pH shot up with just two cups of borax!

[BigDave]

Two Cups was way too much so... try a half Cup at a time, let it dissolve / mix for a couple hours then retest.

[PoolDoc]

Two Cups was way too much so... try a half Cup at a time, let it dissolve / mix for a couple hours then retest.

. . . but we know that, only because of the results . . .


Sounds like a 1 cup dose might be it? The pH rise you experienced is not expected for a 3500 gallon pool with a TA=120.

See Pool Chart link below -- complete it, so we know more about your pool, and PARTICULARLY, about how you tested. -Ben

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+ It's much easier to answer your questions, when we have the details about your pool in one place. We often 'waste' the first few posts back and forth collecting information. So, please complete our new Pool Chart form -- it takes about 30 seconds, but will save much more than that.

Pool Chart Entry Form

[IGnatius T Foobar]

Thanks everyone; I gave it a 1/2 cup dose this morning and I'll check the results tonight. Pool chart has been completed with references to my user id and this thread.

[PoolDoc]

Intex "guess strips" for TA;

I think that may be why your pH shot up -- you have bogus TA measurements; most likely your ACTUAL TA is much lower.

Posting test kit nag . . .
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+ Get a cheap OTO (yellow drops) / phenol test kit, or if available at YOUR Walmart (check availability), get the HTH 6-way DROPS test kit, which is compatible with the Taylor K2006. Test the pool as soon and you can, and post the results. If you get the 6-way kit, ALSO test the water you FILL the pool with, especially if it's a well, and post THOSE results as well. (The HTH is the best available kit you're likely to find locally, but it's not the K-2006. It can only provide rough measurements chlorine levels above 5 ppm, and it measures "TOTAL" hardness, rather than "CALCIUM" hardness, which is not ideal.)

+ Having a good test kit makes pool care easier for EVERYONE, but is an ESSENTIAL tool for pools with problems. A good test kit means a kit that can test chlorine from 0 - 25 ppm, pH, alkalinity, calcium hardness, and stabilizer with reasonable accuracy. Test strips (AKA 'guess-strips' ) do NOT meet this standard. Some pool store testing is accurate; most is not. The ONLY way you'll know whether your pool store is accurate or bogus, is by testing accurately your own self. On the other hand, pool store 'computer' dosing recommendations are NEVER trustworthy -- ignore them. They are designed to sell more chemicals than you need, and WILL cause many pool problems.

+ We recommend the Taylor K-2006 test kit, which meets the requirements above, for many reasons. The HTH 6-way drops kit is a great starter kit, and is compatible with the K2006 (it's made by Taylor). There are a few alternatives; for example Lamotte makes an FAS-DPD kit that's OK -- but it costs 3x as much. But, we're not aware of any test that is better, and since we are all familiar with the K-2006 (and can help you with it) we recommend it exclusively ( Test kit info page )

One caution for the 2012 season: Amazon does not stock the kits directly. So when buying at Amazon, Amato is our current preferred seller. However, they often don't list enough stock to last the whole day, so try order mid-morning. You should expect a delivered cost under $60 for the K2006A and under $95 for the K2006C. If you can't find that, wait a day.

+ Here are links to the kits we recommend (you can check local availability on the HTH kit, using the Walmart link):

HTH 6-Way Test Kit @ Walmart
Taylor K2006A (3/4 oz bottles) @ Amazon
Taylor K2006C (2 oz bottles) @ Amazon

[IGnatius T Foobar]

Thanks for all the help. We have the pH up to 7.4 now, with a daily dose of borax added with a dixie cup.

Since we only have another 3 to 4 weeks of swimming season left here (partial shade and no heater) before we drain and store the pool, hopefully we'll now manage to keep the pH stable without any large changes. I've gotta say the SWG is a technological miracle -- it's kept our chlorine level sufficient and the pool water crystal clear all season without a lot of effort.