torizoe

Oh. Well that makes sense. I guess. Actually, I'm pretty confused. Yes, MPS daily and dichlor to shock weekly-ish. I have the Taylor-2006 so that means if my FC is 2.4, it really means the MPS level is 2.4 ppm? 2.4 seems high for chlorine but low for MPS level. I tested the MPS level with strips at the same time and it was "high". 2.4 ppm of MPS would actually be quite low, correct? I guess I need to purchase the Taylor K-2041. I'm having a difficult time understanding the FC, CC relationship. I've been reading lots of the posts but I just get more confused. Maybe since I am using N2 and MPS this isn't even something to worry about? Thank you again for your help!

Good evening- I have been using the N2 system for almost a month now and so far it's been working fine. However, I'm wondering about the amount of dichlor the N2 system recommends for shocking "as needed". I've been using a little less than 3 TBS of dichlor as directed in the N2 instructions. (1.5 TBS per 250 gallons and my tub is 485). My problem is the FC level stays really high for so long. I shocked Friday night and today the FC measured at 2.4. It takes around 48 hours or more to have the FC low enough to use the spa. Unless I use a chemical to bring it down. So, I'm curious about how much chlorine people are using for their weekly shock. I know some people even shock twice a week which means for me the spa would be useless for 4 days out of the week. Maybe you are shocking to a lower ppm? I expect to switch to bleach soon so I'm wondering how much other people are using. One last question, I've done the initial chlorine shock at set up and 2 shocks since then. I was expecting my CYA to be at 30 by now but it seems to be under 30 still although it is very cloudy at 30. Maybe after the next dichlor shock it will be over 30 and then I'll switch to bleach? Thank you! Lara

That makes sense! Thank you again!

Thank you! Used the spa for first time last night. Added MPS after soak as directed. Levels this morning were (about 12 hours later): CH 170 (I will likely stop testing this so often since it seems to be staying there) pH 7.6 TA 50 So I guess I'm okay although I am worried about the TA dropping more since 50ppm is usually the lowest recommended on this site. But I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Thanks you again for your help!!

The N2 directions call for 1.5 TBS per 250 gallons of dichlor for cartridge activation and as needed for shocking. I did the activation as directed and my FC level seemed really high. So I looked at the directions on my bottle of dichlor (Spa Essentials) and they call for 1 tsp per 100 gallons for superchlorination. HUGE difference. This has been bothering me because I feel like I'm missing something. So I've been reading the N2 instructions and the Spa Essentials directions and I realized they have slightly different names for their dichlor. I thought dichlor was dichlor but maybe I'm wrong. N2 calls for Sodium dichloroisocyanurate dihydrate. Spa Essentials active ingredient is Sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione dihydrate (99%). So I guess these are different things? Or maybe they are the same and N2 wants me to super-superchlorinate? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance, Lara

Thank you so much for your reply!! I've slowly been adding thio-trine neutralizer to get the FC down so we can actually use the spa this evening. I think we are almost there. Oddly enough, as I've gotten the FC down it looks like my pH has gone down to 7.8 again. Although it is dark now but I've looked at it in various rooms and I think it has gone down. Last reading was: FC 5.5 pH 7.8 TA 60 I'm not sure how I was doing it wrong but today my CH is coming out at 170ppm so that's good, right? Or at least better than 200. The spa store tested it at 140 which would be great but I can't get that number when I test and I've tried numerous times. So I think at this point I'll stop worrying and use the spa tonight. We'll see what happens once we start using it and adding MPS. Once again, thank you for your help. I'm sure I'll need it again! Have a great evening!

One last update for now.. I don't think the spa is really 103. It just doesn't seem that hot. More likely around 100 or less. I plan to use the N2 system with mps and dichlor as needed. At this point there is no mps in the spa. The N2 directions call for a CH of 200-400. That is why I kept bumping it up. But using the pool calculator maybe I should have left it at 150. Thoroughly confused on the best way to proceed. Thanks again!

Shoot..I posted without finishing. Today is: CH 170 or 180 TA 60 pH 8 or higher Pool temp is up to 103. We won't usually have it that high but were hoping to use it this weekend. Silly me. I'm really at a loss. I'm pretty sure I've made a ton of mistakes already and I just don't know where to go from here. In addition, I think I added too much dichlor last night even though the N2 instructions called for it. Maybe I'm just not testing the FC right but it is still around 10ppm, I think. I just can't figure out how to lower my pH without lowering my TA. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!! ~Lara

First of all... thank you all for having such a great forum. I've been reading this section for a couple weeks getting ready for our spa. I thought I was ready. Ha! We bought a used 2006 Sundance Optima. Performed the decontamination process. Did a fresh fill yesterday afternoon and then things started to go downhill. 3/7 Fresh fill: Pulled water before completely filled: CH 50 TA 50 pH 7.3 or .4 Went to spa store and had them test water. This water was after pumps were on and water heater on but water not heated: CH 60 TA 50 pH 8+ ( she tested twice) Came home and testest the extact same water (from same bottle I took to Spa store): CH 60 TA 50 pH 7.5 (test twice) Added 12 TBS of Calcium (according to directions) Ran pumps for 30 minutes: CH 150 TA 60 pH 8 or higher Added 3 caps of Gentle Spa, according to bottle directions. Waited about 15 – 20 minutes. Added add’l 5 TBS of calcium. Waited about 20 minutes: CH 200 maybe 190 TA 60 pH 8 or higher Added a capful (approx ½ oz according to label). Waited about 20 minutes: CH 200 TA 60 pH 8 or higher Added 2.5 capfuls (approx 1 ¼ oz): Was gone for 2 ½ hours: CH 180 (maybe when I test at 200 I was going for a darker blue. 180 is a light blue but blue not purple) TA 50 pH 7.7 or .8 At this point it is late and I can’t mess with it anymore. I don’t want to leave it without adding any sanitizer so I go ahead and insert N2 cartridge and add 3 tbs (little less) of dichlor. (Followed N2 directions for amounts – 1 ½ TBS for 250 gallons.) 3/8 7 am CH 170 TA 60 pH

First of all... thank you all for having such a great forum. I've been reading this section for a couple weeks getting ready for our spa. I thought I was ready. Ha! We bought a used 2006 Sundance Optima. Performed the decontamination process. Did a fresh fill yesterday afternoon and then things started to go downhill. 3/7 Fresh fill: Pulled water before completely filled: CH 50 TA 50 pH 7.3 or .4 Went to spa store and had them test water. This water was after pumps were on and water heater on but water not heated: CH 60 TA 50 pH 8+ ( she tested twice) Came home and testest the extact same water (from same bottle I took to Spa store): CH 60 TA 50 pH 7.5 (test twice) Added 12 TBS of Calcium (according to directions) Ran pumps for 30 minutes: CH 150 TA 60 pH 8 or higher Added 3 caps of Gentle Spa, according to bottle directions. Waited about 15 – 20 minutes. Added add’l 5 TBS of calcium. Waited about 20 minutes: CH 200 maybe 190 TA 60 pH 8 or higher Added a capful (approx ½ oz according to label). Waited about 20 minutes: CH 200 TA 60 pH 8 or higher Added 2.5 capfuls (approx 1 ¼ oz): Was gone for 2 ½ hours: CH 180 (maybe when I test at 200 I was going for a darker blue. 180 is a light blue but blue not purple) TA 50 pH 7.7 or .8 At this point it is late and I can’t mess with it anymore. I don’t want to leave it without adding any sanitizer so I go ahead and insert N2 cartridge and add 3 tbs (little less) of dichlor. (Followed N2 directions for amounts – 1 ½ TBS for 250 gallons.) 3/8 7 am CH 170 TA 60 pH