waterbear

SM but nit really surprised

Nature 2 with MPS in HOT water is a sanitizer but does need chlorine as a shock weekly. Nature 2 with chlorine is unnecessary as long as the FC is kept at the proper level for the CYA content. AS far as types of chlorine go, the 2 stabilized forms of chlorine, diclor and tricnlor, add CYA at the rate of 9 ppm for every 10 ppm FC added (dichlor) or 6 ppm for every 10 ppm FC added (trichlor). Dichlor is a fast dissolving chlorine that is net acidic so it will deplete TA and quickly overstabilize the water. Trichlor is an extremely acidic, slow dissolving chlorine sourse that will also overstabilize but not as quickly as dichlor. Because of it's extreme acidity and the small amount of water in a tub compared to a pool it is not recommended for tubs since the water can become very acidic quickly which could result in damage. Unstabilized chlorine sources are net pH neutral. Calcium hypochlorite is a slow dissolving chlorine that will add 7 ppm calcium hardness for every 10 ppm FC added. If your water is on the soft side it's a good choice as long as you are doing water replacement (drain and refill) every 3 months and you don't let your pH go above 8.9 or you could lend up with scale deposits in the tub. As far as the N2 is concerned, it doesn't care which form of chlorine you use. Once the chlorine is dissolved in water it becomes sodium hypochlorite (liquid chlorine) so using bleach with the N2 is fine.

Less water also means more water maintenance, more frequent water changes, and less forgiving if your sanitation routine slips a bit. Bottom line, the larger the volume of water, the easier the water maintenance.

Make and model would be a good starting point.

Since a solution has been found and posted in this thread for the original issue I am locking it.

Not in this forum since you have a grand total of 13 posts here and have been a member here for slightly over a year.

If a new post is created it will get a greater chance of getting seen by more members. Perhaps you missed that I am a forum moderator. Perhaps if all the people that have had the same problem as the OP started new threads your problem might have been solved. One never knows but a new thread for a question will get more exposure than tacking on to an old thread.

NO NO NO. YOu cannot test pH when sanitizer is high (over 10 ppm) because of an interaction between the chlorine and the phenol red indicator. It will convert to chlorphenol red and will read much higher than the actual pH. It doesn't. You must have made a measurement error. When reading the CYA tube hold it at waist level in open shade. too high, you want this at 50 to 70 ppm for best pH stability https://www.poolspaforum.com/forum/index.php?/topic/52522-some-truths-about-ph-and-ta/ https://www.poolspaforum.com/forum/index.php?/topic/28846-lowering-total-alkalinity-howto/ probably precipitated calcium carbonate. A little bit is nothing to worry about. Usually happens at high pH and TA or if you add calcium and baking soda (TA increaser) at the same time Too high CYA scale is logarithmic, not linear, so you cant interpolate between markings accurately. Still too high. Should be around 30 ppm with FC maintained at 3-5 ppm. With your CYA at 50 ppm you need to maintain FC at 4-6 ppm. At 85 ppm CYA it needs to be 6 to 10 ppm for trhe same sanitizing ability This reading is good.

@Jdramz You posted in a thread that is over two years old. You will have a much better chance of getting your question answered if you start a new thread with your question

No, I don't work for Taylor Technologies nor do I get any kind of kickback. It's just that they make the best test kits at competative porices. LaMotte , Palintest, and Hach are other good companies but their kits are either more expensive or don't test all the needed parameters or both.

Not really, Chlorine is a fast acting RESIDUAL sanitizer, meaning that it stays in the water. Ozone and UV only kill what is in the reaction chamber and not in the body of the water. Realize that every bather adds feces, urine and sweat (chemically almost identical to urine) into the water along with bacteria and viruses so a fast acting residual sanitizer is needed. Frog@ease, Nature 2, and other "mineral" sanitizers use silver ions from silver nitrate or silver chloride. Silver is NOT a fast acting sanitzer vbut it is residual and does not have action against viruses. It's an excellent algaecide, however (normally algae is not a problem in tubs since they are usually kept covered). ` You are smelling combined chlorine (chloramines) Chlorine has very little smell. The cure for combined chlorine is more chlorine. Acid lowers both pH and alkalinity. The trick is to bring the pH back up without raising the alkalinity. It's not very hard but you are going to need to invest in a good test kit and ditch the strips. They are worthless for balancing water and are not precise. Get a Taylor K-2006 test kit (Not the K-2005) from Amazon or another online retailer of pool/spa products (it's worth every penny!), watch the videos on the Taylor Technology website to learn how to use the kit, don't use the Fog system or Nature 2 (Expen$ive and a waste of money, and read these posts: https://www.poolspaforum.com/forum/index.php?/topic/28846-lowering-total-alkalinity-howto/ https://www.poolspaforum.com/forum/index.php?/topic/52522-some-truths-about-ph-and-ta/ https://www.poolspaforum.com/forum/index.php?/topic/53108-some-truths-on-bleach-dosing/ and finally: https://www.poolspaforum.com/forum/index.php?/topic/23090-dichlorbleach-method-in-a-nutshell/ The last thread makes it sound harder than it is and when I have the time I will make a new one that is much easier to understand and eliminates some of the unnecessary (IMHO) steps such as checking CD (chlorine demand). hOWEVER, it will give you an overview of starting a tub on dichlor until the CYA reaches about 30 ppm then switching to laundry bleach or liquid pool chlorine (same thing but different strengths) to continue chlorination without adding more CYA until you drain and refill (every 32 to 4 months is recommended no matter what sanitizer you use) and you start over again. Post any further questions and I will be glad to help., A spa is easy to take care of but you do need the proper tools and the right chemicals. Many of the chemicals you need can be found at the grocery store, btw. For example total alkalinity increaser is nothing more than Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate AKA Sodium Bicarbonate AKA Bicarbonate of Soda AKA Baking Soda. pH increaser is Sodium Carbonate AKA Washing Soda (in the laundry aisle) but a much better choice is Sodium Borate Decahydrate AKA Borax (also in the laundry aisle) which will raise pH with minimal effect on TA. First, you need a good test kit that will give you accurate results with the precision needed to balance the water (for example, the TA test in the Taylor kit has a precision of +/-10 ppm with a 25 ml water sample while the vast majority of strips have a precisoin of +/- 40 ppm or worse. 10 ppm alkalinity can mean the difference between a pH stable spa and one that needs constant attention.

There are many online pool/spa retailers that sell the K-2006 and I know of many that have ordered from Amazon with no problems. I just read the one star and two star reviews and the ones that said it was missing reagents are confusing this kit with the K-2005 which uses three liquid reagents for DPD chlorine testing while the K-2006 uses the far superior FAS-DPD test method which uses a powder and a liquid reagent . The one that was comparing this kit to strips, which do not provide the resolution of this kit only illustrated that the strips are not a dependable testing method, which is well known and documented. As far as missing or expired reagents, there were reviews where the buyer contacted Amazon and was given a refund. As far as the kit being too complicated, Taylor Technologies has many videos and helpful tips on their website and they have excellent technical support. Some of the other negative comments on problems with the FAS-DPD test indicate that their chlorine levels were too high for the test to measure. Both DPD testing and FAS-DPD testing can bleach out at high sanitizer levels (can occur after shocking or the use of non chlorine shock) but FAD-DPD testing will not bleach out as quickly and can tolerate much higher sanitizer levels before exhibiting problems. In other words, most of the negative comments are based on user ignorance. I find the funniest ones are the ones complaining that there are no instructions on how to do the tests. The instructions are permanently attached to the inside of the lid!

Doesn't sound like bacteria. Sounds more like a water balance issue. Please post a full set of test results (sanitizer, pH, total alkalinity, CH, and, if you are using chlorine, the cyanuric acid (stabilizer). You said you are filling with softened water so I assume you are adding calcium and you said the problem starts when you adjust the pH (are you raising it or lowering it?) when the problem occurs. Clouding can occur if the water is not balanced in the correct order if you have high calcium and high pH and high alkalinity which can cause calcium carbonate to precipitate out of the water causing the water to cloud. As I said, post a full set of test results (preferably NOT done with strips) and we can take it from there.

double post, thread locked.

@Newton100 You are posting in a 10 year old thread. Please start a new thread with your question and you will recieve a much better chance of getting a reply.