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spartan

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Everything posted by spartan

  1. Hi, I am pretty new to pools so hoping I can get some guidance on how to resolve existing calcium build up and then how to prevent and/or minimise its return. The photos are hopefully pretty explanatory, the pool filter is off and the water level not quite at its normal height in the photos usually as at the same level as its an infinity pool. I have done a bit of research and some people say pumice stones or essentially scraping it of but there appears to be a few different methods, the pool is about 20 years old and apart from calcium build up seems to work well. This product linked below seems like the best approach I have heard so far but I have no idea really and how do you prevent its return? Removal product
  2. Hi, we have a bromine spa at home that is used about 30 minutes per week, which we have had for about 10 years. We change the water every 5-6 months as the spa is used so infrequently. We use the floating method with Bromine tabs (1 every 10 days approx), monthly about 20 grams of sodium bicarbonate and this seems to be about all we require to keep the water balanced and stable. Occasionally (every couple of months) I shock the water with liquid chlorine (12.5% strength). I do have the TFT100 test kit that I occasionally (few times a year) use to double check the readings, check TA or if something seems a bit off and maybe once a year (or if any doubt) i go the the pool shop and they have a proper machine to do more accurate readings, thankfully the readings have been the same so far as what my weekly testing says. Weekly I would do the quick test with Taylors or equivalent OTO and Phenol Red , in Australia this or an equivalent product can not longer be purchased or is recommended for use but I can get something similar via eBay from Hong Kong. Unfortunately I have just run out and need to get some more. I like this method as its quick and easy and has always seemed pretty accurate when I have done comparative test with another method. My questions is, is this still the simplest, reasonably priced/accurate method to use in our situation for weekly testing or should we consider something else or are we missing something that we should be doing? The ebay product is: OTO and Phenol Red Or something like this for Ph and something else for Cl PH only test Or I noticed these that look good and easy but not sure how they compare to our current method for accuracy: Electronic Ph and Cl test Or slightly more expensive and could just be to good to be true Another Electronic test
  3. Thanks for the reply, this is getting a bit more complex now. The Borates I have is Di-Sodium Tetraborate, is that the same as the "sodium tetraborate decahydrate" you mention above? I don't have a way of testing the Borates level at the moment, do I need to address this before using Borates? The test strips for Borate appear to be very challenging to locate in Australia. I am waiting to hear back from 1 possible supplier so far. I do not have any muriatic acid at the moment as I use sodium bisulphate to reduce pH, do I have to use muriatic acid with borates as per the poolmath calculation or can I use what I have somehow? I will try and locate some boric acid as this looks easier to work with, I think I have found somewhere nearby me in Melbourne, Australia that has it. I am also wondering if I replaced some of the spa water (a third or half) that this may help me better balance the water to achieve a TA 60, pH 7.7 balance as I have been able to achieve in the past before introducing other chemicals as into the mix.
  4. Thanks for the reply. I haven't lowered my pH below 7.5 as my TA was down around 30 at pH 7.7 and I didn't want or need to go down any lower. Its been very stable at pH 7.9-8.0,TA 40 and FC 2 for the last week or so with a tablet in the floater. Also I haven't used aeration when having a spa just to try and reduce unnecessary changes in the spa water. I haven't used Borates ever before so I am unsure how much to use or how to measure the change afterwards. I do have a 500g unopened container of Borax but it doesn't say how strong it is on the container anywhere. How much Borax would I put in an 1100 litre spa with the above measurements and what should the subsequent results be? I do not have a way of measuring Borates level with my current test kits.
  5. Thanks for the response, I haven't recently changed any chemicals in the spa. The only thing that has changed is the test kit I am using and in particular the pH testing could be a little different as I have none of the Taylors product left and i couldn't get it locally in Australia or delivered last time I did some searching. It may be that the pH test is different enough and the pH is actually at an okay level but I am not sure of this. I have Taylors product left for the TA and FC test so I can compare them with my new test kit and they are a match so i know the levels for those are correct with the new test kit so the pH test should be close also. I added a little more baking soda and my levels are now TA 40, pH 8-8.1, FC 2. I may need to take a sample to a pool shop to see what they think the levels are or this may be as good as I can get. New test kit: http://www.bunnings.com.au/hy-clor-4-in-1-pool-test-kit_p3090182 Chemicals apart from baking soda are: https://www.dropbox.com/s/5qe6qrgt8agma8f/Spa%20tablets%20small.jpg?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/2ejv9sqtn73qrrj/Spa%20chlorine%20small.jpg?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/0n9cbxij9wk4y0i/pH%20reducer%20small.jpg?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/7ieo9xlv9namls0/granular%20bromine%20small.jpg?dl=0
  6. Hi, I have a similar issue to the above original topic. Our fibre glass spa is 1100 litres @ 37 degrees and had been empty for a while as we have been away. For years our spa has run using Bromine and has been very stable at around Alkalinity 60-70 and PH 7.6 to 7.8 and would use 1 Bromine tablet in a floating container about every 7-9 days. We do use aeration when we use the spa which is about 1 hour per week. When I refilled the spa a couple of weeks ago it seems to be behaving differently and is less stable, the Bromine level has now stabilized and in acceptable ranges but the Alkalinity is around 30-40 and PH level is around 7.9 or 8.0. I don't seem to be able to lift the Alkalinity as the PH level seems to jump a lot. I am not sure how to get a better result or if this is safe to use as it seems to be aggravating our skin slightly (it maybe that we are just not used to it now). Any ideas would on how to get back to our typical levels or whether it is okay to use at this level would be greatly appreciated.
  7. Hi, I recently filled my 5 year old spa as it had been empty for a few weeks. It has a small leak that is losing about 1/3 of a bucket of water per day. I have no idea how to solve this problem or what is the function of the spa connection in the photo so any help is most appreciated. I have located the leak and I think I am fairly lucky so far as it’s very accessible. I have included a few photos to give a better idea of the problem. The water is dripping in 2 places but I am assuming its the same issue. It’s dripping out from the back of the grey foam on the upper left side close to the spa wall and its dripping through the centre of the grey foam along the black cable. For some reason I am unable to post an image of the problem, am i doing something wrong or is this not possible? I will try a link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/3vtjswxuziywmx1/leak%20area.jpeg https://www.dropbox.com/s/qyqi39dys19i8wz/leak%20area%201.jpeg https://www.dropbox.com/s/ryvtqeiw5bso4l3/leak%20area%202.jpeg
  8. Hi, I have a 5 seat spa that is about 5 years old. The section with 4 jets not working is part of a 3 seat section of jets that is run by one pump (1 speed, on/off button) , and the 3 seats contain about 20 jets of various sizes, 16 of the 20 jets are working as normal. In the last few weeks the 4 neck jets on 1 seat in the corner have stopped working (the other 2 seats in this section do not have neck jets). The only thing that may of happened I can think of to cause this is that the water line have dropped below the 4 neck jets due to evaporation as its hot in Australia currently and I did recently top up the water level a bit. There are no specific controls on this spa for the neck jets so I am thinking it may be a fuse or something but didn't want to open any electrics up as yet as i am no electrician. If anyone can assist to help me trouble shoot this, it would be most appreciated as I don't want to get a technician out for something that i may be able to fix myself. I do have a spa isolator switch so its easy to isolate the spa from the main power supply. The controller in the spa is a brand Spa-quip Model SP1200.
  9. Hi, this is a great question as I have often wondered this myself. I use the "bromine for beginners" spa method used on this forum which has worked really well over the last 18 months (thankyou). Over the last 7 months I have not emptied the spa and the water seems to stay as balanced as in the first 3-4 months and the only thing I have noticed is that I use maybe 5% more liquid chlorine (mine is 12.5%) which I thought may have also been as my chlorine is getting older. Our spa is used infrequently and I test at least one a week with a proper test kit. My spa is 1100 litres (250 gallons) and is used approximately 1 hour per week in total by 1 person. If I have read the previous post correctly then I should change my water about every 6 months. Is that correct? Thanks for any assistance.
  10. Hi, I have just bought a 5 litre bottle of Liquid Pool Chlorine from my local pool shop. Previosuly I have been using bleach at 4.3% (label: sodium hypochlorite 4.2% w/v (when packed) sodium hydorxide less than 9 grams per litre) from the supermarket but I can't seem to locate anything stronger then 4.3% so I thought I would try something else. Also I am using the 3 step bromine approach for our 1100 litre spa. In the past I have been using the pool calculator to help work out how much bleach to add. My question is what value or % of bleach do I enter in when using the pool calculator (http://www.thepoolcalculator.com/ )? The label on my liquid pool chlorine say "active constituent 125g/L available chlorine present as sodium hypochlorite". It looks similar in product to http://epools.com.au/liquid-pool-chlorine-1600-pick-op-only-corrosive-8-p-3447.html Is this an appropriate product to use for my Bromine Spa as I could use something else as I haven't opened it yet so I could return it to place of purchase. Thanks.
  11. Hi, I have been running my spa on Bromine for a month now. 1100 litre and 36.5 Degrees Celsius. Thanks for all the help. The spa has been very stable and the two of us use it about 1-1.5 hours per week combined. I have been checking the water at least twice a week. The pH and TA range seems to sit very stably between pH=8.0 and TA=80 and on the lower side pH=7.7 and TA=50. Most of the time its been at pH=7.8 and TA=60 or 70. Is this okay to use ongoing as I can't seem to lift the TA without pushing the pH to high even while adding a dry acid slurry in very small amounts with minimal filtering? We have trying to keep it around pH 7.8 as we both tend to have sensitive skin and this level seems to work well. During the same period Bromine has varied between 2 and 10 while I worked out how get the floating dispenser balanced. For the last couple of weeks it has been reasonably stable around Bromine 4-6. Since the original fill I have only shocked with bleach once. Given that we only use the spa for about 1-1.5 hours per week combined how often should we shock it? Would once every 2-3 weeks be okay or is there a way to tell when it needs to be shocked?
  12. Thanks for clarification. Is there a way and if so what is it to raise TA without raising PH? I didn't think I wanted the PH level any higher than what it is now. Also what is the DPD shades of pink test you refer to? I presume you are referring to first part of the "Chlorine drop test" in my TF-100 instructions. "10 ml in clylinder, add spoon of DPD Powder and swirl. The solution should turn pink". I haven't got any shades of pink with a reading to compare against that I am aware of except for pinkish PH colours in the Taylor K-1000 kit.
  13. Okay some results with TF-100 kit. Spa at 36 Degrees C and is 1100 litres (apologies for metric) I have done two tests 5 hours apart. BTW: spa has not been used since I drained/cleaned and filled it last 5 days ago. First test: Bromine >10, pH >8.2, CH 60, I didn't right down TA but I think it was about 100 After first test I added 50g of Calcium Hardness and 10g of Dry Acid, removed the floater and waited 5 hours Second test: Bromine 10, pH 8.2, CH 110, TA 70 With my TA tests on both occasions I am getting a pink and not a red, so I am counting the number of drops it takes to turn all pink. The first test I added at least 10 more drops but it didn't seem to turn a deeper red it just stayed pink. I added 10 grams of dry acid. Third test: Bromine 6, pH 7.8, CH not tested, TA 60 (18 hours later) With my TA tests on this occasion it was closer to a red than a pink, so I am counting the number of drops it takes to turn the reddish colour (ie. no green in it). Now I have just put the BR floater back in at about 50% and am think about adding another 20 grams of CH. Is there anything else I should be thinking about. Chemgeek mentioned earlier that the side effect of the bleask I got from the supermarket might make the PH high which seems to be correct if that is what is causing it so I should probably change my bleach make up soon. Any advice appreciated, thanks in advance.
  14. Thanks guys, The TF-100 kit (includes Taylor K-1000 kit) has arrived minues the R-0871 FAS-DPD titrating reagent which I have on back order. The test I can do with the kit I have is Chlorine/Bromine with Orthotolidine (R-0600) which as mentioned above will be more accurate than a test strip which is great. Unfortunately I won't be able to do the more accurate test unless I can locate another FAS-DPD titrating reagent as I only have the DPD powder (R-0870) currently and by what I have read I need the R-0871 drops to complete that test. As mentioned I have spoken to Taylor distributor (none in stock) here and Palintest Australia (don't bring it in to this country). Is there anything other company/brand or product that I might be able to source to do this FAS-DPD function? The good news is I am in a better place than only armed with test strips
  15. Thanks again. I have spoken to Palintest in Australia and for whatever reason they haven't carried a number of the kits listed on the Australian website in a long time, the also have no FAS-DPD test locally either. I have also spoken to the distributor for Taylors products locally also and they do not carry the Taylor K-2005. Just something called the "Taylors Complete Service Kit" which does not contain R-0872 or R-0871 FAS-DPD titrating reagent. In the interest of getting something I have gone ahead and ordered the TFTestkit TF-100 without the R-0871. I have asked them to let me know when/if the reagent comes in. I also asked a local pool shop to see what they can source and they looked and me strangely and said "why would you wnat anything other than test strips". They obviously aren't spending any time on this forum. Is there other other individual reagent that may be worth getting on the list below as I may be able to source some of them individually if I know what I need to compliment the TF-100 kit? http://www.taylortechnologies.com/products_components.asp?KitID=2227 Given that I will have a TFTestkit TF-100 without the R-0871 what am I missing out on for testing as I will have to make do with a test strip or something for now?
  16. Thanks for the quick reply and information. I am looking at getting the TFTestkit TF-100 without the R-0871. I have tried a number of places locally and I can't seem to find the R-0872 FAS-DPD TTR component or some other FAS DPD test component locally that would be suitable. What components would I need to top-up the TF-100 kit to make it more complete for testing a bromine spa?
  17. Hi, thanks for all this information in this forum its been great. I have just converted my 1100 litre spa to bromine following the 3 step process described in this post. I am located in Australia and I have having trouble finding one of the recommended kits and am unfortunately using for older test strips (Aquachek) that I happened to have on hand when I was using a system called SpaPoppits (hydrogen peroxide) as I would use them to balance the water. After Step 1. Balancing the water, do you do Step 2 & 3 straight after each other(sanitize and oxidise)? After Step 3. Oxidize using bleach, do you put the bromine floater in straight away or doesn't it really matter? The test strips I am using are of 2 types. One is for Bromine which tells me the my ideal level ppm level is 5 which is straight forward, the other type is for chlorine and uses a measurement of "free clorine ppm". My understanding from what I have read is that I can use the test strips to measure my bromine level by multiplying the FC level by 2.25 times, is that correct? RE: test kits, I have been unable to locate the Taylor K-2106 locally and doesn't look like I can get it shipped here either. The other option is the TFTestkits TF-100 which there is a local reseller but they only have 1 left but its missing the R-8071 reagent and they are not sure when they are getting more in. In the email they sent to me they make the comment: "The reagent that's missing is R-0871, which is for chlorine, not bromine so not sure if you need it. There is no reagent for FAS/DPD bromine tests in this kit, just the basic OT-High test for OT Bromine (1 - 10 ppm)" Could this kit be any use to me as is? I have also managed to locate locally these Taylors re-agents http://www.swimmingpoolspares.com.au/index.php?cPath=85_180_177 Could I make up for what is missing from the TF-100 kit above with some of these components? If so which one(s) would I need. There is also a "Taylors Complete Service Test Kit" on the same website but it doesn't have a model number and is very expenive compared to what I have seen online elsewhere. Apologies for all the questions and I only have one more The bleach I found in the supermarket here seems to be slightly different strength. On the bottle it says "sodium hypochlorite 4.2% w/v (when packed) sodium hydorxide less than 9 grams per litre". Does that mean it is 4.2% strength compared with the 5.25% or 6% mentioned above? Thanks in advance for any assistance!
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