hrustar

I guess I knew all water was unique, but glad to know I'm not the only one. Thanks.

Just re-filled my tub this weekend. TA coming out of the hose was 250. Slowly working it down using Muratic Acid but it's a process. Is such a high TA typical?

I'm a 102° guy in the winter, but wondering what people like to keep their tubs at in the summer? Do you cool it down to pool temps? That was my plan. FYI, my hot tub is outdoors.

My spa gets fairly regular use. Every day or every other day. I have ozone with a 50 square foot filter and filter cysle set at 2 hours twice a day. I spray my filter off weekly, but it is rarely very dirty. When I soak it in cascade, I do find some oil and debris wash come out, but not a ton. And my water is clear as can be (with only a couple random exceptions). My point, I think filtration is important, but smart tubing is even more important. By that I mean the cleaner you are going into the the hot tub (and while you are in it), the less need you have for filtration.

My hot tub has a weir gate that restricts water flow into the filter area, but I'm not sure why. What would happen if the gate was removed. I don't really mind the gate, but it is a bit noisy. I wish they had added rubber grommets to the hinges to silnce it.

If this is true (which I'm not doubting) how come my water has remained crystal clear (with heavy tub use) for the better part of a couple months, despite having the rocket high CYA? What's more, no itching, rashes or biofilm? In otherwords, what signs wold there have been if my FC was indeed that much less than what you propose? I've only had the clouding issue when adding non chlorinated shock. THANKS!

I believe the light will turn back on. I have a CalSpa and was told the light not working is what informs you it's time to replace the cartridge. I think it's only $40.

The reason he suggests a higher chlorine level is due to the high CYA level. CYA will buffer the Chlorine and it takes much more to do the same sanitizing. Thus the Di-chlor then bleach method. A-ha. that makes excellent sense.

I am using Nature 2. I also plan to drain in about one month. As for the 7 ppm of chlorine, that seems awfully high. I think the Taylor book suggest 5 ppm but I have to check. I try to keep the FC low, around 1.5 or 2 before soaking, then punch it up with bleach right as I get out. Last time I tested for combined chlorine (about a week ago) I had zero.

When I use MPS to "shock" my hot tub, the water ends up looking horrible. Am I doing something wrong? I add about 1.5 oz. to a 425 gallon tub. For example, this weekend, a friend watched my house and used the tub. When I came home, the water wasn't bad, but not really spot on. I added 1.5 oz. of MPS and went to bed. This morning, the water looks very cloudy. This has happened before. Any ideas? Am I doing something wrong? FYI my water numbers are typically around or at: FC 3 PH 7.2/7.4 TA 100 CH 225 CYA 130 Borates: 50 ppm CSI at or just bellow 0

I can also vouch for Spadepot. Good products, service, delivery time. That said, I get most of my chemicals from the grocery or hardware store now. Bleach, Soda Ash, Borax, Muractic acid, etc.

There are no floaters for a hot tub that I know of.

The biggest difference I know off is convenience. It requires less maintenance than a chlorine spa. That said, I don't find chlorine to be that hard. Plus, I feel i have more control over the water conditions with chlorine since I add exact amounts of chlorine, vs. a bromine tablet feeder.

I'm happy with mine. Very happy.

I had the same concern. I have my tub about 24 inches from the house, in front of a window. We don't even get moisture or fog build up. No issues at all. My advice, place your tub where it is convenient to get to.

I know if ph is not between 7.2 and 7.6 your eyes can burn/ become irritated.

YOU SHOULD NOT ADD BLECH _yet. Do a search on here for Nitro's Dichlor/Bleach method. It's very well documented. But to use it, you must build up 30 CYA, which you have not. Good news, this only takes a week or so to do. For now, I add Dichlor. And yes, increasing FC is as simple as added Dichlor/bleach. Something you should do every day or every other day depending on use. As far as order of chemicals, I typically adjust FC first, then TA and Third PH. I like to wait about 20 minutes or so between adding chemicals. But I don't retest and until a few hours after the last of the chemicals were added. As a note, make small changes. If the pool calculator says add 3 oz. of chemical X, I like to add 2 oz. and see what happens. I find it's easier to manage this way until i get the hang of things.

FC being zero is possible, ad this is bad. FC should never be 0. That means nothing is destroying bacteria. I like a FC of 3 to 5 when it peaks, and right around 1 or so when i use the tub. That's why I add bleach AFTER i soak, not before. Your PH is a bit high, ideally you want it to be from 72. to 7.6. If it's not, it can cause some various issues, and irritate skin/eyes. TA s a bit low, shoot for 70 to 120. 80 to 100 is really a nice place for me. CH may or may not be a factor. It depends on your other numbers and how it affects your CSI (the wheel thing that came with your kit)SHoot for 0 or just under 0. CYA needs to be around 30 or 40 if you are using bleach. If you are using Dichlor the number does not matter so much. However, unless this is a fresh fill, you should be seeing some CYA.

In your Taylor book, there is a chart of suggested ranges for you most categories, but each situation may be slightly different. You really want to make sure the Targets you choose to work with will results in a 0 or slightly less than 0 CSI (the last field in the pool calculator. In my spa right now I use FC 5 PH 7.6 TA 100 CH 125 CYA 30 Borates 50 Temperature 102° This gives me a CSI 0f -0.02 But understand, you can play with most of these numbers. Just make sure your ph remains between 7.2 and 7.6 and the TA is between 70 and 140. Now for the most part, the CH is what it is based on your water. I never try to adjust it. I just work with it. The Borates are optional. I added 50 ppm to stabilize ph drift and it works great. Why 50 ppm? Not sure, but it was a suggested level I found in my resources. CYA will be determined by how Dichlor you added. While 30 to 40 is what you should have before switching to bleach, don;t freak if yours is much higher. Mine is 120 or so and it doesn't create any problems.

go the www.thepoolcalculator.com It was my a-hah moment for mastering my water. You enter your test numbers and what you what your target numbers are. Then it it tells you what you need to add in terms of bleach, baking soda, etc. Play around with it for a bit, and it will soon make sense. s long as you have the Taylor kit, you are half way home. The pool calculator can get you the rest of the way.

Jut got inside from a nice inter soak. -2° F here in Minnesota, with a -15° windchill. But pure toasty in the tub. I haven;t missed a night thus far, even when temps were around -15° F without the windchill. The only thing that keeps me in is strong, or persistent winds that blow snow in your face. Othwer wise, I don't even use a hat. I love it.

For what it's worth, I have a 425 gallon hot tub with ozonator and I add about 3 oz a day if I don't use it and 4 or 5 ounces if used. I find that my chlorine dips to about 1 ppm, so it's low when i go in which I like. Not sure why you'd want a FC of 21, that's way too high. I like mine to max out around 4 or 5 unless I'm going away for a vacation, than I bring it up to 12 or a bit higher.

The only real way to lower CYA is to dump and refill. The sun will destroy some CYA, but not effectively of fast neough to make a difference. The best thing to do is to stop using Dichlor and switch over to bleach (see Nitro's Dichlor/Bleach method). Like you, my CYA was off the charts high (higher than you). I switched to bleach and have no problems. The high CYA has not affected the bleach's ability to do its job, or required the use of lots of bleach. For example, i use about 3 to 5 ounces of bleach a day. SO don;t sweat the high CYA, and next time when you refill, watch the level until it reaches 30 or so, then switch to bleach

My TA has been locked in at 125 for a few weeks now, with a steady PH of 7.4. I added 50 ppm of borates, and I think that really helped hold my numbers. You may want to try that.

Seems incredibly expensive when a push broom works great, and dare I say, better.