Any of you guys add borates? I'll tell you, I did borate my pool last year and the water felt amazing. My wife said it felt silky....makes the blue color stand out more. I am doing it again this year for sure.
I just double checked the test from the pool store last week and my borate level is >200 - in the notes column it say consult your local pool professional for remediation Never added borax to my pool?
worked up a sweat mowing and decided to christen it for the year. 69F now, I almost involuntarily relieved myself
I'll add borax after I get everything balanced. What kind of filtration does everyone use? When we get a permanent pool, I plan on getting a Doughboy, but haven't done much research into pumps and filters yet.
we got a 20 foot intex, above ground, we are 17 miles from nearest pool. my insurance company does not bother me cause it's removable.. problems the design of the pool is flawed... holes where pipes are and boys do nanny balls causes poles to sink.. I agree with concrete bottom we built a ring 2 feet wide poles set on bottom has slight bowl shape never a problem with wrinkles.. Do a bottom drain filter saves ton of vacuuming. ours is round next 1 will be rectangular easier to build deck and solar cover to keep stuff out and close for season!
Your first problem is your testing at a pool store. Buy your self a TF-100 kit and test like a pro yourself. Now that I vented, on to borates. PROS: More stable PH Helps prevent algae Helps prevent scaling in a SWG cell Silky water feel More sparkle Like baking soda, borates help stabilize the PH. Unlike baking soda, borates do not also put upward pressure on the PH. Larger quantities of an acid or base are required to make a given PH change with borates as compared to without borates. When your PH tends to drift up, borates don't change the amount of acid you need to use, but they do allow you to add acid less often. They also allow you to lower your TA level more than you could otherwise, reducing the upward pressure on PH. Borates help prevent algae. Borates won't completely prevent algae from growing, but they do slow down algae growth and make it easier to kill off when you do get algae. The silky feel and added sparkle are subjective. Not everyone notices them. However most people do appreciate the change. Now the CONS: Additional expense Concerns about risks to pets Not a magical potion to solve all pool woes In all cases, you should train your pets to not drink from the pool. There are various chemicals in the pool that pose some risk to pets. Dogs that get all of their drinking water from the swimming pool should still not show any symptoms from borates. However, they would be close to the threshold for showing symptoms, rather than 1/100th the level for showing symptoms, as would be required for human safety.
DE filter over here. Awesome fine filtration, only have to clean 1 time after opening. Then it goes rest of summer till closing time. Another cleaning before storing indoors.
I never said I didn't test the water myself I just bring a sample along to get a second check, don't mind keeping some money local when I need some CYA. Everything else I source online or at the hardware store. The pool store had a bad batch of TA titration chemicals several years ago - and I called them on it, she admitted they had probably sold a whole bunch of baking soda that would not dissolve in peoples pools
I would refer a permanent pool as an in ground concrete pool. However some above grounds last 25 years also. our is a intex, put it up in 2 hours with 2 guys 500 dollar Walmart special... never had a pool before so I went cheap to learn and figure out what is important to me.. Granted when I got the pool I was going to put it on flat spot between garage and horse barn... However wife said no.. that next to woods and only gets sun in afternoon, both very true! She wanted it in front off wood deck that in summer is her wine and sunset deck.. My response honey there is a tree there... response.. you have 3 chainsaws honey it is not flat 10 percent grade response you have a tractor and landscape blocks My response yes dear... happy wife happy life so we put landscape blocks around 2.5 feet high on down hill side and filled with sand.. that's when I learned about the holes and poles and nephews splashing water goes out holes down poles and pool goes out of level quick... took it down built a round concrete form, poured ring. also first time had a hard time with wrinkles in bottom so made it slightly bowl shaped.. no wrinkles.. the cheap pools come with cheap pumps so a friend lost a pool in ice storm got a sand dollar pump cheap.. Intex pools lines are not standard so spent time and money buying fitting to make it work bottom line got 1000 dollars many days into setup for a 500 dollar pool that lasted 5 summers so far.. In defense of my wife I tell stories, yes they are true, but she would comment that it makes her sound like a very demanding person.. She certainly is not! but when she knows what she wants this is how she let's me know what is important to her. I must have 20 projects in various level of completion.. had a chance to start another for her and she asked me to wait til next year even though she really wants it so I have time to just finish the started ones. Like the pool planned a weekend took about 6 days first summer alone. then each year gets improved leads to a long to finish list the sand dollar pump is sized for a 20,000 and my pool is 10,000 gallon but saves 3 hours a week in cleaning and has a vacuum feature etc the cheap ones do not...
On the contrary, she sounds sharp as a tack to get it located in the right spot! Good wives only push for the important stuff
PS, I have a similar story about where the new pellet stove would reside, he ended up running a new pipe through the ceiling and roof.......
A pool that stays up year round and remains filled through the winter with perhaps a partial to full deck around it.
poolmaster 5 in 1. Not the highest end kit but I'm not attempting spaceshuttle re-entry either Called the pool store this morning about the Borate test and the girl said they are supposed to zero that out - they don't actually test for it
