anojones

Appreciate it, have one on the way!

I'm using testing strips which is a challenge. I also have low alkalinity soft water. I have the amounts of alkalinity and calcium to add figured out but the acid after aeration has been a challenge and takes a lot of time waiting between additions of dry acid to get it right. I was thinking the same thing, maybe wait for the tub to get warmer before adding the acid. Thanks for the help.

Hello, I've been away for awhile but recently got a new "portable" spa. Holds about 200 gallons of water. I had a question about start up/new fill I couldn't find the answer to. My tap water is a bit acidic but when I start with a new fill the pH goes up to over 8.4 while heating up, I'm assuming do to aeration. It takes about 18 hours to heat the tub (110V) and the jets are on low the whole time raising the pH. I've figured out how much dry acid to use to get the tub in the 7.6 range. I'm wondering if I can add the dry acid when the tub is cold and the water is still acidic so that it will be balance when the tub is hot after the start up process. I'm using the Dichlor/Bleach method for sanitation. What I would like to do is add calcium, baking soda, dry acid and dichlor as soon as the tub is filled so I can use it the next night when its heated up and have the water balanced. Currently I am adding calcium, baking soda and dichlor as soon as the tub is filled cold and then adjust the pH after it is warmed up and the pH has gone up due to aeration. But now I know how much dry acid I need to get it to where it needs to be when the tub water is hot and hoping to add it in when it is cold before it is heated up. Any thoughts?

I'll make sure to get those kind of floaters- them seem to be all over when looking around. May still consider the SWCG, was looking at the ColorChlor, they almost sound too good to be true for someone not using the tub a lot.

The bromine floaters idea is what I was hoping for. It seems to make sense as I'm sure folks don't drain their pools every year and must throw some chemicals in to get through the winter. Given my temps will be lower I'm hoping something like this will work. Thanks for all the help.

I agree, I think it's probably to keep me buying chemicals- which I don't really mind- but would also be happy to buy a SWCG from them as well.

Thanks- it does sound like as SWCG would be ideal, it does invalidate the warranty which I'm of course concerned about. I may experiment with bromine and see how that works. I've never used it but it doesn't look like a problem to switch from chlorine to bromine.

Hello- I've been searching around for answers but have yet to find the info I'm looking for. I currently have a newer Jacuzzi tub and use di-chlor granules and MPS shock to maintain the tub. We are moving and due to market conditions are not selling our home, we plan to return to the home on occasion, and perhaps even monthly. I'm trying to find a reasonable way to keep the hot tub filled and more or less ready for our use without being available for weekly water adjustments. My current plan is to leave the heater and pump on but turn down the temperature to 80F and turn it up when we return. I do not have an ozonator on the tub. Some options I've considered is just putting in some di-chlor to a level of 10-15 PPM, with the temp down, no use of the tub and cover on I'm hoping that may get me thru a few weeks. Another thought was to use tri-chlor floater in the tub as the temp would be at 80F and then just use di-chlor when we turn the tub back up and we are visiting. Perhaps switching to a bromine floater would be a better option, or a SWG (would void our warranty). Any other ideas? Can I just come back and shock the tub with di-chlor and use it then and not worry too much about the water chemistry in the meantime? I figure there must be folks with vacation homes or who rent there homes and have similar situations, it also doesn't seem that different from folks who close/open pools as my temp will be turned down while we are away. I would rather not drain/winterize the tub- as we would like to use it when we have our return visits. Thanks in advance for any advice.