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  cindy mills June 30, 2012 at 1:43pm

  I just started to use a Aqua Finnnese .Which is a Salt /Borate ,but Iam not sure if it is Sodium Tetraborate. I will have to find out ,but it is to help lower chlor. and remove Bio film . Will get back to you with an up-date.
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    Richard A. Falk > cindy mills June 30, 2012 at 7:46pm

    The AquaFinesse® Pool Water Tablets MSDS says that it contains 25-50% sodium carbonate (same as pH Up or soda ash), 20-25% sodium silicate (an aid to coagulation) and 10-20% sulfuric acid, aluminum potassium salt (2:1:1), dodecahydrate (same as potash alum which at higher pH forms alum floc).  So these listed ingredients are mostly coagulation/flocculation, but they probably have additional ingredients that are surfactants to help dislodge and inhibit biofilms.  I do not see borates listed in this product -- is there another product you are referring to?

    Also, any claim that this reduces chlorine use is wrong unless you've got substantial biofilms such as in sand filters in commercial/public high bather-load pools.  In residential pools, maintaining the proper Free Chlorine (FC) level relative to the Cyanuric Acid (CYA) level is sufficient to kill bacteria before they can form any substantial biofilms.

    As for borates themselves, even if added as sodium tetraborate it forms mostly boric acid in pool water that is at normal pH (near 7.5).  I agree with Kim's points -- it's a mild algicide and a pH buffer that gets particularly stronger as the pH rises so is most suitable in pools that use hypochlorite sources of chlorine.

    http://www.aquafinesseone.com/wp-content/uploads/SWE-PL-AquaFinesse-Pool-EN-110223.pdf
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      cindy mills > Richard A. Falk September 9, 2012 at 8:20pm

      Thanks for the info The wholesaler told me it was a Borate.I really should have read it. But it seams to be working very well. Thank you for taking the time to pull the MSDS .
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      David Sisson > Richard A. Falk August 19, 2012 at 6:27am

      We use bromine in our commercial spas, I was thinking of using a borate product along with the bromine.  I think it might help to make the pH more stable.  What do you think?
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        Richard A. Falk > David Sisson August 19, 2012 at 11:39am

        If the problem you are seeing is that the pH tends to rise, then using the borate product will help to buffer against that pH rise, but it won't change the amount of acid you add over time.  It will only lower the frequency of such acid addition.  That is, it will slow down the rate of pH rise, but it will take more acid to lower the pH a given amount so you end up adding the same total amount of acid, but less frequently.

        If you want to reduce the rate of pH rise and the amount of acid you need to add, then you need to lower the TA level significantly to around 50 ppm (assuming regs don't prohibit that).  If the spa is plaster or has tile with exposed grout, then you'll need to increase the CH level to protect it and keep the saturation index closer to zero.  Also, you can have the pH target be higher at around 7.8 or so.  Bromine is effective at higher pH levels so there is no problem there -- you just need to remain within the regs.
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  Kim Skinner March 14, 2012 at 2:40pm

  Adding borates to the pool water is beneficial.  It helps combat the growth of algae, and while at the same time it helps maintain an ideal pH, or  in other words, helps buffer against pH changes.  Generally about 50 ppm of borate is required to get moderate results.

  The onBalance team will be teaching on this topic at the Western Pool & Spa Show this week.