HuMan123

Well I have made the change over to bleach and thank you for all your help Richard and others who post! I did find some interesting things that did not align with my expectations. CYA - level was <30ppm as I could still see the dot with my Taylor test kit full to the top of solution, I added 1.5 Tbsp of 58.2% (dichlor) "Spaguard Enhanced Shock" and my 2 readings on different days show CYA @ 47ppm which does not make sense to the formulas I have read regarding CYA from dichlor. The FC jumped from zero to 14ppm so how could CYA jump >27ppm (30+27)? Using the Clorox 8.25% on my 225 gallon Jetsetter tub with 24/7 ozone I appear to be seeing higher that published FC usage by ozone. (possibly because ozone on Jetsetter is the same model HotSprings uses on much larger tubs???) My early numbers are usage of 60% or slightly higher...have had the cover off a lot and jets on. Early numbers on my "per hour" bather load is using 2oz for 24 hour period per bather hour. These are very early numbers as I have just begun using bleach. Alk is @ 50-55 and CH is 100. I have not used the boric acid (ordered from "Duda Diesel which has excellent shipping and pricing) because I wanted to see if the Silk Blance I am using would buffer PH since it is marketed as a buffer. So far the PH is holding or just slightly lowering???? Which is the opposite of what I was expecting? Starting PH was just on the light side of 7.4 and now is just heavy side of 7.2PH. Just some feedback for others to compare and I will continue to update my findings. Any and all comments are welcome.

Thank you for the response. I have a couple of follow up questions. Nitro's writeup says to lower TA to ~80ppm - is 50PPM new improved guidelines learned over time? Mine is at 65 and I am asking to see if I should try starting at this point and if so, what should I watch for to see if 65 TA is too high? Also, the writeup says to add 50 ppm of borates. To accomplish this using the pool calculator do I assume the level is zero now to have the calculator tell me how much to put in? Is this a onetime per fill add of borates or do I need to measure somehow and keep adding? Silk Balance is marketed to keep PH/etc from wandering so I may give it a try and watch PH closely. My experience so far with it is that my PH, CH, etc are staying stable so not sure if it is the SB doing it or I just have TA/PH very balanced from initial bringing down/airating procedure. Thanks,

Hi, I have some questions pertaining to my setup to switch over from MPS/Nature2 to dichlor bleach method. My tub is a new Hot Springs Jetsetter of 225 gallons. It has 24/7 ozone and Nature2 in with Tri-X filters. It is on it's 2nd fill which was done 24 days ago. I have only used dichlor I think twice in this fill and have kept MPS at maintained levels. I just took readings with my Taylor K2006. PH - 7.4 FC - 0 (guessing a bit because I use MPS) CYA - <30 (filled comparator tube to top and could still see dot) (Low after 24 days because of minimal dichlor usage???) CH - 100 TA - 65 MPS - Ok reading on MPS dip stick Can I go to dichlor/bleach even though it is not a fresh fill because my CYA is lower than 30? If so, should I raise it to at least 30 before starting? Other scenarios/questions. I was given several Nature 2 sticks and 2 big jugs of Silk Balance that I have been using. I would like to continue to use these if possible since I have them. Big question is do I need to use borates it I continue to use Silk Balance which I think has some buffer properties??? Any and all advice is greatly appreciated as I want to move over to this method quickly to test MPS sensitivity theory. My dichlor I have now is Spaguard Enhanced Shock which is only 58.2% dichlor so any math whiz types out there to help me convert to Pool Calculator readings? Thanks in advance and I am off to the store to buy some Chlorox bleach in anticipation of starting.

Nice story and I am glad to hear it worked out. My only future advice to you would to stay aware that when measuring voltage on wiring that is terminated you can read backfeed through some components so best course would be to remove wiring from terminals and test line to line/ground/neutral etc without fear of backfeeding. Congratulations on your fix and happy tubbing!

Thank you for the reply! I agree with you 100% and only wanted to bring to the dealers attention if there was specific written directions from the OEM of these products. I showed them the "low chlorine recipe" that is in the Nature2 box and they were surprised to read of the requirement to test and add "before" soaking. The comment was "I would not want to add chemical just before soaking" which I replied that I did not want to either and was trying to add enough 24 hours earlier to make this unnecessary. Problem with that is with the degradation of the MPS over time it is making you use a lot of the product which is probably not good for many other reasons.

Your rule of thumb works pretty close for my tub. With 24/7 Ozone and Nature2 I find using 1 Tbsp per hour of soak gets me through to the next soak 24 hours later. I am not sure what I will need to do when I go away for a 3 day weekend or week vacation and still looking for good data. I asked my dealer specifically about having a residual of MPS at all times (24/7/365) and they say it is not necessary. I believe what Chem Geek writes here more so I am following that, but wish I could find it in print besides this forum because with their knowledge of this I don't believe they would believe forum posts. Why can't Nature2 or Dupont specifically state this and not make you read between the lines of their products?

Sorry to dredge up an old thread, but this addresses some of the questions I have on my 225 gallon Hot springs Jetsetter tub. It has 24/7 ozone/recirc, Hot Springs "Nature2 silver ion stick in filter and I am using Spaguard products of "Spa Shock-Oxidizer (31% Potassium Peroxymonosulfate) and Enhanced Shock (58.2% Sodium dichloro-s Triazinetrione) I use MPS after every use in the amount of 1Tbsp per hour of bather load at 99 degrees and use 1.5 Tbsp of the 58.2% dichlor once a week. I am trying to put in enough MPS to have a reading 24 hours later when we soak again (new tub, high usage). After reading this post I see that (quote from above - [EDIT] The decomposition rate of MPS at spa temperatures is about 12% per hour so is 90% decomposed after 18 hours (95% decomposed after 24 hours) which is why Nature2 requires testing and addition of MPS BEFORE one soaks in addition to adding more afterwards (since MPS gets consumed during and shortly after the soak by the urea/ammonia in sweat). [END-EDIT]) MPS appears to decompose fairly quick and I wonder if I am chasing my tail to "always" keep a maintained level of MPS and should just add some after and then 30 minutes or more before use. I read conflicting info on whether MPS residual needs to be maintaned 24/7/365. One thought says "yes" as MPS works with silver ion to be a sanitizer and another says the silver Ion is sanitizer, but needs MPS to oxidize bather waste which would be accomplished by adding after usage and before (not necessarily in between?) The whole subject is vague to me as I read the low chlorine recipe from Nature2 and it says to add before and after leaving me to read between the lines for the "in between residual" Any help or links would be greatly appreciated as while I am now maintaining an MPS level 24/7/365 to be sure it is causing me to use more MPS product and possibly creating high sulfate level where I can see minor white spots on the black step after water dries. I even called Zodiac and spoke with technical support on specifics and it seemed the conversation changed as I asked different scenarios. I really did not get a good feeling that they were knowlegable on my questions. If anyone has an approximate chart of MPS PPM to Tbsp in gallons of water I could use that as well. I have found where a Tbsp in 250 gallons would equal 12PPM and also found 20PPM for same rate. I have Taylor kit with K-2042 interferance reagent too and that is not working for me. 1st batch sent was frozen and next batch provided very high cc readings. Taylor tech support has verified my reagents are fresh and the process I am following is sound, yet not working for me. They have escalated my issue to a higher level and I am awaiting the response. I asked Zodiac what PPM level I should have with the Taylor process to match "OK" on an MPS test strip and was told 14-15PPM. Don't know if this is valid info or if it matches my strip until I figure out why Taylor process is not working. Thanks for reading!