TimW

Chem Geek, Thanks for all the info! I have not taken a chemistry class in 25+ years, but I think I follow. I am going to drain the tub this weekend and follow your instructions. A couple of questions about them. After adding each chemical, how long do I need to wait before testing? Will the Taylor K-2006 test kit give me a guide of about how much of each chemical to add in order to reach the desired ppm? I find that adding chemicals after each use is a hassle as it means I need to leave the cover off and run the jets for 20 minutes. As I often soak before bed this is a nuisance. Is it reasonable to only add dichlor or bleach weekly if there are only two people using the tub? Once I follow your initial instructions: If you refill the spa, then you start out by adding calcium chloride to raise CH (to 200 ppm -- but if your spa heater has corrosion resistent cupro-zinc in the heat exchanger and you have no exposed grout/plaster touching spa water, then you may not need to add calcium higher than is what already is in your fill water) and Baking Soda (sodium bicarbonate) to raise the TA (to 70 ppm) and some acid (sodium bisulfate) to lower the pH (to 7.5) and of course some Dichlor for chlorine (to 4-8 ppm FC). and get all the levels set, how often should I be testing it? Thanks again for your time and advice. Best, Tim

I am new to the forum and would love some advice. I have had a Nordic Sport (300 gallons) for about 5 years and recently had to replace the pump after the seals kept leaking (which lead to rusty bearings). I had been using softsoak and in talking to the dealer decided to switch to a Nature 2 cartridge along with Spaguard shock and chlorinating concentrate. With this new regiment, I have been having a really hard time keeping the PH from getting too high. Over the past 2 months, I have dumped in almost 2 lbs of sodium bisulfate. The dealer has not been very helpful and his knowledge seems pretty limited. I seem to be able to get it leveled (according to the softsoak test strips which the dealer said will work fine to test the PH even after switching to chlorine), but within a day or so it bounces right back up. The TA has stayed fairly constant at 125. The spa is kept covered, the aerators are off, and my girlfriend and I use it for about 30 minutes at a time about 5 days a week. I am thinking I need to drain the tub as I am starting to get scared that I am going to kill another pump if I cannot get things under control. If you don't think I need to refill it, any suggestions on getting things under control? If I should refill it, any advice on getting things under control from the beginning and a simple regimen for keeping them that way? Also, using chlorine, any suggestions on good test strips to use? Thanks in advance for your time!