How much borax to raise PH?

[denanbob]

Hi all! I'm baaaaaaaaccckkkkk.....LOL! We just uncovered after our first winter with a pool. At first I was scared because the bottom was green (but I could see all the way to the bottom which I knew was good). But after a good vacuuming to waste, the water looks GREAT! We added our DE, shocked, and then tested: Here is what we got:

TC-3
PH-6.8
ALK-280
CYA-60

So I used Muriatic Acid to bring down the ALK to 160 (I know I should go further), however the PH stayed at 6.8. I now need to raise the PH so how much BORAX should I use? After my initial shock treatment, I plan on using liquid bleach (used pucks last year because I already bought a huge thing before I found this forum). My pool is 15x30 AGP with 46 inches of water for a total of about 11,000 gallons. So how much Borax and how much liquid chlorine should I use on a daily basis?

Thanks soooooooooooo much!!!!

[JohnT]

You have a problem and it needs to be fixed quickly. Your pH was at 6.8 and you added acid. That means that it is now well below 6.8 because that's as low as your test kit can measure. It may have been below 6.8 before. You should start aerating your pool by whatever means you can, even if you can only point the eyeballs toward the surface. Get some borax in the water as soon as you can. You're probably going to run the store out. My ~20,000 gallon pool takes about a box of borax to move the pH up 0.1.

Acid does not lower alkalinity.

[denanbob]

You have a problem and it needs to be fixed quickly. Your pH was at 6.8 and you added acid. That means that it is now well below 6.8 because that's as low as your test kit can measure. It may have been below 6.8 before. You should start aerating your pool by whatever means you can, even if you can only point the eyeballs toward the surface. Get some borax in the water as soon as you can. You're probably going to run the store out. My ~20,000 gallon pool takes about a box of borax to move the pH up 0.1.

Acid does not lower alkalinity.

Acid doesn't lower alkalinity? I thought that's what everyone says to use to lower the alkalinity and then aerate to raise the PH??? Holy smokes am I confused now for sure. Anyway, I realize it's possible for the PH to drop below the 6.8 and I wouldn't know it since that's the lowest my test goes, but it is the same color as the 6.8 and it matches exactly, that's why I thought it was 6.8. If it was lighter than the 6.8, then I'd worry it was lower. But I will put Borax in as soon as I get home from work tonight to hopefully quickly raise the PH. I still don't know how much to add though. I guess I'll start with one box, but how long do I wait before I test to see how much it raised it? Does it take 1 hour or 8 hours? Does anyone know? I'm trying to figure out how much to add in what intervals. Thanks much!

[JohnT]

pH and alkalinity are directly connected. You add acid and the alkalinity drops, but the alkalinity will tend to pull the pH back up and the alkalinity goes back where it was. Aeration while the pH is low is what actually removes the alkalinity from the water and raises the pH.

[chem geek]

Ben's Lowering Your Alkalinity procedure step 3 says:

Use small doses of acid to lower your pH to just above the lowest value on your testkit -- or 6.6, whichever is higher. Do NOT lower the pH to whatever the lowest value on your kit is! In many cases, if you try to do so, you'll ACTUALLY end up with a much lower pH, which can damage your pool. Instead, make SURE that your pH is at least a little higher than the lowest pH value your kit shows. Also, do NOT try to lower your pH all at once; for all sorts of reasons, it's important to do it gradually!

I'm not putting this here to make you feel bad, but to make sure others reading this know to follow Ben's procedure exactly so that this problem can be avoided in the future. In short, do not target the lowest pH measurable on the pH test, but target one level higher. Since most test kits measure down to 6.8, that usually means using a pH target of 7.0 for this procedure.

Richard

[denanbob]

Ben's Lowering Your Alkalinity procedure step 3 says:

Use small doses of acid to lower your pH to just above the lowest value on your testkit -- or 6.6, whichever is higher. Do NOT lower the pH to whatever the lowest value on your kit is! In many cases, if you try to do so, you'll ACTUALLY end up with a much lower pH, which can damage your pool. Instead, make SURE that your pH is at least a little higher than the lowest pH value your kit shows. Also, do NOT try to lower your pH all at once; for all sorts of reasons, it's important to do it gradually!

I'm not putting this here to make you feel bad, but to make sure others reading this know to follow Ben's procedure exactly so that this problem can be avoided in the future. In short, do not target the lowest pH measurable on the pH test, but target one level higher. Since most test kits measure down to 6.8, that usually means using a pH target of 7.0 for this procedure.

Richard

Ok, let me change my question then. If my PH is 6.8 and my ALK is 300, what should I do in what order? For now I'm going to add BOROX right away, but I guess I should say what SHOULD have I done? I *thought* after lowering my ALK, I could aerate and add Borox to raise the PH since the temp is too cold to put the kids in it. I will aerate with raising the jets on one side and a fountain on the other end.