Pentair IntellipH (pH controller) - any one use it?

[JimK]

That's interesting. My TA is at 50 now. I am raising to 80 with baking soda. I need to read through this forum to see what "maintaining borates" means. That is not something I currently check or am familiar with.
Thanks.

Maybe this will help

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthr...hlight=Borates

In a nutshell, borates can help discourage algae, act as a pH buffer, and can make the water feel better. BTW, if you use straight boric acid (not borax), there's no need to add acid with it. This is what I do (can be ordered online).

[FormerBromineUser]

Yea. I added my borates with MA and borax. It was a pain to do. Jim's way is much easier!

I would get the pH and TA where you want it and the. Go for it. PH and TA are much harder to adjust after the addition of borates.

[CountryBumkin]

Thanks for the tip. I'm going to order the Borate test strips (linked to in the Borax thread), then I'll start the process.

The Borax thread states that once the 50+ ppm level is reached, I should never have to add Borax again (it says the levels don't diminish over time).

Have you found this to be the case (I lose water through evaporation and have an auto-filler on the pool). Even my CYA levels change over time (I suppose I should just use the test strips occasionally to monitor).

My pool is somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000 gallons, so I would need 15 to 20 "4.5lb boxes" of Borax. That's 67-1/2 to 90 pounds of borax. Am I getting this right?

[FormerBromineUser]

First, the borates will reduce like CYA, not like chlorine.

Second, I found that the instructions way-overstated the amount of borax/acid needed. I stopped adding after about half of the recommended dosage.

If you go the borax/MA route, buy half of what you think you will need. You can always buy more later.

[JimK]

Seriously, why go through all that trouble when adding boric acid is so easy?

[CountryBumkin]

True. I read the part at the bottom of the Borate thread about using Boric Acid. The link is no longer working but I'm sure I can find this. Is there another name this stuff goes by (like the "20 Mule Team") I should be looking for in my local Walmart?

[CountryBumkin]

I found Boric Acid on Amazon (the pricing is all over the place) for a best price of $22.90 for 10LBS. I see that Boric Acid is used as ant/roach killer. Is this stuff all the same? Do I need to look for certain purity or anything. Is the bug killing Boric Acid the same as the pool use Boric Acid?
Thanks