On another related note: buffering has to do with how difficult it is to change the pH of a solution (your pool water in this case). Highly buffered water has highly stable pH . . . . IF the buffer in question is effective at that pH level.
Most buffers have ranges over which they are effective, and other ranges over which they are not so effective. Cyanuric acid is an effective buffer at LOW pool pH levels, below 7.4 as I recall. Borax is an effective buffer at HIGH pH levels, above 8.0, I think. Total alkalinity tests measure how much buffer you have, but not which levels it's effective at.
This is important, because if you have drifting pH levels like you do, it's your pool's buffer system that determines how hard you'll have to work to maintain your pH level. Absent aeration, sodium bicarbonate is an effective buffer in the 7.0 - 8.0 range where your pool lives. A pool with an effective bicarbonate based "Total Alkalinity" will require larger doses of acid, added less frequently, compared to a pool without that bicarbonate based buffer.
More or less, a well buffered pool will require that you adjust your pH less frequently than a poorly buffered pool. It won't really decrease how much acid you need, but it will change how often you have to add it!
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