salachic

it was at 12.5 last night and now at 9.5 without anyone using it. Water appears slightly cloudy. We just put in clarifier to see if that helps. Not slimy. Solids at 850.

We use 3 step bromine. Lately the bromine has been very high ..around 10. ... very cold weather (sometimes below zero), we haven't been using it as much. We have had 2 bathers in 3 days. We closed the bromine floater a bit so it would not be so high. No one has been in the tub for 3 days but now the bromine shows Zero. We shocked the tub with dichlor to bring it up to above 10ppm. Is that sufficient to kill bacteria? Or do we have to do something else? Should we dump in liquid bleach as we have read in other posts? If so, how much? (tub size around 400 gal) We are hoping we do not have to dump/refill as it is extremely cold here in the northeast right now. All ideas welcome. Thanks. Karen & Jose

I have read on here about people having a vacation home hot tub that they only get to on weekends, and also about people that go away and leave their tub for a week or so. But, I will be away on vacation for a month during July. It will be hot and the tub will be in direct sunlight. (It's bromine in case that matters.) What should I do if we are away that long? Do we leave the water in it and then just dump/de-contaminate upon return? Or should it be drained if we are away that long? There will not be a house-sitter. Thanks.

Was there ever a response to this question? We also have ozonator and PH is always high. We have lowered the TA to around 60 and PH is still 8+ on most days. Another question that I read here recently.... target for bromine levels.... we had been shooting for 4 - 6, but someone said that was too high. ??

Hi Chem Geek. I stopped using the tub last week, but up until then we had used the tub daily. We also did a water test daily. The bromine has been kept in the 4-6 level. After a shock it might have shot up to almost 10 on occasion.... I think the lowest it ever got was down to 2 (but our Taylor instructions said that 2-4 was typical for residential tubs, so we did not worry). Was a 2 too low? Yes, the ozonator is working and yes we did the bromide bank on the 1st fill and have a floater. I read the article you linked. My symptoms come on right away..... I shower after getting out of the tub and I can already see my legs red and bumpy. I have also had some on my back and trunk. At first I was the only one, but then the hubby thought he had a few spots on his back and my son had a few spots on his arm. My arms have not been rashy, but I did notice them pinkish, as if I had been in the sun.... Since we did not know the difference between chemical rash and bacterial rash..... (was going to go to a dermatologist, but it clears up too fast and would not have had it by the time I got to the appt) we bought the bacteria test strips. I'm just very confused because none of the answers seem to add up, so I don't know what to do next. (here's what I keep asking myself): -> if I had biofilm/bacteria in it all along that the bromine would not take care of, wouldn't I have gotten a rash 2 mos ago? -> if the rash is chemical related, is the bacteria strip test unreliable? -> yes it is sometimes foamy, but I accounted it to visitor's swimsuits.... ->we bought a digital meter to measure dissolved solids... will need to change water soon, do I stick with bromine??? something else??? (we do plan to perform a decontamination on the drain/fill just to be safe.... Thanks for all your advise and information. Much appreciated.

Thanks, good info to have. We got the Water Safe strips http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NY51JI/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 They seem to work like a pregnancy test strip..... 1 line if it's negative. 2 lines if it's positive. Since a 2nd line showed up, we went with positive. We also tested our tap water and water from a bottle of Dasani just to compare "lines". They only had 1 line. I thought the line/no line thing was easier to interpret than the pool chem color test stips (yup! got the Tayler kit instead...) Is there a more sure way of knowing if the tub has bacteria? Why might my water give me a rash now, but not 2 mos ago?

This original post could have been written by me. We got our tub in Nov. It took us a bit to figure out the chemistry but now I think our numbers are good. About a month ago I started getting a rash when I used the tub. It would come on right away after use, and would go away after a day or 2 if I didn't use it. I was the only one that got it. Mine have gotten worse if I continue to use the tub, but still go away slowly without use. I couldn't understand why I was getting the rash.... if it was bromine sensitivity, wouldn't that have started right away?? Then I thought maybe it was dry skin and maybe the chemicals were drying my skin out and it was getting more dry each time?? Then my son started getting a few spots, now the husband too. We bought bacteria test strips from Amazon. It showed positive. I had a hard time believing it since our bromine levels have always been good. And I still don't understand how the bacteria would have formed (suddenly?) if all chem test levels are good. Very confused. But in the meantime we have stopped using the tub. I miss it terribly. We live in the northeast and it is not warm enough to do a decontamination/refill yet. For all those confused, you might want to test for bacteria just to rule it out before you try switching chemicals etc.

Thanks I tried that, no go. But did find it, apparently there is a "diverter" knob on the top of the spa that I must have hit by accident. It was sending more water to other jets and none to the one in question..... back on now. Thanks!

We have a 3 y.o, Reflections Cordoba. One jet on Pump 1 mysteriously stopped working yesterday. All the other jets on both pumps still work, it's just this one. I'm not even sure where to start..... Any guesses as to why this might happen and how I can get to it? (we are in the NE and it's too cold to drain the tub right now..) Thanks.

Yes, we use the jets and aerators often. I will look into Borates.... never heard of that one before. Also, I've been reading the Bromine for Beginners article. We are thinking of switching to bleach to shock instead of using the OxyShock that we have. But the articles on here mention that an unbalanced spa can "reduce the effectiveness of the bromine". Does that mean that it's not really working well even if the Taylor test kit says my bromine is at a 5? (in which case I would not know it's not really doing the job?) Or, if my TA/PH imbalance were reducing my bromine effectiveness then my test kit would show a lower bromine number? Also, someplace I read that after shocking it is not uncommon for bromine #s to jump alot.... say from 2 to 10+??? This is normal? It is supposed to go back down on its own... but we should wait (a day or 2) until this happens before using? Or is it ok to wait X period of time and use it even if the # is still high? What are possible effects of using a tub with a high bromine? Thanks.

Hi. We are relative newbies.... got the hot tub just before xmas. At first we had trouble with the bromine but I think we have that figured out. We now have the taylor kit and use that as well as the occasional test strip. I am jealous of the ppl that say they only have to test every couple of weeks etc because they have their system all figured out. We practically have to test daily and ours is always out of whack. Our "average" numbers look something like this: Hardness: 150 TA: 70 Ph 8.0 Bromine 5.0 I think the PH is very high, so we put in the stuff to lower it, and the very next day it is back to 8.0. We do not have a heavy bather use.... sometimes only 1 person got in that day, sometimes none, and the PH goes right back up. A couple family members have developed a rash that appears to be from very dry skin (definately not the bacterial kind of rash). Would this be caused by the high PH? How do I keep it down (or balanced)? I plan to refill and start over at some point, but we are in the northeast and and cannot do that at this point due to the weather. Thanks for any pointers.

We appear to have a leak around a jet gasket. We are thinking of getting one of those liquids that is put in the spa and then it seals it up. Has anyone used one of those with good results? I saw Leisure Time ZJ Leak Seal on Amazon but it has only 1 review and it's bad. Has anyone tried Spa Choice Seal A Leak? We are hoping to find one that doesn't require draining the tub. Thanks.

Thanks for the info. Ok, I've bought the Taylor K-2106. Here's my #s: Hardness: 260 PH 8 Alkalinity 120 Bromine 5 question: I got a cup of water and started doing all the tests. and then I tried to use the little saturation wheel that comes with it. And it asked water temperature. Does that mean what temp I have the tub at? or what temp the water was when I did the test? Because i am sure it had cooled down by the time i got to some of the tests..... Also you suggested hardness should be between 120-150...... but my test said to put in drops until the liquid changed color then multiply that by 10..... it took 26 drops!!! Yikes. I have some stuff called "calcium increase" but I don't have anything called calcium decrease..... is that what I need? (being so new we just bought a start up "kit" from spa depot.....) I do plan to buy the Spa Frog.

Thanks for the info. Ok, I've bought the Taylor K-2106. Here's my #s: Hardness: 260 PH 8 Alkalinity 120 Bromine 5 question: I got a cup of water and started doing all the tests. and then I tried to use the little saturation wheel that comes with it. And it asked water temperature. Does that mean what temp I have the tub at? or what temp the water was when I did the test? Because i am sure it had cooled down by the time i got to some of the tests..... Also you suggested hardness should be between 210-150...... but my test said to put in drops until the liquid changed color then multiply that by 10..... it took 26 drops!!! Yikes. I have some stuff called "calcium increase" but I don't have anything called calcium decrease..... is that what I need? (being so new we just bought a start up "kit" from spa depot.....) I do plan to buy the Spa Frog.

We bought the tub from the original owner..... and the warranty doesn't transfer. My husband says that the jet is in a location that he can't get to. I've seen on the internet the liquids that is put into the tub and run with the jets on..... (some require empty/refill, some don't...) do those work? if so, which ones?