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sewerrat

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Everything posted by sewerrat

  1. Thanks for the reply, you have to be the most helpful person on any forum. I haven't gotten to the bleach part of the method yet. I'm only at 20 CYA on my way to 30, then I'll switch. Does adding baking soda increase PH as well as TA? If not, I'll get my PH down and adjust TA from there. Thanks again
  2. I have been a loyal Dichlor-then-bleach user for over a year now and usually everything goes as planned. Just did my Spring empty and refill, so I have a new tub of water. My current readings are CH 170 TA 50 PH who knows, but its a really deep read. 50ppm of Borates I just tested it and these were my readings. PH has been high throughout the process. Thinking high FC levels were giving me false PH readings, I let the FC drop to 1ppm, which is was 10 minutes ago Buy my PH is still deep red. I'd guess 8.4 or more. I don't want to add anymore PH down because I don't want my TA to go any lower. Any thoughts? 425 gallon tub at 104 degrees.
  3. You need to get TA down to 40-80. Lowering TA will lower PH. Use Nitro's aeration method once PH gets down to 7.2 to raise up to 7.8. Rinse and repeat.
  4. Just for my own education in trying to understand all this, how does CYA get so high after 1-2 weeks of a new tub?? Does well water have CYA? I assume tap water doesn't? I'm just reaching 30 CYA after 1.5 weeks of Dichlor, and my FC has been running in the 3.0 range after 24 hours, so I've been adding a little too much Dichlor to get up to the magic 30 CYA. Switching to bleach tonight though EDIT: Just thought, could the high FC content give a false CYA reading? Your CYA is in your Dichlor. Every 10ppm FC via Dichlor adds 9ppm CYA. Typically this takes me about two weeks to get to 30ppm CYA using dichlor, then I switch to bleach. I have never heard of a high FC causing a false CYA reading. but having that high of a FC does indicate lots of dichlor usage. Which would in-turn show high cya. That's my point. To get to 82 ppm of CYA he would have to add 91ppm of Dichlor which would be 219 ounces of Dichlor And he says "this is week 2 of our new tub", so he hasn't even reached 2 weeks yet. Your math is wrong....91ppm FC via dichlor is achieved with 8.8 ounces in a 400 gallon tub. if you used 219 ounces of dichlor in a 400 gallon tub you would achieve a FC level of about 2,500ppm. Make sure to change your pool size in the pool calculator...I suspect it's still at the default 10,000 gallon pool volume. Oops, your right Pool Calculator at home = 425 tub Pool Calculator at work = 10,000 gallon pool That is still a lot of Dichlor to be adding over a 1-2 week period.
  5. Just for my own education in trying to understand all this, how does CYA get so high after 1-2 weeks of a new tub?? Does well water have CYA? I assume tap water doesn't? I'm just reaching 30 CYA after 1.5 weeks of Dichlor, and my FC has been running in the 3.0 range after 24 hours, so I've been adding a little too much Dichlor to get up to the magic 30 CYA. Switching to bleach tonight though EDIT: Just thought, could the high FC content give a false CYA reading? Your CYA is in your Dichlor. Every 10ppm FC via Dichlor adds 9ppm CYA. Typically this takes me about two weeks to get to 30ppm CYA using dichlor, then I switch to bleach. I have never heard of a high FC causing a false CYA reading. but having that high of a FC does indicate lots of dichlor usage. Which would in-turn show high cya. That's my point. To get to 82 ppm of CYA he would have to add 91ppm of Dichlor which would be 219 ounces of Dichlor And he says "this is week 2 of our new tub", so he hasn't even reached 2 weeks yet.
  6. Just for my own education in trying to understand all this, how does CYA get so high after 1-2 weeks of a new tub?? Does well water have CYA? I assume tap water doesn't? I'm just reaching 30 CYA after 1.5 weeks of Dichlor, and my FC has been running in the 3.0 range after 24 hours, so I've been adding a little too much Dichlor to get up to the magic 30 CYA. Switching to bleach tonight though EDIT: Just thought, could the high FC content give a false CYA reading?
  7. For those of you who haven't used Borates, all I can is wow!! It adds such a nice silky feeling to the water . . .it really makes a big difference For $3 per fill, it is well worth it from a chemical standpoint and water feeling standpoint. Thanks to Chemgeek and others on here. I've switched to the Dichlor-Bleach method and my tub has never been better.
  8. Will "PH Decreaser" (sodium bisulfate) lower TA? I got a bunch of this stuff and figured it would be better than running out and buying acid.
  9. Yep, "insert ingredients". Thanks for all your help!
  10. So, that means "yes" I can use it, correct?
  11. Started on Sat with fresh fill after decontamination. Current readings are TA=120 CH=130 PH=8.0 FC=5.0 CC=0.5 Since I last added Dichlor about 20 hours ago, I guess I've been adding too much after each soak(I soak every night), so I will slow that down a little. My current count says I've added 21ppm of Dichlor . . .targeting 34 before I switch to bleach. My plan is to lower PH to 7.5 which will put my CSI at .02, but the PH is at the bottom of the spectrum. Does this sound like a good balance? I then plan to add 50ppm of Boric Acid (Roach killer ) to stabilize PH. Good plan?? Thanks
  12. Two questions: 1. This is 99% orthoboric acid, can I use it to add Borates to my spa http://www.walgreens.com/store/catalog/Pes...on=push-product Obviously I'm a little concerned adding Roach Killer to my tub 2. How much to I add to achieve 50ppm in a 425 gallon spa Thanks!
  13. I have a 425 gallon tub and generally I'm the only person that uses it I got the tub in early January and by late January the water was cloudy and I assumed I wasn't using enough non-chlorine (I have the Monarch/Nature 2 thingy in my filter) after each soak. So I drained and refilled. Thrilled with my new clean water, I've been soaking every night for 1/2 hour at a time and adding 6-7 teaspoons (fill up the bottom of the cap + a little more) after every soak. Now, the water is starting to get cloudy again (uggg. . . sparkling clean water is so beautiful ) I know I don't have any fancy test kits, but the strips show PH and Alk being in acceptable range. Does too much non-chlorine cause cloudy water? Any ideas to get my water sparkly again without another winter drain/refill? I know, not a lot of facts here, but hoping for some suggestions. Thx
  14. Funny, I went through a similar exercise and my conclusion was 'no', its not worth $30/wk. . .I think my calculation came to $28-$29. BUT, there is more than 1 way to skin a cat. I focused on good, quality used tubs. Found one that was the personal tub of the owner of a local spa shop. I got a 2007 model Nordic with 1 years worth of chemicals and a 90 day warranty for $2500. You can't tell this tub from a new one! If, in a couple of years, the family time/stress relief/enjoyment becomes worth $30/wk to me, I will upgrade. As for my first week of ownership, I'm getting every nickel of enjoyment out of it!
  15. Tub was setup and filled this morning. Got done around 11am .. . as of right now (4pm) the tub is at 70. Was hoping to watch Wisconsin/Ohio State at 7pm and soak afterward, around 10pm, but not sure the tub will be hot enough yet. The maiden soak may have to be tomorrow. Anyways, on to the few questions: I have an ozonator (supposedly). What does this do and how do I know its working?? The filter cycle is programmable .. how long should the cycle generally be set for?? The spa is a Nordic Premium. Thanks!
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