bart6453
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Posts posted by bart6453
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so...where should a guy run his hardness at??? My water comes out of the tap at 90ppm......is that too low????
I was thinking about bringing it to 150ppm but my water is very stable the way it is...what do you think??? bring it up or leave it alone?
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My experience with ozone is as follows......
I am a gadget man...my stuff needs all the options and all the equipment...with that said I dont like to waste money either. So I got a great deal on a new tub that was sitting on the showroom floor....and I brought it home. I talked with the salesperson about ozone and I got a quote..then I checked online and found it for much less....So then I got lazy and didnt order it.
After using the tub without ozone for a month or so...I realize that I really don't need an ozonator. I am good about checking the water conditions regularly...if I need or want to skip a day I add more dichlor to compensate for the missed day. Everything seems to work well and I can't justify any addtional expenses or equipment at this point.
thats my .02 cents!
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now that is one heck of a twist......good to know you didnt have an infected tub!
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It's similar to the K-2005 except for the pH range, but neither the K-1005 nor the K-2005 have the FAS-DPD chlorine test. They both use the DPD test instead which will bleach out at high chlorine levels and isn't as accurate. It's better than nothing and probably OK for basic checks, but it's not helpful when wanting to more accurately know your chlorine demand or when shocking the tub. You can just get the FAS-DPD kit separately from tftestkits.net here and also note the CYA test here that measures down to 20 ppm. The K-1005 and K-2005 and even K-2006 kits from Taylor only measure the CYA down to 30 ppm.
Ah...I have another idea......now this may be stupid...but...the K2005 kit is much less than the others....so what if a guy were to just buy some titration powder? I know this is the long way around.....but...it could save $20 or $30!
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it's the i-care k-1005 kit... here is the link.
http://www.taylortechnologies.com/products...&KitID=2471
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The OTO test, which has the sample turn yellow, measures mostly total chlorine. Free Chlorine (FC) is measured with a DPD test that turns pink/red or most accurately with a FAS-DPD test that also turns pink/red but where you count drops of titrant until it turns clear.
I presume that when you say you are keeping the reading at 2-3 ppm, you mean you are adding chlorine to do that? What sort of chlorine are you using and how frequently are you adding it?
Yes...adding di-chlor from Pro-team. I am adding it once a day as needed. My tub seems to drop a bit less than 1ppm per day if unused. When two of us soak for about an hour or so I add enough di-chlor to mathematically raise it by 2ppm...giving a theoretical 5ppm if there was no chlorine usage. By the next evening when I test I am usually at 2ppm actual and then add my daily maintenance amount of about 1ppm mathematical and then again by the next day am at 2ppm actual.
That seems to be the routine and working pretty well....I tested my cya and got a severely low result...which I assume is just fine.
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So I have this 6 way test kit from HTH....with a chlorine chamber that you put 5 drops of OTO into. Is this the same as a free chlorine test.....or am I testing total chlorine? If I shock once a week with MPS and keep the reading at about 2-3ppm (with a nature2 cartridge in for back up), am I keeping my spa properly sanitized?
I used the info to stabilize the PH using the TA method and that worked amazing by the way....havent had to touch PH since!
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So I have a co-worker who has had problems with his pool...this year a customer of his told him to use peroxide to sanitize the pool. His instructions are to add a "couple of gallons" to the pool and do that every couple of weeks...when the water feels dirty...add more. He started doing this with 35% peroxide and swears it is working. He uses no other chemicals or anything.....WHAT'S THE DEAL?
He keeps trying to get me to use it in my hot tub, but there is no way I would ever do it.
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So I have a co-worker who has had problems with his pool...this year a customer of his told him to use peroxide to sanitize the pool. His instructions are to add a "couple of gallons" to the pool and do that every couple of weeks...when the water feels dirty...add more. He started doing this with 35% peroxide and swears it is working. He uses no other chemicals or anything.....WHAT'S THE DEAL?
He keeps trying to get me to use it in my hot tub, but there is no way I would ever do it.
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I am new to the tub world....and thinking about the different chemicals and doses.
I wonder why no one has come up with pre-measured chemical doses.
Wouldnt it be great to have 1/4 oz pills of dichlor kind of like the cascade pouches you throw in your dish washer. You could just grab a couple throw them in the tub after you are done soaking and walk away....easy for when you have had way too much to drink!
Maybe this is me just obsessing about making things easy for the masses...but it sure would be handy.
anyways...just a rambling thought.
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That's great info too.....I figured it was more of a guide line....kind of like slowing to a stop sign.....you apply the brakes harder and gradually let off as you come to a stop.
The aeration is kind of interesting too....now I know how people can have real trouble with a tub. I am no moron but there is clearly a steep learning curve and if you are not paying attention you could surely hurt yourself or others. If one were to be less fastidious about the water quality of their tub it could be a disaster!
In the end I was able to lock my TA in at 90ppm with a PH of 7.5....I figured that should be pretty much on the nutz.
Thanks for all your help...this is awesome...now after 25 years I finally know why my parent's tub always sucked.
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the 17PPM reduction is just about exactly what I ended up with....so I am not crazy! It just seemed like so much product for so little change, why would they have a product like that????
I have started the sequence of figuring out the exact theoretical amount of dry acid, halving it and aerating for 30 minutes. My PH has risen slightly but the TA has dropped at exactly the calculated amount. Is it possible that different tubs aerate at different levels creating a PH rise with this method? On that thought I am still in process but turned 2 of my 3 aeration circuits off.
Thanks for all the help...this is awesome that with your information I can get theoretical results and actual results to nearly match.
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This is great info guys...I suspected that my acid was fairly weak.....I have some dry pH down sitting outside the closed pool supply shop waiting for me to get off work!!!!
thanks again....looks like I have this one under control now...add some dry acid....aerate.....an should be rocking in no time!
Later,
BART
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Hi Bart,
You shouldn't try controlling pH directly. Instead, you need to find the right TA level that will keep pH balanced. If you lower your TA to around 80-100 ppm, that should keep your pH in line. If your pH still creeps up, lower TA more. If you find your pH staying too low, raise your TA a little.
By the amount that you already added, your TA must have been up around 380 ppm. Have you checked you tap water directly? Approx. 12 oz Dry Acid (pH Down) will lower your TA by around 100 ppm. So it sounds like you still need to add ~6 oz Dry Acid. Check out my Lowering TA link below for more info.
Great thanks.....so do you think one should not use the liquid PH down??? The kind I have been using is a liquid hydrocloric acid solution. Is it better to use the powder type?
thanks again!!!! BART
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The test kit is a HTH 6 way liquid type with the tinting agents and reagents...brand new by the way.
As to other chemicals...I have added nothing but dichlor and Gentle spa. With that said our area has high TA and PH out of the faucet.
The PH down is as follows:
Directions from the bottle
Application
Proper pH should range between 7.4-7.6
Use 1 ounce to lower pH .1 per 100 gallons of spa or hot tub water
To avoid lowering Total Alkalinity dilute 1 ounce into 10 ounces of spa or hot tub water in container and pour evenly around spa or hot tub
Should Total Alkalinity need lowering simultaneously as pH correction, pour appropriate amount directly into spa or hot tub water in one area without dilution with pump and filter turned off
Available Size 1 qt. bottle (12 per case)
Ingridents from the MSDS sheet:
2. Composition and Information on Ingredients
Ingredient CAS Number Weight % ACGIH TLV PEL STEL
Hydrochloric acid 7647-01-0 5 ppm ceiling 5 ppm ceiling
thanks for your help!!!!!
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This is a total stupid question but I am having an issue keeping my TA down and my PH down...I have never had a tub before and got it going this week. I am using Dichlor and a full line of chemicals from Proteam.
My TA is staying around 150ppm and my PH will temporarily lower to 7.5, but then in a few hours it will jump back up to 8.0 or so and my alkalinity will stay at 150ppm. So when I add PH down....it lowers the ph....but my TA still stays around 150ppm. How the heck do I lower the TA?
Is this something that will happen as the tub gets used more?????
I have been using the tub a bit, maybe an hour a day...1-2 people who are fairly clean...and have been using the bubblers...which I understand will increase the PH on their own. The question really is that do I have to keep using that much PH down? I just have no idea about what the usage really is on chemicals...thus far I have added about 28oz of PH down to a 400 gallon tub in the span of 4 days.
Thanks, Bart
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thanks!!!!! I just removed the control box cover to see what was not hooked up...turns out the circulation pump was not wired in...therefore...it must be the pump. Looks like they removed it in a hurry, they cut the ground wires instead of taking out the set screw. Must have been cannibalized for another customer and never put back together. DAMN!!!! I bet I will have to buy a pump...the dealer is never going to just cough one up! The lady won the tub in a radio contest and never filled it.....lucky for her...it would have flooded the damn place. Oh well...at least I know what it is now.
Thanks again!
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So this is a new 2005 model Jacuzzi J325 that I bought from a person on Craigslist....I opened up the access door to get things ready and noticed these fittings disconnected...and it looks like there was supposed to be a pump or something in between them. Please let me know what the heck is missing....also the black box thing is connected to the back of the control box thing.
Best/affordable/safe Filter Cleaner?
in Hot Tub Water Chemistry
Posted
UMMM....Home Depot, Lowes, Menards, Ace Hardware.......anywhere that sells painting supplies or a general hardware store.
Just look in the paint departments....it works as a cleaner and degreaser for surface prep before painting.