BioGuard Optimizer: The One Product That Changes How Your Entire Pool Feels

Thursday, May 21, 2026 | Your Happy Dolphin Pool & Spa Team

Images are AI generated and do not depict an actual pool or Dolphin Pool & Spa location.

Every once in a while a product comes along that genuinely changes what pool ownership feels like. Not a gimmick. Not something you add, forget about, and wonder if it did anything. Something that the first time you jump into the pool after adding it, you notice immediately — and keep noticing all season long.

BioGuard Optimizer is that product. We recommend it to nearly every pool owner who walks through our door. Here's why.

1 What Is Optimizer — and What's Actually in It?

Optimizer is a borate-based water enhancer. The active compound is boric acid, and when added to your pool at the right concentration — a borate level of around 35 ppm — it delivers a remarkable set of benefits that work quietly in the background all season long.

Borates have been used in pool water treatment for decades. The chemistry is well understood. What BioGuard has done with Optimizer is package it in a form that's easy to dose, compatible with every sanitizer system, and formulated with boric acid — which is more pH-neutral than older sodium tetraborate formulations, meaning less pH adjustment work at application time.

2 What Optimizer Actually Does for Your Pool

This is where Optimizer earns its reputation. It's not a one-trick product. At the proper borate level, it delivers five meaningful benefits simultaneously — and they all build on each other.

3 The Cost — Year One vs. Year Two and Beyond

This is where Optimizer gets really interesting — and where it differs from almost every other pool chemical you buy.

Most pool chemicals are consumed during use. Chlorine gets used up sanitizing. Shock oxidizes organic material and dissipates. pH adjusters neutralize and are gone. Optimizer doesn't work that way. Borates are not consumed by pool chemistry, not degraded by sunlight, and not evaporated out of the water. Once you establish your borate level, it stays.

The only meaningful way you lose Optimizer is when you lose water — through splashing, backwashing, and most significantly, through the water drop when you lower your pool for closing. In a typical Minnesota pool closing, that water level drop accounts for roughly a quarter of your borate level walking out the door with the drained water.

4 How to Add Optimizer — The Right Way

Optimizer is a granular product added slowly through your skimmer with the pump running. The process is simple, but a few details matter:

• Backwash and clean your filter before adding — start with clean circulation
• Balance your water first and confirm pH is in range before adding Optimizer
• Confirm you can see active circulation in the skimmer before pouring — do not add Optimizer into a skimmer with no visible flow
• Slowly add the full dose into the skimmer with the pump running — do not dump it in all at once
• If adding a large initial load, you can split into thirds and add each portion through the skimmer with 30 minutes of circulation between doses
• Allow 4–8 hours of full circulation after application before testing
• Wait 15 minutes after application before swimmers enter the pool

5 Who Should Use Optimizer?

Honestly? Almost everyone. But there are a few situations where Optimizer makes an especially big difference:

• Saltwater pool owners — Salt systems constantly push pH upward. Optimizer's pH-buffering effect is a natural solution to one of the most common saltwater maintenance complaints.
• Pools with recurring algae problems — If you find yourself fighting algae every summer despite good chlorine levels, adding an algistatic layer with Optimizer addresses the problem from a completely different angle.
• Families with kids or sensitive skin — The water softening effect is real and noticeable. Less eye irritation. Less skin dryness. Swimmers simply feel better in treated water.
• Pool owners who hate pH chasing — If you're constantly adjusting pH up and down, Optimizer's buffering action will dramatically reduce how often you need to do that.
• Anyone who wants their pool to look exceptional — The clarity and sparkle that borates add to water is something you notice from across the yard.

6 What Optimizer Is NOT

A few things worth setting straight, because we want you to understand exactly what you're adding to your water:

• It is not a sanitizer. Optimizer does not replace chlorine, bromine, or salt. Your primary sanitizer still does the heavy lifting. Optimizer works alongside it.
• It will not clear a green pool. Optimizer is a preventative and an enhancer. If you already have an algae bloom, you need to shock and treat the algae first — then add Optimizer once the water is clear.
• It is not a one-and-done fix for every chemistry problem. Optimizer stabilizes pH and suppresses algae, but you still need to test and maintain your water regularly.

7 The Bottom Line

Year one, Optimizer costs around $220 to bring a pool up to a full borate level. In return, you get softer water, better clarity, less pH chasing, reduced chlorine consumption, and a meaningful extra layer of algae protection — for the entire season.

Year two and every year after, you're just topping off what you lost at closing — roughly a quarter of your level. The product doesn't evaporate, doesn't break down in sunlight, and doesn't get consumed by your chemistry. Once it's in the water, it works.

We've sold Optimizer to a lot of pool owners over the years. We've never had one come back and say they regretted it.

Ready to Try Optimizer This Season?

Stop in and we'll test your borate level, tell you exactly how much Optimizer you need, and walk you through the application. If you're a first-time Optimizer customer, we'll make sure you start the season right. Find us at 3405 Hwy 169 N in Plymouth — we've been the Twin Cities' trusted pool store for over 35 years.

Call Us Now — 763-542-9000

Your Happy Dolphin Pool & Spa Team

Serving the Twin Cities metro since 1988 | Plymouth, MN | 763-542-9000