Jankjo

I have changed to using Nature 2 with MPS and I add some dichor to shock on weekends. Sometimes I add some during the week because I am just not comfortable with the new system yet. The good news is that I have been using the tub for a week now and my rash is gone. Looks like I had some kind of sensitivity to the bromine.

I found with my bromine tub that it worked best to add MPS after soaking. I have a small tub, and the bromine levels would drop after a soak. I didn't need to add that much to bring the levels back up. ~tsp per person per 30 minutes. On the weekends I would shock with Chlorine (bleach).

I have two related questions about the Taylor Bromine test. Question 1 The instructions say to add two scoops of the powder. If Bromine is present the solution turns pink. then add the other chemical drop wise until the solution turns clear. I also read here that if the water turns pink after one scoop, I don't need to add another AND The instructions also say that if the water doesn't turn pink to add more powder So does the amount of powder just not matter as long as the water turns pink? Or am I confused about the directions. Question 2 I am currently switching from a bromine tub to an N2 tub in a quest to get rid of a rash I get on my arms every time I use the tub. On Saturday I drained and refilled the tub. I balanced the water CH 160 TA 100 pH 7.6 after it heated all the way up, I added the N2 Cartridge and 1Tbs and 1 tsp of Dichlor (175 gallon tub) On Sunday the FC was still high. (I am reading this on a test strip because my Taylor test kit for Chlorine has not arrived yet) On Monday the FC was normal. I added a scant Tbs of MPS so I could use the tub. The Mps level went too high (again read on a test strip). I was impatient to use the tub, and I read that I could use some chlorine neutralizer, so I added some hydrogen peroxide in the hopes that the MPS level would come down. It did, and I used the tub. After using the tub I added 1.5 tsp of MPS and the MPS level was good to high, but the chlorine was gone (probably from the hydrogen peroxide). So I added another Tbs of Dichlor and the FC level went back up. But I noticed on my test strip that I had a 4ppm of Bromine. How on earth. I had just drained and refilled the tub? How on earth could I have bromine? So I used the Taylor test kit. I added 4 scoops of the powder, and I measured a bromine level of 7? I figure that either I am doing something wrong with the bromine test OR that some other chemical is causing a false reading. Any help figuring this out would be very much appreciated.

Hi egclassic, It is very discouraging to hear that you were having rashes with Chlorine, have decontaminated twice and are still having rashes. UGH. The MPS wasn't the problem for me. Still having rashes with the bromine tub using chlorine to shock instead of MPS. We had some warm weather yesterday, so I drained the tub, and I am trying the Nature 2 method. I've added the dichlor, and the MPS test strips should arrive in the mail tomorrow. Keeping my fingers crossed, but I'm worried that I have a very expensive big box on my deck that I won't be able to use.

Thank you Chem Geek. I'll get some brominating Tabs ASAP KCool, was your bromine tub oxidized by MPS or Bleach? I think I am going to try to keep the bromine tub. I really don't want to check the tub daily if I don't have to.

He Eg classic. I 'm glad your rashes are getting less intense. Mine are getting worse. No problems for the first 4 months and then I started getting the rashes. We had a warm day last week, so I did the disinfecting procedure and refilled the tub. I balanced the water. AND I got another rash. So I think it is a sensitivity rather than a bacteria. My tub has a bromine bank. I have a floater with MPS activated tabs. I add mps after I soak as an oxidizer. On the weekends I shock with bleach. From what I have read, it seems like MPS is the most likely candidate for causing the rash. Do others with more experience have other ideas for me? If MPS is indeed the first thing I target, I was thinking that I could change my floater to have brominating tabs that are activated by chlorine instead of MPS, and add bleach instead of mps after I soak. My questions are 1) Does this make sense? 2) Are there any recommended brands of brominating tabs that use chlorine instead of MPS? 3) Do I need to drain the tub again, or will the mps get all used up? Thanks again for all of the help

Thanks Dr. Spa, Should I then try the hot tub again, and check to see when I actually notice the rash, or is it dangerous to use? I guess the safest thing to do is to disinfect and then drain the tub and start over. But we've got several feet of snow here, and it is pretty darn cold outside. Can bacteria start even if we are maintaining the tub with proper bromine levels?

It isn't right away. Definitely by the next day.

I have a hot tub that I am using the 3 step bromine method with mps. On the weekends I shock with chlorine. I use the tub at 101F. I have had the tub since the end of August. I have recently started to get a rash when I use the tub. Small dots that itch for four days and then go away. They come back when I use the tub again. no one else using the tub is having any trouble. I am wondering what folks best guess is as to the problem. Could it be bacteria, and I am the only one sensitive to it? Is it possible that I have developed a sensitivity to something? If so, what might that be? hot water? mps? bromine? I hate to have spent so much money on this tub and not be able to use it after only a few months. Any suggestions are welcome.

I do have an ozonator. I have found that 1.5-2 tsp of MPS person hour in my tub brings the bromine back up. When I shock on the weekends, 1TBS brings it way over 10ppm. I have wondered about this because I had read about the 7 tsp. The feeder on my floater is barely opened up. I think I have it set to 1.5.

This is super helpful! Thank you Chem Geek. Based on what you said, I think I might try the chlorine and the borates.

I am a new hot tub user, and my TA keeps going down below 40 even though the only thing I am adding is MPS. At first my pH was rising alot, so I was adding a bit of acid. I started with a TA of 120, and my TA went down under 40 in about a week. I assume that the TA was dropping since I was adding acid. Then I figured out I could turn off the aeration when I wasn't using the tub, and the pH has no longer been rising, and I have not needed to add any more acid. I am still having trouble with the TA dropping below 40 and the only thing I am adding to the tub is MPS. In the last two weeks the TA has dropped below 40 twice. (once to 20 and once to 30). I have been raising it back up to 60 because of the original problem I was having with high pH. I am using a 3 part bromine system with a floater in a small tub 185-200 gallons (240 max capacity) The CH is 200 I have been using mps as an oxidizer. yesterday the TA was at 30. The tub needed water (which tends to raise my TA). I added water and a half tsp of baking soda. I tested the tub again today. Currently the Bromine is at 5 and the pH is at 7.8. The TA is at 40 I have a high bather load probably 1 person hours a day in a small tub. I understand that adding borates could stablize things for me, and I plan to do that. But I'd like to understand what is causing the TA to keep dropping. Does the MPS cause this? Thanks

Thank you waterbear!

Can you use dry acid instead of muriatic and if so, how much?

I have had my tub for a week, so I am a newby and I am learning how to balance everything. I am using the 3 part bromine system, and I have been following waterbear's sticky. I bought a Taylor kit for bromine. I've got a good handle on the bromine. It is mostly in range, and when it isn't I understand why and how to fix it. My problem is with the TA and pH. I know I'm not supposed to worry about my TA, but it is already low. My tub is small at ~185 gallons. I started with a CH of 160, and I have not remeasured it. I have been using the tub heavily. One or two people ~40 minutes a day with aeration, so of course the pH is rising. I started with a high TA that I dropped to 90 with dry acid (overshot a bit). Over the course of the week,my pH has continued to rise, so I have added dry acid to lower it. I have been measuring my TA and it has gotten down to 50 and my pH is still rising. The pH has consistently read 8 using the Taylor kit, and adding a drop in the acid demand test has resulted in a pH of 7.0 yesterday then 7.2 this morning and now 7.4 tonight. If I add more dry acid, the pH will go down but so with the TA. I thought I wasn't supposed to go below 50. I don't have any of this borate stuff. It has only been a week, and my TA is already on the low end of the range. I guess I was expecting some kind of a sweet spot before now, or at least that it wouldn't have reached 50 so quickly. I have baking soda and Borax, but I don't have muriatic acid. I am wondering what I should do, and where I should go to find out how much of what to add. Thanks for any help.

Thank you Waterbear!

Thank you chem geek. This makes sense to me.

Waterbear, I am a bit confused as to why the Brilliance DBDMH product is a two step process. It has a floater, and I thought that made it a three step process. It just uses MPS instead of chlorine as an oxidizer. I am a total newbie, so I apologize for my confusion about this. Could you please help me understand the difference between two and three step bromine...I thought it was the floater. Thanks, Jankjo

Hi, I am new to this forum. I will be getting a hot tub in a few weeks, so I have been reading as much as I can about water chemistry to try to decide which process to use in my new tub. I have decided to start out with bromine. I have read Waterbear's "bromine for beginners". It is very informative, and it sounds straightforward. At this point I am trying to decide between DBDMH and BCDMH. One thing that I don't understand is what makes the use of DBDMH (brilliance for example) a two step process and the use of BCDMH a two step process. Could you just substitute DBDMH for BCDMH in the "bromine for beginners" 3 step process? Also...what exactly are the 3 steps vs. what are the two steps. Thanks for any help