New Hot Tub Owner..what Am I Doing Wrong?

[Stone1269]

After years of my wife and I wanting a hot tub, we finally pulled the trigger on a small 125 gallon Cal-Spa model that is the pefect size for us. We are like a lot of others, I am sure, in that we knew next to nothing about hot tub maintenance when we made the purchase. The dealer assured us there was 'nothing to it', and that everything would be explained during the delivery and set up. The dealer brought the spa with a Chlorine starter kit, and never mentioned that there were other options available.

Things went fine during the set up, and they did spend time with me showing me how to use the test strips and chemicals. Initially, things went OK, I filled the spa with ordinary city water from a hose, and I was able to quickly get the PH, Total Alkalinity, and Chlorine levels into proper range. Then the problems started...

Within a few hours, and after only one brief soak in the tub, I decided to check the levels again. Chlorine now showed '0', while PH and Total Alkalinity were still fine. Confused, I brought the Chlorine levels back up, waited a few hours, tested again, and once again, the chlorine level was at 0. I repeated these steps a few more times, with the same results....

During my testing, I realized that my test strips also tested for 'Total Hardness' & this had not been explained to me by the dealer. It showed the water to be on the soft side. A line in my owners manual for my spa stated that with soft water it would be 'impossible' to maintain proper chemical levels. I then contacted the dealer to try to find out what could be going on. I was told they had no idea what could be causing chlorine to dissipate so quickly. I asked if there was any way the water being too soft could be causing this, and was told this was 'impossible'. They told me to not worry about the water hardness test at all since I had used ordinary tap water...

Not satisfied, I contacted another local pool store. This time I was told that I should have never been using chlorine in the first place. I was told that chlorine would quickly dissipate at temperatures above 95 degrees, and that bromine was what I should be using. Taking his word for it, I purchased a bromine floater, bromine tablets, and brom-start, and followed his instructions completely to convert my hot tub to bromine....I filled the floater with the bromine, added the proper amount of 'brom-start' to the water, set the floater in the tub, and waited...After 24 hours, I tested the water, with strips I purchased that tested for chlorine as well as bromine. It showed no bromine at all...I opened the floater up more & tested again after 48 hours. Same result. Again, I opened the floater up even more, and re-tested after 72 hours...SAME result. This time, I 'shocked' the water and tested again after an hour...Still no bromine. I then contacted the store that sold me the bromine, and was told again that they had 'no idea..' I was told by this person as well that my water hardness level could NOT be the problem...

I then contacted a THIRD store, & told them everything that had happened. They had me bring a water sample in for a test on their computer. Their results confirmed there was no bromine in the water, but they also picked up on the fact that my water was registering soft. They told me this COULD possibly be part of the problem and sold me a calcium additive to increase the hardness of my water. They also told me that THEY preferred Chlorine, and strongly recommended that I go back to using that, at least until I got everything working properly...

I have used the calcium additive and my water now tests OK as to hardness. I have also taken their advice, removed the bromine floater, and gone back to using the Chlorine granules I was given as part of my starter kit. I can quickly get my chlorine levels to test OK, as I have figured out the proper amount to add to bring the level up to 'perfect' on my test strips, but I am having the same problem where the chlorine will test as being completely gone after just a few hours.

Is there any ideas as to what could be causing this? Is this normal? At least with the chlorine, I can get a sanitizer to register for a while, while the bromine never did....I just don't feel it is normal to have to add chlorine every single day....

Any help will be greatly appreciated...

[Roger]

If you chlorinated your water and killed all the junk you added during your soak, and then in a few hours the chlorine level was 0 would that not be a good thing to prevent you from soaking in a bunch of chlorine? Then do it again after your next soak to kill the stuff again!!

[Chas]

I prefer Chlorine. Be sure you are using a type of chlorine which has "Dichlor" in the chemical makeup.

I think you need only to add a bit more chlorine. I like to have the chlorine show just a barely readable amount when you come back to soak the next night. That is proof that you killed all the organic matter in the water, and it is safe to soak. If you do this - just put in enough to give you a tiny little residual the next evening, you will be safe and you will not have any heavy chemical odors.

As a new tub owner, you doing the normal job of over-tending the tub. Yes, if you use Dichlor you will have to add it after every use. But as I said above, as you learn the amount to add, it will get to the point that you can let it drop to almost nothing by the next time you go to use the tub. In fact, after you have had the tub for a while longer you will be good enough to let it drop to Zero chlorine by the next use and still be safe.

How much to add? It doesn't matter. That seems to be the hardest thing for a newbie to get used to. So often I have a customer who had set some pre-determined amount in their mind and they are afraid to cross it. For example, "But Chas, I have added chlorine three times and still have no reading."

But in asking more questions, I find that they only added one teaspoon each of those three time. They thought that was so much it would end civilization as we know it. When in fact they needed to toss in a full ounce or even more just to kill off the oils, organics and dirt they have been bringing in as they use the tub twice a day or whatever.

So add chlorine until you still have a reading six hours later. THAT will be the right amount, even if it's two ounces. Speaking of two ounces, that is the starting point for a chlorine shock. Two dry ounces. Now - if you are going to ask, "how many caps full is that, or how many pinches..." go get a measuring cup that does dry ounces. Then shock your spa with two dry ounces. Then relax, not only does it get easier as time goes by, but you will use less Dichlor as you get cleaner and learn how not to bring living things into the spa with you.

Now - To effectively switch from Bromine to chlroine, you need a water change, but you are most likely due anyway. Don't panic. Water is the cheapest thing you can add to your spa, and you will love the way it feels with fresh water. Power off, drain, refill - balance pH and TA, and then add Dichlor.

HTH

[Stone1269]

If you chlorinated your water and killed all the junk you added during your soak, and then in a few hours the chlorine level was 0 would that not be a good thing to prevent you from soaking in a bunch of chlorine? Then do it again after your next soak to kill the stuff again!!

What confuses me the most is I have NOT been using the tub. If I add chlorine, get the reading right, and just let it sit a few hours with NO use, the reading will be 0 again. I would understand if we had been using the tub regularly, but other than the first time when I first got the reading right, we have not used it because of our concerns with the readings...

[Stone1269]

I prefer Chlorine. Be sure you are using a type of chlorine which has "Dichlor" in the chemical makeup.

I think you need only to add a bit more chlorine. I like to have the chlorine show just a barely readable amount when you come back to soak the next night. That is proof that you killed all the organic matter in the water, and it is safe to soak. If you do this - just put in enough to give you a tiny little residual the next evening, you will be safe and you will not have any heavy chemical odors.

As a new tub owner, you doing the normal job of over-tending the tub. Yes, if you use Dichlor you will have to add it after every use. But as I said above, as you learn the amount to add, it will get to the point that you can let it drop to almost nothing by the next time you go to use the tub. In fact, after you have had the tub for a while longer you will be good enough to let it drop to Zero chlorine by the next use and still be safe.

How much to add? It doesn't matter. That seems to be the hardest thing for a newbie to get used to. So often I have a customer who had set some pre-determined amount in their mind and they are afraid to cross it. For example, "But Chas, I have added chlorine three times and still have no reading."

But in asking more questions, I find that they only added one teaspoon each of those three time. They thought that was so much it would end civilization as we know it. When in fact they needed to toss in a full ounce or even more just to kill off the oils, organics and dirt they have been bringing in as they use the tub twice a day or whatever.

So add chlorine until you still have a reading six hours later. THAT will be the right amount, even if it's two ounces. Speaking of two ounces, that is the starting point for a chlorine shock. Two dry ounces. Now - if you are going to ask, "how many caps full is that, or how many pinches..." go get a measuring cup that does dry ounces. Then shock your spa with two dry ounces. Then relax, not only does it get easier as time goes by, but you will use less Dichlor as you get cleaner and learn how not to bring living things into the spa with you.

Now - To effectively switch from Bromine to chlroine, you need a water change, but you are most likely due anyway. Don't panic. Water is the cheapest thing you can add to your spa, and you will love the way it feels with fresh water. Power off, drain, refill - balance pH and TA, and then add Dichlor.

HTH

No matter how much I add, I am not able to get a reading 6 hours later. During all of this, during one of the times I was adding Chlorine, I accidentally added too much. My readings went as high as they could go (10+ ppm), but four to five hours later, they were right back at 0...

I have NOT changed the water yet, as it is less than a month old. Since I never got a reading when I tried the bromine, I assumed there would be no reason why I could not just go back to using chlorine...

[Roger]

No matter how much I add, I am not able to get a reading 6 hours later. During all of this, during one of the times I was adding Chlorine, I accidentally added too much. My readings went as high as they could go (10+ ppm), but four to five hours later, they were right back at 0...

I have NOT changed the water yet, as it is less than a month old. Since I never got a reading when I tried the bromine, I assumed there would be no reason why I could not just go back to using chlorine...

Maybe a new more accurate test kit is in order. Are you useing strips or a reagent test kit?

[Stone1269]

No matter how much I add, I am not able to get a reading 6 hours later. During all of this, during one of the times I was adding Chlorine, I accidentally added too much. My readings went as high as they could go (10+ ppm), but four to five hours later, they were right back at 0...

I have NOT changed the water yet, as it is less than a month old. Since I never got a reading when I tried the bromine, I assumed there would be no reason why I could not just go back to using chlorine...

Maybe a new more accurate test kit is in order. Are you useing strips or a reagent test kit?

I have used 3 different brands of test strips with the same results on all. When I took a water sample into the pool store for a computer analysis, they confirmed my readings......

[Nitro]

Stone,

I'm kinda new to hot tubs also, but I've been doing a ton of reading. I've also been helping my friend with his. He was using Bromine and having problems. He's now using chlorine, and doing better. Here's what I learned.

1. Don't worry about adding too much chlorine. If you shock to 10 ppm, and it's gone in a few hours, shock it again. Keep shocking after it drops to zero until you're able to read a residule (1-3) the next day. The water needs to be shocked when it's new. If it drops to zero to quickly, it means the chlorine ran out before it had a chance to kil everything.

2. It doesn't matter that you're not using the tub. The water gets dirty all by itself, just not as fast. That's why you need to check/add chlorine everyday regardless if you use it. If you want a lower maintainace solution, consider the Spa Pilot. It creates chlorine from salt that's added to the water.

3. Forget test strips! If you want true accurate readings, get a drop test kit such as the Taylor K-2006.

Good luck.

[Chas]

No matter how much I add, I am not able to get a reading 6 hours later. During all of this, during one of the times I was adding Chlorine, I accidentally added too much. My readings went as high as they could go (10+ ppm), but four to five hours later, they were right back at 0...

How much chlorine are we talking about? Getting the Ch up to ten and then having it drop to zero six hours later generally means you did not add enough to complete the shock. Another ounce would generally finish the job. So can you tell me the quantities you are adding? Also, how many gallons is your tub, and is it covered at all times or an open spa?

I have NOT changed the water yet, as it is less than a month old. Since I never got a reading when I tried the bromine, I assumed there would be no reason why I could not just go back to using chlorine...

Bromine is a salt which doesn't really leave the water. Yes, you will have to drain and refill to go from Bromine to Chlorine. You may also have some organic material such as fertilizer or phosphate which was in your source water or which found its way in to the tub during transit or even the first day or so.

This is not usually that tough - add chlorine until the reading sticks around for six hours, or add more. The only thing that can happen is if you get such a high level of chlorine that the test strips no long show it. But by then, the pH and TA readings also bleach out and there is a strong chlorine odor.

[Hillbilly Hot Tub]

Also, being that it is a new tub means new plastics. Plastics have oils on them that take a bit to come off. Your shell, plumbing ect is all new, and even though water tested it does not remove all the oils. This may be contributing to the chlorine loss. Something is in the wter that is using up the chlorine. Have you checked to see how dirty the filter may be? The other thing you have to watch now is the CYA level. If you have been using a lot of dichlor you have been increasing the CYA level which will make the chlorine less effective.

Like Chas said, I would drain and start over, maybe purchasing a filling filter to make sure you are staring with pure water.

[Stone1269]

Also, being that it is a new tub means new plastics. Plastics have oils on them that take a bit to come off. Your shell, plumbing ect is all new, and even though water tested it does not remove all the oils. This may be contributing to the chlorine loss. Something is in the wter that is using up the chlorine. Have you checked to see how dirty the filter may be? The other thing you have to watch now is the CYA level. If you have been using a lot of dichlor you have been increasing the CYA level which will make the chlorine less effective.

Like Chas said, I would drain and start over, maybe purchasing a filling filter to make sure you are staring with pure water.

Thanks for the suggestions...The filter looks fine. I have done the weekly 'filter soak' in a filter cleaner the spa company recommended to me. According to my test strips, the CYA level is in the 'ideal' range.

I did finally give in and drain and refill the spa, again with regular tap water. I am still getting the same results, if the tub sits for 4-5 hours, the chlorine will show 0 no matter if it has been used or not....PH, Total Alkalinity, etc. are easy to get within range, and tend to stay there every time I test once they are in the proper range...

I have started just adding 2 1/4 teaspoons of chlorine 15 minutes before we want to use the spa. This is the level I have found that will bring levels of chlorine up on my test strips to the proper range. Of course, it will be gone within a few hours, but at least I feel that there is some sanitizer in the spa before we actually use it....

[Stone1269]

No matter how much I add, I am not able to get a reading 6 hours later. During all of this, during one of the times I was adding Chlorine, I accidentally added too much. My readings went as high as they could go (10+ ppm), but four to five hours later, they were right back at 0...

How much chlorine are we talking about? Getting the Ch up to ten and then having it drop to zero six hours later generally means you did not add enough to complete the shock. Another ounce would generally finish the job. So can you tell me the quantities you are adding? Also, how many gallons is your tub, and is it covered at all times or an open spa?

I have NOT changed the water yet, as it is less than a month old. Since I never got a reading when I tried the bromine, I assumed there would be no reason why I could not just go back to using chlorine...

Bromine is a salt which doesn't really leave the water. Yes, you will have to drain and refill to go from Bromine to Chlorine. You may also have some organic material such as fertilizer or phosphate which was in your source water or which found its way in to the tub during transit or even the first day or so.

This is not usually that tough - add chlorine until the reading sticks around for six hours, or add more. The only thing that can happen is if you get such a high level of chlorine that the test strips no long show it. But by then, the pH and TA readings also bleach out and there is a strong chlorine odor.

The tub is a small 2 person tub & holds 125 gallons. It is always covered if we are not using it. I have taken to just adding approximately 2 1/4 teaspoons of chlorine 15 minutes or so before we use the spa. If I do this, the readings on my test strip will be 'perfect' for a while. As was suggested to me, I have started 'shocking' the tub after we get out & are done with it for the night EVERY time we use it, using the capacities listed on the brand of shock I have. For my tub, it works out to approximately 3 teaspoons.

I did wind up changing the water, as I posted before, but so far, nothing has changed. The chlorine level will ALWAYS drop to 0 if the tub sits more than 4-6 hours. I have confirmed this with several different brands of test strips, and having the water tested at a local pool store.

I really appreciate all the suggestions, but so far, no luck...Hopefully doing what I am doing and getting the level right prior to use is at least making the tub safe to use, but I am going through far more chlorine than I would have thought normal....