Strips Vs. Strip Readers Vs. Drops

[ncspa]

Just looking for your quick 2 cents on experience with chemical strips, strip readers, and drop kits. I'll be maintaining a bromine spa. Strips seem pretty easy. Automatic strip reader seems easier, but I've heard mixed results. Surely the drop kits are more accurate, but maybe not necessary.

What's been your experience? As always, thanks for all the useful insight. This forum has been great for me!

[waterbear]

get yourself a Taylor K-2106. Strips do NOT have the precision needed for water balance (NOT the same thing as accuracy!) and strip readers are unpredictable at best!

I have been testing water for more years than I care to think about!

A GOOD test kit will make your water testing and balancing a very easy task. The particular kit I recommend is a bit pricey (but think how much you spent for your spa!) but is VERY easy to use and get accurate and precise results.

[wireman]

I was guessing until I got a Taylor kit.

[ncspa]

I was guessing until I got a Taylor kit.

Thanks for the input. Bought the Taylor kit today at a local pool/spa store for $60. Like you, tired of guessing (especially being still new, and trying to get water stable at the levels I want).

Thanks for input.

[steve r]

I am still new to a hot tub. After reading I will buy a Taylor test kit and try it. The strips from Baqua show my sanitizer level in blue and there is nothing on the bottle to compare it to. I have read, read, read, and to today I have not found good answers for keeping the water level right. We are using Baqua products that make you cough like crazy if you run the jets. I have tred chlorine ony only to gag from the odor. I read use baking soda, peroxide, etc. The tub is inside but has adequate ventalition and a ceiling fan. I just wish someone could give me a easy test fix, and the chemicals to use to enjoy the dang thing. At this point I think we made a big mistake and need to sell it although it is really relaxing if you dont run the jets. Is the snitizer something I dont need to worry so much about as long as the ph, alkinity are ok ? Only my wife and I use it 4 - 5 times a week and no waste goes in the water.

Thanks !

[waterbear]

I am still new to a hot tub. After reading I will buy a Taylor test kit and try it.

Be sure to get the biguanide and peroxide test kit (K-1725) plus a K-2005 so you can also test pH, Total Akalinity, and Calcium Hardness if you continue to use Baqua! Otherwise get a K-2006 for chlorine or a K-2106 for bromine.

The strips from Baqua show my sanitizer level in blue and there is nothing on the bottle to compare it to. I have read, read, read, and to today I have not found good answers for keeping the water level right. We are using Baqua products that make you cough like crazy if you run the jets. I have tred chlorine ony only to gag from the odor. I read use baking soda, peroxide, etc. The tub is inside but has adequate ventalition and a ceiling fan. I just wish someone could give me a easy test fix, and the chemicals to use to enjoy the dang thing. At this point I think we made a big mistake and need to sell it although it is really relaxing if you dont run the jets. Is the snitizer something I dont need to worry so much about as long as the ph, alkinity are ok ? Only my wife and I use it 4 - 5 times a week and no waste goes in the water.

You MUST have a residual sanitizer in the water or pathogens will grow. Every bather, no matter how clean they think they are, introduce sweat, urine and feces into the water. It might only be a tiny amount but the conditions in the water when no sanitizer is present will allow bacteria to multiply very rapidly!

Thanks !

Sounds like your peroxide levels might be off if you are finding that the jets are making your cough. It also sounds like you do NOT have adequete air handling for an indoor spa...you need more than just a ceiling fan!

[Hillbilly Hot Tub]

I am still new to a hot tub. After reading I will buy a Taylor test kit and try it. The strips from Baqua show my sanitizer level in blue and there is nothing on the bottle to compare it to. I have read, read, read, and to today I have not found good answers for keeping the water level right. We are using Baqua products that make you cough like crazy if you run the jets. I have tred chlorine ony only to gag from the odor. I read use baking soda, peroxide, etc. The tub is inside but has adequate ventalition and a ceiling fan. I just wish someone could give me a easy test fix, and the chemicals to use to enjoy the dang thing. At this point I think we made a big mistake and need to sell it although it is really relaxing if you dont run the jets. Is the snitizer something I dont need to worry so much about as long as the ph, alkinity are ok ? Only my wife and I use it 4 - 5 times a week and no waste goes in the water.

Thanks !

I have to comment on "Only my wife and I use it 4-5 times a week and no waste goes into the water". Everytime you use the hot tub, waste goes into the water. Each person sweats about a pint at each 30 minute spa use, thats not counting dead skin, fecal matter, residual soaps, deoderant, lotion etc. There is plenty of "waste" going into the water.

[Whoneedsavacation]

I want to be devil's advocate here with the strips vs. test kit thing. WHY do you need to so precise when the acceptable range is quite a bit wider than the gradations on a good test strip? I have found that cheap test strips are really hard to work with and that if things get so far out of hand that you are out of the range of the strip it is hard to guess how much chemical you need to get back in range, but once I figured out what works for my spa, I'm perfectly happy with the Leisure Time test strips for my bromine system. It's not as if I'm using a precise scale to weigh out my chemicals, so what good does the precision on the measurements really do?

And YES, you do need a sanitizer!!!!!!! Even if you meticulously scrubbed before you got in, normal organisms on you and in the environment would grow happily in the tub without sanitizer. You don't need it in a bath because you don't sit around cooking the water for days, weeks and months...

[Hillbilly Hot Tub]

I want to be devil's advocate here with the strips vs. test kit thing. WHY do you need to so precise when the acceptable range is quite a bit wider than the gradations on a good test strip? I have found that cheap test strips are really hard to work with and that if things get so far out of hand that you are out of the range of the strip it is hard to guess how much chemical you need to get back in range, but once I figured out what works for my spa, I'm perfectly happy with the Leisure Time test strips for my bromine system. It's not as if I'm using a precise scale to weigh out my chemicals, so what good does the precision on the measurements really do?

And YES, you do need a sanitizer!!!!!!! Even if you meticulously scrubbed before you got in, normal organisms on you and in the environment would grow happily in the tub without sanitizer. You don't need it in a bath because you don't sit around cooking the water for days, weeks and months...

I use test strips (Aqua check) for my normal spa routine also, I use the computerized test if someone is having issues with their water. So much more simple and they have always been in line with the computer test we do at the store. I guess for some people the colors are hard to distinguish (my husband for example, is color blind and this is difficult for him. If you are way outside the parameters of the test strip, then a more elaborate test should be used so you can acurately figure out how much of each chemical is needed. (without a scale!

[tony]

I want to be devil's advocate here with the strips vs. test kit thing. WHY do you need to so precise when the acceptable range is quite a bit wider than the gradations on a good test strip? I have found that cheap test strips are really hard to work with and that if things get so far out of hand that you are out of the range of the strip it is hard to guess how much chemical you need to get back in range, but once I figured out what works for my spa, I'm perfectly happy with the Leisure Time test strips for my bromine system. It's not as if I'm using a precise scale to weigh out my chemicals, so what good does the precision on the measurements really do?

And YES, you do need a sanitizer!!!!!!! Even if you meticulously scrubbed before you got in, normal organisms on you and in the environment would grow happily in the tub without sanitizer. You don't need it in a bath because you don't sit around cooking the water for days, weeks and months...

I use a Taylor kit because the pH and TA readings of the test strips were almost meaningless to me. The color gradations were too difficult to distinguish. I tried all kinds of strips. I liked the Aqua Chek the best but they are no where near as good as the drop kit. I do keep strips around for a quick free chlorine check which they do a satisfactory job with, IMO. The Taylor kit also has a base/acid demand test, calcium hardness test and a CYA test. I wouldn't be without it.

[TinyBubbles]

I use both test strips and a drop kit. I use my drop kit when I refill to get the levels just right, then I use it a couple times a month to double check them. I use my test strips to test my fc and cc levels. It's just so much easier and faster. I do get slighly different results for ph and alk with my test strips, but I test with a strip when everything is just right on the drop kit and then I know what to look for.

[steve r]

ok folks, thanks for all the answers. What I meant about the sanitizer was if I needed to worry about it being so precise which I think was answered up there somewhere. My ph, alkalinty, and hardness on my Baqua test strips and in acceptable range. Its the sanitizer on the strip I cant get right. The bottle has colors from lime green to a light green color. The color I keep getting is blue.

I was just looking for a simple solution from some of you folks thats been using a tub for a bit. I done bought about a hundred dollars worth of chemicals when we got the tub so I wont have to worry about having it and I do realize the sanitation thing is important but how close does it need to be. I also realize a certain amont of waste goes in the water but I meant we dont have different folks in and out of it peeing and stuff cause my wife and I dont do it in the tub. Thanks for all the answers and I will keep trying different stuff I guess to get it right and get rid of the odor and cough from the chemicals. I am gonna put an exhaust fan in soon and see if it helps since its inside.

[waterbear]

I want to be devil's advocate here with the strips vs. test kit thing. WHY do you need to so precise when the acceptable range is quite a bit wider than the gradations on a good test strip?

Problem is that often times the acceptable range or rather, the graduation on that range is too big!!!!! For example, if you are trying to adjust TA because it is off then the range of 40 ppm that test strip have is too large to be usedful. Also many test strips jump from pH of 7.2 to a pH of 7.8 with nothing inbetween (this includes some of the AquaChek and LaMotte strips!). This range just doesn't really give you ANY useful info! Finally, ALL strips only test total hardness whch is NOT the same as calcium hardness. It might or might not matter, depending on the situation but once again it is NOT the info that is needed!

It's not as if I'm using a precise scale to weigh out my chemicals, so what good does the precision on the measurements really do?

You really should be! (at least as precise as a kitchen scale that can measure to an ounce or half ounce since volume measurements dont always coincide with weight measurements!)

Something to think about.

[wireman]

If your tub is in a enclosed room you probably should have an exhaust fan anyways to combat mold, mildew and condensation. I don't think you should have much of a chemical smell from a well maintained tub. I'm using chlorine and my water barely has any oder after beeing treated and ready for use.

[Hillbilly Hot Tub]

I want to be devil's advocate here with the strips vs. test kit thing. WHY do you need to so precise when the acceptable range is quite a bit wider than the gradations on a good test strip?

Problem is that often times the acceptable range or rather, the graduation on that range is too big!!!!! For example, if you are trying to adjust TA because it is off then the range of 40 ppm that test strip have is too large to be usedful. Also many test strips jump from pH of 7.2 to a pH of 7.8 with nothing inbetween (this includes some of the AquaChek and LaMotte strips!). This range just doesn't really give you ANY useful info! Finally, ALL strips only test total hardness whch is NOT the same as calcium hardness. It might or might not matter, depending on the situation but once again it is NOT the info that is needed!

It's not as if I'm using a precise scale to weigh out my chemicals, so what good does the precision on the measurements really do?

You really should be! (at least as precise as a kitchen scale that can measure to an ounce or half ounce since volume measurements dont always coincide with weight measurements!)

Something to think about.

Another devels advocate, you say that the range the test strips give is too broad....if it is in the acceptable range of 7.2-7.8, why would you be trying to adjust it? The useful info is that it is in the acceptable range. It was stated that a drop test should be used if you are way out of the acceptable ranges. After all this precise water testing, we really need the hot tub to relax!!! Just a thought...

[waterbear]

I want to be devil's advocate here with the strips vs. test kit thing. WHY do you need to so precise when the acceptable range is quite a bit wider than the gradations on a good test strip?

Problem is that often times the acceptable range or rather, the graduation on that range is too big!!!!! For example, if you are trying to adjust TA because it is off then the range of 40 ppm that test strip have is too large to be usedful. Also many test strips jump from pH of 7.2 to a pH of 7.8 with nothing inbetween (this includes some of the AquaChek and LaMotte strips!). This range just doesn't really give you ANY useful info! Finally, ALL strips only test total hardness whch is NOT the same as calcium hardness. It might or might not matter, depending on the situation but once again it is NOT the info that is needed!

It's not as if I'm using a precise scale to weigh out my chemicals, so what good does the precision on the measurements really do?

You really should be! (at least as precise as a kitchen scale that can measure to an ounce or half ounce since volume measurements dont always coincide with weight measurements!)

Something to think about.

Another devels advocate, you say that the range the test strips give is too broad....if it is in the acceptable range of 7.2-7.8, why would you be trying to adjust it? The useful info is that it is in the acceptable range. It was stated that a drop test should be used if you are way out of the acceptable ranges. After all this precise water testing, we really need the hot tub to relax!!! Just a thought...

well, if you are using bromine the acceptable range is 7.2 to 7.8 or even 8.0 but if you are using chlorine and are looking for pH stability the acceptable window is much smaller. If you are trying to make adjustments to your pH then that 'range is useless' There is a big difference between how much pH adjusting product (say dry acid, sodium bisulfate) you would need put put in the spa if the pH was abour 7.8 then if it was at 7.2 and you were trying to lower TA!

When I KNOW my water if properly sanitized and balanced THEN I can relax in the tub!!!!! (And when you keep a log of your weekly water testing and daily sanitizer and pH tests you really get to know your tub after a few weeks and this makes your water balancing MUCH easier than trying to do it hit or miss and using guess strips!

[steve r]

ok again folks, thanks for all the help again. if you people are gonna argue with each other its not helping me a bit. I don't think anyone here really knows where to start and how to maintain a hot tub with the testing avalabile to us without buying a computerized system. I have only asked what I thought would be simple questions on a forum I thought I would get simple answers. I am still open to suggestions, critisism, or whatever. I am just gonna treat the tub as the instructions say and not worry much about the levels, afterall I dont think anyone in the world checks their shower, bath water, or drinking water on a regular basis to see if its the perfect level. As long as we can get in, get out and not be sick it must be ok.

[waterbear]

ok again folks, thanks for all the help again. if you people are gonna argue with each other its not helping me a bit. I don't think anyone here really knows where to start and how to maintain a hot tub with the testing avalabile to us without buying a computerized system.

I used a computerized system at work (LaMotte colorimeter) and it really is no better than a good drop based kit from a company such as Taylor or LaMotte. In fact, some of the tests have more limitations than a drop based titration since you have to take the range of the colorimeter into account and often the water can be out of range!

I have only asked what I thought would be simple questions on a forum I thought I would get simple answers. I am still open to suggestions, critisism, or whatever. I am just gonna treat the tub as the instructions say and not worry much about the levels, afterall I dont think anyone in the world checks their shower, bath water, or drinking water on a regular basis to see if its the perfect level.

The difference here is that you do not keep the water in your bath for 3-4 months at a time and have multiple people using the same water! Our drinking water is already sanitized, usually by chloramines in most parts of the country. If you have your own well then you possible ARE checking your levels on a regular basis to make sure your water is sanitary. As far as some of the other water paramters, such as pH, TA , etc. once again these are affected by such things as the sanitizers we add to the tub, the amount of aeration, sunlight, bather load, etc. that the tub sees.

Trying to compare this to your household water supply is comparing apples to oranges.

As long as we can get in, get out and not be sick it must be ok.

And the way you can know that is by proper testing of the water!

[Chris W]

.... afterall I dont think anyone in the world checks their shower, bath water, or drinking water on a regular basis to see if its the perfect level. As long as we can get in, get out and not be sick it must be ok.

I'd venture to guess that if you're on a municipal water system that somebody in the world DOES check your shower, bath and drinking water nearly every day if not multiple times a day. Tap water is not safe, clean and odor free by accident. The don't just randomly treat the water according to the instructions, they test it regularly and adjust treatment accordingly.

My goal is to get in, enjoy the experince without unpleasant odors, get out, have no unpleasant after-effects, prevent the equipment from being damaged, and minimize the expense and hassle associated with maintenance. For me, the easiest way to achieve this is by testing daily with a kit that I have confidence in (for me this means drops) adjusting water chemistry and performing maintenance as necessary. If I wasn't willing to do this, I'd get a bigger water heater and a fancier jetted bathtub and drain and refill it every time I used it.

Chris W

[steve r]

ok Chris, maybe you are right, maybe not. I still dont get it. How do you test your water daily, what kind of test do you do, and how do you adjust it with what chemicals without being a 2 page definition of how water is made and how to treat it. Just a country boy explanation will do. I will try an good answer and applaude the person that I try and it works.

[Chris W]

For daily testing of my Spa, I test for pH, Free Chlorine and Combined Chlorine. For pH I use a color block comparator that uses about 5 ml of spa water and 5 drops of Phenol Red indicator. If the pH is below 7.5, I don't make an adjustment as my pH tends to rise, if it is above 7.5 and I am going to add chlorine, I add about 1/2 tbsp of dry acid. For Free Chlorine and Combined chlorine I use and FAS-DPD titration test where you add some powder to 10 ml pool water which turns it pink if there is chlorine present and add the second reagent dropwise until the pink color clears. The drop count tells me the Free Chlorine. I add 5 drops of another reagent and if there is Combined Chlorine it turns pink again. The number of drops to turn it clear again tells me the Combined Chlorine. If the Free Chlorine is below 3, I add chlorine before I soak, if it's above 3.0, I add it after I soak to bring it up to about 7ppm (no I don't re-test to prove it.) To raise the FC, I add either 3 oz of 10-12% chlorinating liquid or 1/2 tbsp of di-chlor. My tub is about 500 gallons. My daily testing allows me to figure out how much to add to keep things in line. If use is really light, I might go an extra day without adding chlorine. If use is very heavy, I add extra chlorine. If the Combined Chlorine goes above about 1ppm, I shock with about a triple dose of chlorine. After the shock, I leave the cover open more than normal to allow any gasses produced to clear.

I know that's alittle long winded. It really only takes me 5 minutes per day tops now that I have the hang of it all. I'm a bit OCD on the Chlorine test, a more normal person could probably just do the daily test with the double tube test with OTO on one side for chlorine and pH on the other side. I trust that in my pool, but the spa changes a lot more from day to day so I spend the extra time for FAS-DPD. I test for other water factors less frequently, or if it looks like something unusual is happening.

Hope that is enough to be useful without being too overwhelming.

Chris W

[tony]

For daily testing of my Spa, I test for pH, Free Chlorine and Combined Chlorine. For pH I use a color block comparator that uses about 5 ml of spa water and 5 drops of Phenol Red indicator. If the pH is below 7.5, I don't make an adjustment as my pH tends to rise, if it is above 7.5 and I am going to add chlorine, I add about 1/2 tbsp of dry acid. For Free Chlorine and Combined chlorine I use and FAS-DPD titration test where you add some powder to 10 ml pool water which turns it pink if there is chlorine present and add the second reagent dropwise until the pink color clears. The drop count tells me the Free Chlorine. I add 5 drops of another reagent and if there is Combined Chlorine it turns pink again. The number of drops to turn it clear again tells me the Combined Chlorine. If the Free Chlorine is below 3, I add chlorine before I soak, if it's above 3.0, I add it after I soak to bring it up to about 7ppm (no I don't re-test to prove it.) To raise the FC, I add either 3 oz of 10-12% chlorinating liquid or 1/2 tbsp of di-chlor. My tub is about 500 gallons. My daily testing allows me to figure out how much to add to keep things in line. If use is really light, I might go an extra day without adding chlorine. If use is very heavy, I add extra chlorine. If the Combined Chlorine goes above about 1ppm, I shock with about a triple dose of chlorine. After the shock, I leave the cover open more than normal to allow any gasses produced to clear.

I know that's alittle long winded. It really only takes me 5 minutes per day tops now that I have the hang of it all. I'm a bit OCD on the Chlorine test, a more normal person could probably just do the daily test with the double tube test with OTO on one side for chlorine and pH on the other side. I trust that in my pool, but the spa changes a lot more from day to day so I spend the extra time for FAS-DPD. I test for other water factors less frequently, or if it looks like something unusual is happening.

Hope that is enough to be useful without being too overwhelming.

Chris W

This is something like what I do, except I test and adjust my water once per week...pH, FC and TC...TA only if my pH is out of normal.

[waterbear]

A GOOD test kit (such as the Taylor K-2006 for chlorine or the K-2106 for bromine) will make this MUCH EASIER to do than you can imagine. Until you have used a GOOD test kit you have no idea how easy water balancing can be.

If you want a spa there is SOME work invovled in maintaining it but this is also true about maintaining your lawn, maintaining your clothes, maintaining your houseplants, etc. It's not a whole lot of work but there is a slight learning curve involved, just like with anything else. Bottom line is, once you get over that learning curve it's not rocket science!

[Hillbilly Hot Tub]

ok Chris, maybe you are right, maybe not. I still dont get it. How do you test your water daily, what kind of test do you do, and how do you adjust it with what chemicals without being a 2 page definition of how water is made and how to treat it. Just a country boy explanation will do. I will try an good answer and applaude the person that I try and it works.

SORRY IF YOU THOUGHT WE ALL WERE ARGUING, I DIDNT SEE THAT. ITS NICE TO GET DIFFERENT THOUGHTS FROM PEOPLE AND WE ALL LEARN FROM THEM.

I WOULD SUGGEST, IF YOU ARE USING BROMINE, NOT THE BLEACH SYSTEM AND YOU ARE NOT HAVING ISSUES TELLING THE COLORS APART....TEST STRIPS. THEY ARE THE EASIEST TO USE. IF YOU SEEM TO HAVE AN ISSUE YOU CAN GET THE TAYLOR KIT OR BRING A WATER SAMPLE TO YOU DEALER. I DON'T EVEN HAVE TO TEST MY TUB DAILY, I DO IT EVERY COUPLE OF DAYS. OVER TIME I HAVE LEARNED HOW WE PERSONALLY AFFECT OUR TUB SO IT HAS BECOME EASIER. ENJOY YOUR TUB....DONT GET TO DISCOURAGED. FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS ON THE BOTTLES OF CHEMICALS. IE: TO RAISE YOUR PH FROM 7.1 ADD 3 TSP. EACH BOTTLE SHOULD TELL YOU SIMPLE DIRECTIONS SUCH AS THESE

[TinyBubbles]

ok again folks, thanks for all the help again. if you people are gonna argue with each other its not helping me a bit. I don't think anyone here really knows where to start and how to maintain a hot tub with the testing avalabile to us without buying a computerized system. I have only asked what I thought would be simple questions on a forum I thought I would get simple answers. I am still open to suggestions, critisism, or whatever. I am just gonna treat the tub as the instructions say and not worry much about the levels, afterall I dont think anyone in the world checks their shower, bath water, or drinking water on a regular basis to see if its the perfect level. As long as we can get in, get out and not be sick it must be ok.

Hi steve. Simple answer, it's not rocket science, but you do want to keep your sanitizer levels in the correct range. Baqua is known for making people cough. Being inside probably makes the situation worse. Chlorine shouldn't make you gag. If in the correct range you shouldn't smell it at all. If combined chlorine builds up, that smells. You can just shock the spa to get rid of those. I'm not familiar with baqua, so this might not apply, but with chlorine the ph level is important so that the chlorine can work as a disinfectant and not just an oxidizer. Aside from your health, the levels for other water balance issues prevent your tub from being damaged. I have found that test strips are plenty accurate for me and I personally don't like to drag out a drop kit. Everyone has their own preferences for that. I don't believe for one minute that you are going to endanger your health because you use strips. If your baqua results are for a color not on your strip, your levels could be way too high which could be causing the cough. You shouldn't have to test daily once you get the hang of things. I test weekly. I have a sister who has owned a spa for 5 years and she doesn't test anymore at all. Their useage never changes so she has a routine. Chances are that no God awful disease is going to be introduced into your spa if it's just you and your wife. You share germs in more ways than soaking in your spa. We are exposed to viruses and bacteria everyday wether we use a hot tub or not. Bottom line, you should be able to keep your levels correct without making it a pain. Just find what works best for you.