Borate concentration ?

[Aprilszoo]

I am trying to run my pool with the 50 ppm borates, which I have added by adding borax to my pool. I was wondering if anyone can tell me if indicator strips that will detect up to "20 mg/l of borate" will work for me to test with? I just don't know how to do the math... but I know there are people on here that can😊

Thanks, April

[chem geek]

If you have strips that measure only up to 20 ppm, you can dilute your pool water with tap water for the measurement -- probably dilute with one part pool water into three parts tap water and then multiply your result by 4. Or you can get LaMotte Insta-TEST Borate Test strips.

[Aprilszoo]

I've got the La Motte strips... I'm gonna be needing to order more soon, and saw some indicator strips that say they measure up to 20 mg and I just didn't know how that correlated to ppm that I'm used to seeing... I hoped someone could help me with the conversion, I'm a little math-challenged....😕....

I guess I'll end up just getting the LaMotte ones again ... They're ok, but I never get a true color match... It always seems just "off" from the colors they show on the side... not really in-between colors, just "off". So I thought about trying something different.
Oh well....

Thanks for reminding me that I can do the dilution trick if needed... I had to do that with the OTO chlorine test last summer before I got the Taylor kit.

And thanks for replying... I do appreciate your knowledge and expertise.

I've learned so much reading all the info that you and others have posted! My pool looked great for the whole season last summer because of what I had learned here. Now if I could only get it cleared up again... It turned into a pond over the winter, sadly... I know it will clear eventually, I just want it clear now. 😏

Thanks, April

[PoolDoc]

20 mg/L = 20 ppm

... They're ok, but I never get a true color match...

Just one of the many problems with test strips. It worries me how many medical tests are done with strips, these days.

[Aprilszoo]

Oops... Like I said, I'm math-challenged...☺️

I hear ya on the reading of strips for medical tests. I remember when I was pregnant and my Dr's office had us patients dip a test strip ourselves in our urine. Then we were supposed to come out and put the strip on a piece of paper that had our name, the date, and the time of appt. Then we went back to the waiting room until they called us to get weighed and put in an exam room. It was at this point that the medical assistant would glance at the strip, toss it in the garbage and record the "results". I never saw her actually compare the strip to anything. Not that it was accurate at that point anyway... It was supposed to be read at intervals up to one minute, I think.... I know the colors changed while it laid there. Plus there's about 5 other problems with their method that I can think of.

I wonder how many extra lab tests had to be done because the reagent strips weren't used as designed.... Talk about wasted health care $$ ...

But I digress... Sorry...

Thank you for clarifying what chem geek said.... Reading it again, it shouldn't have needed any explanation.... Where do I report for my dunce cap?

Thank You, April

[PoolDoc]

Thank you for clarifying what chem geek said.... Reading it again, it shouldn't have needed any explanation.... Where do I report for my dunce cap?

My wife is a teacher, who works with elementary school children who aren't 'getting it', and also with the teachers who aren't 'getting it across'. You would be amazed at how many teachers also don't get it -- they've learned to crank the handles on lots of 'math black boxes', and they know which box to use, but they don't actually understand the math or its application.

For years, math has been taught as numeric manipulation, divorced the real world and practical application. The result has been that most adults fail to understand that math is just a way of seeing, and thinking about, certain aspects of the real world. Years ago, when I was hiring high school teachers for the summer to help me work with the large commercial pools I serviced, I was amazed at these college graduates who were stumped when asked to calculate, roughly, the volume (and weight) of water in, say, a 42' x 75' x 4' to 10' pool -- even after I'd showed them how. Most never learned. Even the math teacher I hired took 2 - 3 weeks to learn!

So, don't feel bad -- being 'math-challenged', with respect to practical applications of math, is totally normal among college educated American adults!