chem geek wrote:Boric Acid: Roach Killer as alternative for swimming pools?
If you find a source of pure Boric Acid, then that could be added in place of the combination of 20 Mule Team Borax and Muriatic Acid.
It takes around 382 ounces weight or around 27-1/2 cups of Boric Acid per 10,000 gallons to raise the Borates level by 50 ppm (measured as ppm Boron). This would somewhat lower the pH from 7.5 to around 7.3 if the TA were 100 ppm.
chem geek wrote:Borax and pool care
typically 30-50 ppm Borates is the level to have in the pool. It takes 589 ounces weight (36.8 pounds) of 20 Mule Team Borax which is 7-3/4 boxes (each is 76 ounces weight) per 10,000 gallons to get to 50 ppm and also requires 282 ounces of Muriatic Acid (31.45% Hydrochloric Acid).
chem geek wrote:borax and borates
Proteam Supreme Plus is a combination of Proteam Supreme and Proteam pH Down. Proteam Supreme is Sodium Tetraborate Pentahydrate and is nearly identical to 20 Mule Team Borax found in grocery stores (it's Sodium Tetraborate Decahydrate and except for needing to use 31% more by weight due to the extra water in it, it's the same chemical). The "Plus" adds Sodium Bisulfate acid so that the net product is more pH neutral. The net result from using this product is that it adds Borates to the pool.
From these quotes I have come to the assumption that there is no difference in effect whether we add
- boric acid,
- sodium tetraborate decahydrate (store-bought borax) or
- sodium tetraborate pentahydrate (pool formula borates)
Boric acid was discussed the least and this led me to wonder why. I have priced boric acid (powder) and sodium tetraborate pentahydrate (crystals) locally and the cost per weight is the same. So for our pools with high TA and high pH problems the boric acid should be better (and much cheaper - 382 ounces boric acid vs. 589 ounces decahydrate plus pH reducer vs. 450 ounces pentahydrate plus pH reducer for each 10k gallons).
Confirmation would be appreciated
Thanks
Larry