it a bit if needed.

[drako4]

Hi,

I added 1/4 c borax last night and 1/2 cup this a.m. Brought my PH up to 7.4.
Upon testing for FC 25 ml sample turned pink upon adding 1 scoop. After 16 drops of
R-0871 still could not get to go colorless. I gave up! Is this normal and what do you do at that point? Other numbers were:

TA- 50ppm
CH 40ppm
CYA-Black dot never did go away... Maybe I did not let sample sit long enough. Did not appear to very cloudy either. I am not sure if I have enough CYA in the water at this point to register.

I am thinking about adding 1-2 TBSP baking soda to bring up TA.

[waterbear]

Use a 10 ml sample when testing chlorine. You don't need the .2 ppm resolution that the 25 ml sample gives. .5 ppm resolution is more than enough!
You will use a lot more reagent

16 drops with a 25 ml sample is only 3.2ppm FC I would not worry about the TA or CH at this point.
Just concentrate on getting enough CYA and keeping the pH between 7.2 and 7.8.
Once you have enough CYA and switch to bleach we can worry about the rest of the water balance if there is a need to. There very well might not be!