LilRed

I left the tub uncovered today. It isn't in direct sun and I uncovered it for about an hour. tonoight the FC ws 1.8 and the CC was 0.6. So it did come down. I would have to say it uses about 4 PPM of FF/day on average. I get init 4 times a week on days off. I work 12 hr on Fr Sat and Sun so I just add bleach to keep the chlorine up in case I want to do a quick soak. I will empty the tub the end of the month. I will see if I feel a difference. Time to get in. It is dark and the stars are out. I live in W North Carolina mountains. The Air Force is training now and I can watch the F15 jets zoom about while I am in the tub. Pretty cool. Thanks again Richard. Jeanie

Yes I did use dichlor. I am gtting 1.5ppp of combined chlorine. I have only been using the non-chlorine shock once a week. I will start using it more ofter. I will leave it uncovered after use and will let the sun "have at it today". This tub really "eat chlorine. I know it is the ozinator. I will have the chlorine up on Friday and with no use by Sat night it is down. I am wondering what is the endpoint tolet you know you need to change water? My tub water always look clear. I keep everything balanced. Any info there? Thanks so much for all your advice. It sure helps. Jeanie

I am getting this chemistry better after getting my taylor kit. My question is how to lower the combined chloroine? I am using bleach like Chem Geek suggests. I read in the Taylor book to lower the CC you need to supershlorinate or shock. It says to raise the FC to 10X the CC. I have a 200 gallon tub. Would this mean adding enough bleach to bring up the FC to 10 if the CC is 1ppm? Can I do this wiht non-chlorine shock as well? Thanks so much for all the great advice.

This could be it for me.I'm going to test again this tuesday. I'll le you know. Ive only put one tablespoon in so far. John That is interesting. If I use bleach and the ozonator do I need to shock the spa with the non-cholorine shock? Another question..my hot tub came with defaults set to filter twice a day for 2 hrs each time. Is that necessary? I can change the settings to filter from one to 12 hrs once a day or filter twice a day. I am just a newbie and appreciate any help. This weekend I didn't need to add as much bleach as I have been. Seems to be holding longer.

Jeanie, You might try turning off your ozonator and seeing if the chlorine continues to dissipate as quickly when you aren't using the tub. Ozone is a stronger oxidizer than chlorine so can oxidize chlorine to form chlorate (via chlorite). Chlorine will generally dissipate in a hot tub in one day if the tub is used, aerating jets are on, etc., but if covered and not in use it usually lasts a little longer though not by much (i.e. perhaps 2 or 3 days) depending on temperature. The hot tub volume is low so the chlorine is very easily overwhelmed by organics in the water which is part of the reason to use a regular non-chlorine shock (though in theory with your ozonator you wouldn't have to do that -- but the ozonator itself may reduce the chlorine). So if you turn off your ozonator, let us know if that helps keep the chlorine level up longer. You'll then be in a conundrum of what to do -- use the ozonator to help breakdown organics and kill bacteria, but also use up chlorine and have to add it every day vs. not use the ozonator to keep the chlorine level up, but have to use a non-chlorine shock (potassium monopersulfate) to help oxidize organics. First, see what happens with the ozonator off, and then we can deal with what to do next. Richard Richard, I will need dto check and see if I can turn the ozonator off. I don't know if I can. the water has been crystal clear and I have just been adding bleach daily and the cholorine is up. I haven't gotten my taylor kit yet. I am gettingin a routine and I love soaking in it. Thanks for all your help. Jeanie

The bacteria reproduce much more slowly in the colder water, but chlorine kills them more slowly as well. Generally, higher temps are more efficient at killing bacteria faster than they reproduce (i.e. the "CT" values are lower at higher temperatures), but you really don't want the bacteria there or taking hold at any time so I would add the chemicals to the cold water, then retest when warmed up and adjust as needed. This weekend I checked the tub everynight when I came home. I had to add bleach every single time. And I didn't use it. The tub must justuse it up. I never refilled the tub twice on start up. Hopefully we wont have this problem again. And thanks to chem geek I understand water chemistry so much better. Jeanie

Thanks so much Richard. I also have water from a well. I will dump it on Monday and start over. Also, since the water is 56 degrees coming out of the well should I add the chemicals into the cold water or into the water when it is warmer? I also have the problem with a higher ph. I will know the exacts when I get my taylor kit. I do keep the cover on it and it is an outside tub. Doesn't get much sun if I sit in it in the daylight. My hubby is now on antibiotics for the rash..man did it explode. Did some research and found that 15% of the population have pseudomonas as a flora on skin. Opening up the pores with strong jets flowing and poor cholorine levels probably contributed. So far, I have no rash and I love the tub. Will let you know how it goes after I get the tub back up and my husbands rash is gone. The tub is a no-no for anyone with an active skin rash. I so appreciate your expertise!!

You have been such a help as I am learning the hot tub chemistry. Yesterday I shocked it with a non cholorine shock and added dichlor. The strip read the darkest purple. I then got in it later in the evening when the cholorine was down. I was in it 15 minutes. This am I am barely registering cholorine on my strip. So the tub or me uses up the cholorine. My bigest question..should I empty the tub? You said "I could" but do I need to? Also, how does the CYA come down? Does shocking lower it or does it just dissapate over time? And another clarification, should I add the entire 4 tablespoons of bleach each time I need to add cholorine? And do I need to still do the non cholorine shock also? My ph on the stip is on the uppper end of high. I will know more whenI get my Taylor test kit I have on order. How should I lower that? Lots of questions and you have been such a big help. Jeanie

I have seen psuedomonas before. It is red raised and some may develope small pustules. I have a picture of Psuedomonas folliculitis but I don't know how to inset it here. I can e-mail it to you. How big are your spots? this can occur anywhere. It is a infection of the hair follicule. I jsut don't want it to re-occur due to improper sanitization. I also think my ph is high. It is on the high end of the tet strip. i am looking for my Taylor kit to come in the mail soon.

It sure looks like Pseudomonas to me. (I'm a Critical Care RN and have looked at pictures in the dermatology books..papular nodules with pustules over trunk and arms) I have seen it before. And yes I thought it was so unusal that my husband would get it so soon. We added chemicals to the spa on start up. Every time I checked the water the cholorine was non-existant according to the test strips. I believe I have added dichlor about a tablespoon about 6-7 times. The spa is 200 gallons. The tub sat over the weekend Fri Sat and Sun since we work 12hr weekend shifts. When I checked it Monday...zero cholorine in it. So I guess things could have grown over the weekend since I didn't check it until Monday. I have been in the tub aobut 2-3 times a day on my days off. (I rode bike here in the mountains and boy it sure feels good after exercising). I have shocked it with Spa guard once prior to today. I have ordered the Taylor kit and am waiting for it to come. I don't think it is an allergy since we have been in lots of pools and hot tubs on vacation and my husband has never reacted to cholorine before. I have been searching for another reason for it and can't find any. I am a novice at this and sure appreciate any input you would have. We have tried to be careful..showering before getting in and after getting out. I think I need to check it more often. When they set it up they said just check it once a week and don't obcess over it. I jsut don't want the bug to colonize in the tub and have troulbe getting rid of it. Thanks for the input. Jeanie

Had my Hot tub for a week and my husband has got hot tub rash. I am using cholorine and the spa does have an ozonator. I have ordered the taylor kit to use. My question is should I empty the tub and start over? I hae shocked and cholorinated it with dichlor. I have been in it much more and do not have it. If I don't have to drain it what else can I do? Thanks so much.