New Hot Tub Owner With A Couple Questions

[Leeboy]

Hi everyone, Im Leeboy , new to this forum. Ive owned my Arctic Spa for a month now and im running the Aqua Finesse Water System. I using that blue floating puck holder , which i change every 4 days. I add 1 cap of boost every saturday as well as 10 oz of aqua finesse. Temp at 102 When i first filled it up I added the right amount of chemicals as i was told to. Used the test strips , and i figured i had them pretty close . Ive been the only one in it and 2 girls at different times. For a few weeks , it seemed i had troubles keeping the alkalinity up, the PH seemed to stay. I took a reading yesterday and the alkalinity seemed low again , so i added another cap of perfect balance. Here is a pic of the test strips.

Tonight i went in it and the bottom felt all coated with kind soft sand kinda feel. I could rub it and it would move ( i guess back in the water ) I also noticed the same funny substance is about 2 inches above the water line. Same thing as the bottom, i could rub it off. Any ideas whats going on ? Anything i could try ?

[PreservedSwine]

Did you just shock it?

The Chlorine levels seems very high.

The blue "puckholder?"

Are you using chlorine tablets?

Also, try getting a quality test kit, like the Taylor K2006

[DigitalMan]

I bought an Arctic Spa in the summer. The first month I has some issue maintaining the water chemistry but I think I have a handle on it now. I am using Bromine and Aquafinesse (AF) so I will just give you my experience.

First off, Boost is essentially shock. using it once a week seems excessive. Especially if you are using the AF correctly. definitely seems to be too much sanitizer. Once a week you should only need to add your AF and 1 tablet to your floater. That should maintain pretty regular sanitizer levels. If you have heavy bather load during the week a cap full of Refresh or Boost can be used afterwards.

I found with my tub the first month sanitization was difficult. My assumption is that there were contaminants that were left over from shipping plus high bath load the first few weeks. I dumped my water after the first month.

Did Arctic give you the disposable filters or the ones you clean? If they are the disposables, they are good for 3 months. But the one filter that looks like a pouch (above the smaller filter) should be cleaned once a week. Remove it and turn it upside down and spray at it from the outside. You should see it start to clear out and turn back to a white colour.

As for alkalinity and PH. Since I replaced my water and stuck to the AF procedure I never need to use the Spa UP/Down or Perfect balance. The key is to use the AF procedure exactly. Fill up the tub, ensure the water is balanced, heat it up, add AF and your tablet, them maybe a small amount of Boost to jump start the sanitizer. Also, don't get too obsessed with testing the water. If it is clear and there is no odor, most likely you're good. I just test now to make sure my Bromine levels are ok. And every time I do, PH and Alk are in normal ranges.

I'm fairly new to tubs myself and this forum has been a great help. So while my procedure works for me you will most likely find a system that works for you after some experience. Good luck.

[Leeboy]

I just can't figure out the water and the high chlorine

[PreservedSwine]

Try using WAY less chlorine- you're asking for many service repeat service calls unless you stop using so much

[Leeboy]

I was told to keep a little mini puck in the floater every 5 days or so... Is that wrong?

[PreservedSwine]

If your chlorine stays that high, it will eventually ruin many components, as well as your new spa cover. I'd say that's about as "wrong," as you can get. I'd try using a different approach.

[chem geek]

This is why Trichlor is not usually used in a spa. The tablets tend to dissolve too quickly. That not only has the FC get too high, but the pH gets low as well. In your case, the pH seems OK, but test strips are not that reliable so it's hard to know for sure. The Total Alkalinity (TA) will drop due to the use of these Trichlor tablets. For every 10 ppm FC added by Trichlor, it will lower the TA by 7.1 ppm. You can use baking soda to raise the TA periodically and that will tend to keep the pH from dropping too far as well.

At a minimum, you should turn down the vanes on the floater, assuming it is adjustable, and not add the chlorine puck as frequently. Make sure this floater doesn't park itself near the edge of your spa as the acidity from the Trichlor will make the water have very low pH nearby if there is no circulation (i.e. when the water pump is off) and that can harm spa surfaces and corrode metal.

See the ingredients in "Boost" that you are adding. Is it "sodium dichloro-s-traizinone" or "sodium dichloroisocyanurate"? This is Dichlor. So that capful is also increasing your chlorine level. Even with Dichlor, for every 10 ppm FC it lowers the TA by 3.5 ppm.

If you are using the spa every day or two then you might consider using the Dichlor-then-bleach method instead of what you are doing, but regardless of the method you need to adjust the amount of chlorine you add to maintain a proper FC level. You should not let it get too high nor too low.

[Leeboy]

Thanks for answering and helping..... Ive only boosted once in 4 months, and its always been high. I have the little blue adjustable floater , and i have it completely closed up so its like a flying saucer. I notice it gets caught in the filter tubes during cycling and heating etc. Also, i totally notice the ph and total alk drop quite a bit on me. and im always raising ph etc....I took the floater out for a few days and the chlorine dropped into the good zone pretty quick. Seems like that floater is leaking too much chlorine too quickly. Any other way to do the chlorine and keep it at the right level? ( If you look at my other post ...I think i had a allergic reaction with all the chlorine ) Here are the chlorine tabs and refresh i use. I refresh once a week.....

[chem geek]

As I mentioned, you could add chlorine manually such as with the Dichlor-then-bleach method, but that requires regular maintenance. If you use the spa every day or two, then it's just dosing after every soak.

[Leeboy]

I was lookin online at diff pics of floaters and it seems, most of them have a door you can shut . Mine seems really cheap and to shut it or open it you twist it back and fourth as you push or pull. I wonder if a better floater would help evenly distribute the chlorine. Here is a pic of mine wide open

and closed

[Leeboy]

So i drained the tub yesterday morning...Got my Ph and TA to where i think is good....added AF ...And i didnt put a floate in, but added a 1/3 cap of boost and this is how it looks this morning.

I really want to stay on top of this (im a beginner when it comes to hot tubs and chemicals so alot of the chemical lingo doesnt make any sense to me) So, what is this "refresh" for ..do i need it? I think if i put the floater in now, it will push the chlorine too the max again. My temp is 100-101F . Should i get a different floater with a door to adjust? Or is mine good enuff?

[PreservedSwine]

Trichlor tablets are simply too strong.

[Leeboy]

Awesome....ok, so what tablet should i look for and Do they come in diff strengths?

[chem geek]

The AquaFinesse Water Care Kit comes with AquaFinesse solution which is a surfactant that prevents biofilm formation and it comes with a sanitizer which is either Dichlor powder or Trichlor tablets.

What is the FULL name of the Boost and Renew products you are using and are there any ingredients listed on the label? There are many, many pool and spa chemicals and many of them share the same name yet are different in content. So you really have to be very specific when you ask questions about chemicals -- give the manufacturer name, the full product name, and the full list of ingredients.

For example, if the Boost and Renew are Leisure Time branded products, then the Boost is non-chlorine shock that according to this MSDS is hydrogen peroxide. That will react with chlorine so will eliminate chlorine from your spa -- presumably you add excess and it is then an oxidizer. It is more commonly used as the oxidizer in pools or spas where Baquacil/biguanide/PHMB is the disinfectant.

The Leisure Time Renew according to this MSDS is non-chlorine shock that is MPS (potassium monopersulfate) and is more commonly used with chlorine or bromine. Between the Boost and Renew, you should only use Renew and not Boost in your chlorine spa, but if you properly use chlorine you shouldn't need to use either. In this link you can see many different Leisure Time products listed.

Unfortunately, there are no slow-dissolving chlorine tablets for the spa. This is the main reason why bromine tabs are sold as an alternative since they dissolve more slowly. Trichlor in pools works because they need a lot of chlorine for the larger volumes, but in a spa Trichlor dissolves too quickly in the hotter water.

[Leeboy]

Here are some links to my products. Here is the Refresh i was told to put a cap in per week.....

http://www.arcticspastore.com/water-maintenance/arctic-pure-refresh-2-lbs-arctic-spas/

And Here is my Boost in case things get cloudy

http://www.arcticspastore.com/water-maintenance/arctic-pure-boost-1-5-lbs-arctic-spas/

Here are my spa-tabs ( Keep one in at all times) ( about every 4 days or so)

http://www.hottubchemicals.ca/spaboss-spa-tabs/?gclid=CPyDkcGG1bwCFYeEfgod1loABA

[chem geek]

The Arctic Pure Refresh says it is 31.5% MPS so that's non-chlorine shock compatible with chlorine. The Arctic Pure Boost says it is 99% Dichlor so that is chlorine. The SpaBoss Spa-Tabs are Trichlor.

You shouldn't need the Refresh if you properly maintain the chlorine levels, but if you use only Dichlor then this builds up CYA so you'll need to change the water sooner. The Trichlor also builds up CYA, but more slowly.

If you decide you really want to use the Trichlor tabs, then you need to get a dispenser that can be dialed down more, but if you use the spa nearly every day then you shouldn't need the floater and can instead dose with chlorine (such as the Dichlor-then-bleach method) after each soak.

[Leeboy]

Thanks Chem for your detailed replies. I've read a lot of your posts , and you really take the time to explain your answers. Any suggestions or links to a new floater ? I will try another shot with the tabs , if they give me grief , I will learn the dichlor bleach method next re-fill. I guess they don't make Dichlor Tabs? Has there been any noted skin allergies more or less between Dichlor and Trichlor? ( and bromine) ? Thanks

[chem geek]

Skin allergies to chlorine are pretty rare, but bromine tabs have sometimes been associated with irritation for some (as noted in this paper). There are no Dichlor tabs as that chemical dissolves even more quickly than Trichlor.

As for good floaters, I really have no idea. An Internet search found these [EDIT] NOT that one -- see Dr. Spa's post [END-EDIT], this one that looks like it might dial down as low as you need, this one that seems somewhat similar, and this one that looks similar.

If you do use the floater, then even if you get it dialed down note what I wrote about Trichlor lowering pH and TA. You also want to be careful having the floater park itself in one place in your tub.

[Leeboy]

So, does Dichlor come in a different form than the boost bottle( more harder chrystals) i have? Or is the dichlor method basically means use boost?

[Dr. Spa]

Do not EVER use a top loading feeder in a spa. They excessively out-gas through the top, damaging the underside of the spa cover.

[Dan The Spa Man]

Another question: Do you have to use tablets? Granulated may help you better control chlorine levels, and will reduce the amount of chlorine gas that may be building up (Since you have had large amounts of chlorine levels from the tabs). The other posters on this thread have done a dynamite job of explaining the cons of tablets, however, and I am in no way questioning their judgement. Granulated sodium-based chlorine may help you not only control your chlorine levels a little better, but will reduce gas. I recommend adding it after using your spa, and maybe even leaving the cover off for, say, 15 minutes to help some of the gas burn off. I hope this helps. Good luck moving forward.

[Leeboy]

I dont have to use tablets, i just thought a floater would be a nice consistent way of monitoring chlorine levels. I guess you cant put granulated in a floater. ( even the nice recommended floater 2 posts above) So, what i should be doing is throw the floater away, and toss a teaspoon or so of "boost-dichlor" after each use? and monitor that way? Im starting to get this ...Thanks for all your help.

[chem geek]

Dichlor is only granular and dissolves very quickly -- it is not in tablet form. Trichlor comes in tablets but is generally only used in pools and not spas because it dissolves too quickly in hot water and it's acidic so you have to watch the pH carefully (you have to do that in a pool as well, but the larger water volume makes it harder to overdose by accident).

If you use the spa every day or two then as I wrote before using the Dichlor-then-bleach or even the Dichlor-only method should work for you. Dichlor-only builds up CYA so you need to change the water more frequently, but Dichlor-then-bleach requires additional care by having a lower TA level (around 50 ppm) and using 50 ppm Borates for additional pH buffering.

[Leeboy]

I did some more reading , on diff threads and it's all slowly coming together. Couple more questions.

1. That "refresh" product ( non chlorine) is it even necessary?

2. Is dichlor basically the bottle of "shock" I have already, or is there a different dichlor I want?

3. Can you mix dichlor and Trichlor ? Say .... Your a little bit down on chlorine level, and you just need to up it a smidge...could you toss the floater in for half a say or something?

4. I was told I could probably be fine with only dichlor( without the bleach) can I still add my aqua finesse weekly?

Sorry if my questions don't make a lot of sense, but I wanna learn as much as I can and have the perfect tub. Thanks again everyone for helping