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First, I balanced the water using muriatic acid. I wrote down what I added in every step, and I believe I ended up adding around 26oz. of the acid. After I knew my water was right it there, that's when I added the boric acid, which was about a week after my first fill. I don't have the answer to your last question. The boric acid is also supposed to "soften" the water and make it more sparkly. Personally, I did not notice a significant change in the waters feel. I am using bromine. My pH was going down ever so slightly every day. The bromine tabs in the floater I use are net acidic, which was causing the pH drop. My lowest was a TA of 40, and pH of 7.5. So I dropped about .2 to .3 in pH over a two week period. The solution was easy, though. Because of the high usage of our tub, I had to top off the water level every two weeks. Adding new water with a high pH and TA, brought me right back to a pH of 7.8 and TA of around 80. With that being said, the boric acid doesn't "lock up" the pH, it apparently helps it to stay stabilized.