Nitro

Just curious, but why not?

Salt Water Chlorine Generators and Chlorine is the same thing, except how the Chlorine is created. The first has a generator that creates Chlorine from the salt in the water. The latter is just added by you. You say Chlorine has given you issues with your tub. What type of Chlorine have you been using?

The Pool Calculator

Paul, Glad to hear Borates are working for you. After reading this post from Waterbear, I knew they were a good thing.

Check your Calcium level. If it's much below 100 ppm, you can add some until it's around 150 ppm. If your Chlorine is droping to zero everyday it means your Chlorine Demand is 100%. You need to shock until your CD drops to 50% or less. Or if it's almost time to change your water, this would be a good time. Read my link about CD below for more info.

Read my link below, "Lowering TA". Also, I recommend you get a Drop Test kit, such as the Taylor K-2006. Otherwise, you can expect to have problems.

Guess (I mean Test) Strips are almost useless for testing pH and TA. Your best bet is to get a good drop test kit such as the Taylor K-2106 (Bromine).

If your TA is high (>100) then your pH will rise as soon as you turn on the jets/air and start using the tub. What is your TA now? Read the Water Balance section in my quide below for more info. Then read the Lowering TA link on how to lower your TA.

The cause is most likely aeration (jets/air). The solution is to lower your TA by 5 ppm, and see if it helps. If not lower TA another 5 ppm. Continue until pH stays < 8.0, or you get to 50 ppm TA. Also add borates to your tub. That will help reduce pH drift.

I don't know the percentages, but I do remember reading other members having issues(raising pH) with using this product. I wonder what the actual pH is though.

Leisure Time pH Balance contains Boric Acid and Sodium Carbonate. The Boric Acid is used to add Borates to your tub, and is helpful in reducing pH drift. However, Sodium Carbonate (aka Washing Soda, Soda Ash) will RAISE your pH. I believe the purpose is to bind to the Hardness (Calcium & Magnesium) in the water to prevent scaling. If your water is not hard, I guess it's kind of pointless. Have you checked your pH? Your water is probably cloudy because your raised your pH too high. If so you'll need to add acid to bring it down. In the future, forget using Leisure Time pH Balance it's too expensive. Add borates to your tub using a product called Gentle Spa. It's pH balanced and will not raise your pH. The other route which is even cheaper is to use plain old 20 Mule Team (Borax), and acid to counter balance it.

I would fill the whole tub through the water softener, and then add Calcium Increaser. The reason is, along with Calcium the water softener will also remove iron and other sediment.

As Chem Geek said, try testing CD again to see if it drops. Also, is your filter clean? A dirty filter can raise CD. The best (only) way to lower CD is to shock. Add an ounce or two of MPS (non-chlorine shock), and a cup or two of bleach. Do this everyday until your CD is at or below 50%. My quess is you got behind in your Chlorine additions. The good news is you caught it before it became a problem. Just try to add more in the future.

TMI (too much information) Whatever it is, you need to shock, increase the filter cycle time, use a clearifier and clean your filter. Also, clean your water line with a towel or sponge etc.

You got it.

Richard, I heard the main reason metal gets corroded from high salt levels is because of a bad ground. i.e. the tub isn't grounded properly. What's your take on that? If that's the case, I could see pools being a bigger problem than hot tubs, because all the metal isn't grounded.

If your pH is too high that means you need to lower your TA. Your TA should be at whatever level it needs to be to keep your pH in line.

i was at a hot tub dealership today and the salesman said that going to salt is not the way to go as salt is corrosive and will damage the tub and motor etc.. That's complete nonsense, and isn't surprising coming from a dealer.

If it's a new tub, I would just change the water in a week or so. You'll be happy with the new water.

IMO, a drop test kit is a must for balancing your water. You need to measure and adjust TA and pH precisely, in order to get a rock solid pH level. Test strips just won't cut it. However, test strips are useful for measuring Chlorine and Bromine, when you just need to know an estimate. Regarding how often to refill your tub. For some people it's difficult to balance their water (i.e. TA = 400) requiring tons of acid, and time. For them, refilling their tub every 60 days would be a hassle. Also, in the north where winters are quite long, the water has to last over 3 months. My water is 6 months old, and still doing fine (although I will be draining soon). I use the Dichlor/Bleach method, that doesn't add anything to the tub long term except salt. I could technically go a year without issues. Lastly, if your tub becomes contaminated with a biofilm (bacteria protected by a shield), a plain refill won't suffice. You'll need to do a decontamination in order to rid the problem. I recommend doing a decon at the sign of any time of skin/lung infection or rash not caused by a sensitivty etc. Also, I would do a decon anytime a used tub changes hands. There's no way to know how well the previous owners maintained the warter. The good news is, if you have a new tub, and you keep your tub water well maintained, you should never have to do a decon.

Up your filter cycle to 2 hours three times a day. Also try using Sea Klear (clearifier). It will clear it up in a day. Lastly, is this a new tub? If so, you should change your water in about a month after the first fill. The water will get sluggish from the new plumbing, secreting oils etc.

Actually, it's nothing new. Pools have been using them for years. And the portable ones for spas have been around for a while. Check HERE. I may get one myself, as soon as I figure out which one to get. There are three main ones that I know of. Spa Pilot, ColorChlor and the new Nexa Spa. Right now, I'm leaning toward the ColorChlor, but I still haven't decided.

Glad to hear everything is going well for you. But as Chem Geek mentioned the true test will be after 2 months. FYI, I'm going on six months since my last fill. Everything seems like a fresh fill, not sluggish at all. I may drain it anyway, just because the days are nice. I figure refilling every six months wil be good, once in the spring and once in the fall. As Chem geek said, you should use more chlorine after your soaks. Your FC should never be zero. I would up your Bleach doses by a couple ounces, and see if that helps maintain FC better. If FC is still getting close to zero, up it another two ounces.

Adam, I forgot to mention, you can clean the scale off the spa shell by lowering your TA/pH below normal, and let it sit for a few days. That will cause the Cacium to go back into the water.

It sounds like your TA/pH is high, and causing scaling (Calcium Deposts). First, check out my guide below, the Water Balance section for more info on how to balance your water. Also, check out the Lowering TA link. Second, I'd forget about using guess(test) strips to test your water, or you'll continue to have problems. Get a good drop test kit such as the Taylor K-2006 for Chlorine, or K-2106 for Bromine. Lastly, and my humble opinion, I would look into another sanitation method using Chlorine or Bromine. I think you'll find them easier, cheaper and safer. Help that helps.