White Water Mold And Baqua Spa

[icewoz]

I figured out that I have white water mold from the little tissue looking particles that were in my tub. Because of having to be out of town, I was not able to add Baqua Spa when I usually do for about 2 weeks. I was adding sanitizer on the lower side because of my water turning cloudy and my dealer saying that sanitizer level was too high. So now I think I've gone in the other direction and have not added enough?

At this point, I've added Spa Purge, drained, and have been filling it a little, then draining again to get the mold out that is coming up (both white and "brownish" looking).

I'm not sure how long I have to keep doing this. I've been working at it all day.

Any tips? I'm afraid to fill it for fear of finding more mold floating around.

Another site recommended "ProTeam System Support" . Is anyone familiar with this product? They claim removes all white water mold and pink slime.

Thanks!!!

[mcw53]

I hope you have better luck than I did. I ended up purging, dumping, cleaning and/or super-chlorinating 4 times over a period of a month. The mold/pink slime came back every time. I was told by several professionals, that once a Baqua spa gets white water mold and/or pink fungi slime, it is almost impossible to get rid of it unless you switch to a chlorine or bromine sanitizer. I eventually used Nitro's Decontamination Procedure and switched to chlorine and haven't had a problem since. See this thread.

Don't know anything about ProTeam's System Support other than what's on their website. It is basically an oxidizer for biguinide pools. The MSDS lists sodium carbonate peroxyhydrate as the active ingredient. I'd try Nitro's decontamination procedure first, but if you use the ProTeam product, make sure you add the appropriate amount of acid to get the pH back down. Their instructions say to add 3/4 LB of pH Down for every 1 LB of System Support added.

Edit: Corrected active ingredient (per chem geek).

[chem geek]

Sodium Carbonate Peroxyhydrate is one ingredient and is also known as sodium percarbonate. It is a solid combination (an adduct) of 2 parts sodium carbonate with 3 parts hydrogen peroxide. In large quantities as a strong oxidizer, the hydrogen peroxide will release hydrogen ions so the pH may not rise as much as you'd think after this product has finished its job. Sodium percarbonate is sometimes used to remove Baqua as it can do so about twice as quickly as chlorine and without the colorful transitions, though it is more expensive than chlorine. Though normally used in pools, it should work similarly in spas, at much lower doses, of course.

[quantumchromodynamics]

Deleted post.

[icewoz]

Thanks Chem Geek and Mike. Mike, are you using a "system" now for Chlorine usage (not sure if this is the right term....like Nature 2, etc?).

I'm assuming I have to buy a test kit to use Nitro's Decom process?

"5.Add 50 ppm FC using Regular Clorox 6% Unscented Bleach. That's approx. 1/4 gal (32 oz) per 350 gal tub.? - Is this just using bleach to get FC? I have a 500 gallon tub so I'll figure out how much to use.

So using the ProTeam stuff isn't going to give me any advantage?

I'm thinking of switching to Brilliance for Spas, which I think is still made by Baqua, but it's their Bromine line. Any opinions on that, or just go the chlorine route and be done with it?

[bart6453]

Thanks Chem Geek and Mike. Mike, are you using a "system" now for Chlorine usage (not sure if this is the right term....like Nature 2, etc?).

I'm assuming I have to buy a test kit to use Nitro's Decom process?

"5.Add 50 ppm FC using Regular Clorox 6% Unscented Bleach. That's approx. 1/4 gal (32 oz) per 350 gal tub.? - Is this just using bleach to get FC? I have a 500 gallon tub so I'll figure out how much to use.

So using the ProTeam stuff isn't going to give me any advantage?

I'm thinking of switching to Brilliance for Spas, which I think is still made by Baqua, but it's their Bromine line. Any opinions on that, or just go the chlorine route and be done with it?

the system is Nitro's detailed instructions. It is linked at the bottom of all his posts.

I have been using the Nitro method for nearly a year now. I have never had a tub before, but was very intimidated by the chemical process. I am also very fastidious about being clean. I took the time to learn Nitro's method, which incidentally is just reading from the bottom of Nitro's profile, and have been very surprised at how much I do not need to do to keep my water properly balanced.

Go for Nitro's method and don't look back!

[mcw53]

Thanks Chem Geek and Mike. Mike, are you using a "system" now for Chlorine usage (not sure if this is the right term....like Nature 2, etc?).

I'm assuming I have to buy a test kit to use Nitro's Decom process?

"5.Add 50 ppm FC using Regular Clorox 6% Unscented Bleach. That's approx. 1/4 gal (32 oz) per 350 gal tub.? - Is this just using bleach to get FC? I have a 500 gallon tub so I'll figure out how much to use.

So using the ProTeam stuff isn't going to give me any advantage?

I'm thinking of switching to Brilliance for Spas, which I think is still made by Baqua, but it's their Bromine line. Any opinions on that, or just go the chlorine route and be done with it?

I am using Nitro's dichlor-then-bleach method with great success. See this thread. I also have a Nature2 cartridge installed, but primarily using it as an insurance policy.

You do not need a test kit to use Nitro's Decontamination Procedure. But I would highly recommend a good test kit for weekly testing (e.g. Taylor K-2006 if you'r using chlorine).

Use The Pool Calculator to calculate how much 6% unscented bleach is required for raise FC by 50 ppm in a 500 gallon spa (~50 oz).

I really don't know if the ProTeam stuff will kill the mold/slime. I tried several times with Spa Purge and super-chlorination, but the mold/slime came back every time until I switched to chlorine. I really wanted baqua to work, but now that I am on chlorine, I will never go back to baqua.

I add maintenance dosages of bleach after each soak such that the FC is about 0.5 to 1.0 ppm prior to my next soak. The chlorine is almost imperceptible during soaking. Most people have trouble with chlorine because they don't use enough (e.g. using only stabilized chlorine, dichlor). General rule-of-thumb is that you need to add 5 fluid ounces of 6% unscented bleach for each person-hour of soak time. You want to use dichlor to get your CYA up to approximately 30 ppm (33 ppm FC) before you start using bleach.