Ski Bum

Last fall, I bought a house with a 330 gal. Tiger River Spa. I'm a newbee to all of this. I enjoyed using it 2-3 times a week. Before the winter came, I drained and refilled the spa. I started using a new product - Silk Balance - with a Silver Ion cartridge and an Ozonator. During the snowy winter, I rarely used the spa. But I continued with weekly maintenance. Somewhere along the way, the spa started to produce some type of gas that choked me when I was anywhere near it. No strong odor like chlorine - pretty much odorless. In March, I drained and refilled again. I also: >> Replaced the Silver Ion cartridge. >> Thoroughly cleaned and swapped filters every week. (I rinse off the filter, soak in cleaner, rinse off, soak in just water, and rinse a third time.) >> Add a couple ozs. of Replenish Shock to my 330 gal spa every Sunday. >> Run the jets for 20-30 mins. with the cover open. >> Add 3.5 ozs of Silk Balance with jets off and closed cover. >> Per the online supplier's recommendation, add Sodium dichloro shock and run jets. Leave cover open for sun and air for a couple hours. >> Shower off before I try to use the spa. I wear trunks that have not been in laundry detergent. Within a week or two, I was choking again. The water was always like seltzer water - very crispy on the surface. It is when I turn the jets on that I start to choke. The bubbles are releasing something toxic. I can sit in the spa with the jets off, but that's no good. A week later, I started getting huge foam whenever I turned the jets on. I disconnected the Ozonator to reduce the variables. ------ Frustrated, I decided to give up on the Silk Balance and start all over again using a local spa company. Their theory was that I over sanitizing the spa since I rarely used it. 10 days ago, I drained and refilled my spa with a clean filter. The new water appeared clear. Three days later, I took a water sample to the local store. I could still sense a bit of that choking sensation even though I had not added any chemicals or used the tub yet! My initial water test results: >> TA = 99 (OK) >> pH = 7.9 (High) >> Calcium Hardness = 73 (Low) >> TDS = 50 (OK) >> Total Bromine = 0.0 Last Tuesday, I added in order: >> Start Up packet >> pH Decreaser = .063 oz. >> Calcium Hardness Increaser = 14.25 oz. >> Bromine sanitizer >> Metal and Scale Control - two capfulls. Last Thursday, I took another sample in: >> TA = 71 (Low) >> pH = 7.8 (OK) >> Calcium Hardness = 356 (OK) >> TDS = 800 (OK) >> Total Bromine = 0.0 (Low) I was advised to add 4.25oz of Total Alkalinity Increaser. As I was doing this with the jets on, I started to choke again and the water started foaming! I have yet to even use the spa since I refilled!! Tonight, I performed weekly maintenance. I added 2oz. of Shock with jets on. Again, more choking gas and huge foam. It left a yellow residue at the water line. I opened the Bromine floater gap to let more in. Added 1 capfull of Metal and Scale Control. I swapped out the filter with my second clean one. I'm going to rinse and soak the filter in plain water, in case the Filter Cleaner is the culprit. I removed the Silver Ion cartridge to eliminate another variable. Sorry for all of the details, but I AM COMPLETELY AT A LOSS AS TO WHAT TO DO. I can't even use my hot tub. HELP! Thanks, Bill