dm800 Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 Hi all. About 6 months ago I bought a house that had a hot tub and I have learned most of the things about it from these forums. At that time I drained and refilled it and the water always seemed clear and clean to me, but I will admit I did not shock it or test it weekly. There are two of us that use it maybe only once a week, sometimes not even that much, so that is probably why I slacked a bit and don't know if I need to change the water every 3 months since I don't use it that much, but figure I better change it now that its been 6 months. Anyways, I have been using the Spa Guard bromine tabs and Enhanced Shock, and put some shock in there a week ago right after I used it, and a week later I tested it and the strips are still showing off the scale (at 20). When I add the shock, should the cover be open for awhile while the jets are running? I dont know if this has anything to do it with it, but also the last time I tested it a week ago, the alkalinity was way down to below 40 and so I ordered some more increaser, and before I added it yesterday, it was down to 0. So I am going to drain and refill it, and I am all stocked up on chems now so this time I will try to make sure I test and shock it weekly. I am curious though why the bromine levels stayed high for a week, and just wanted any other tips to make sure I do it properly this time. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdegree Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 This is just an assumption on my part...I'm no expert on this chemistry stuff. I'm assuming the bromine level stayed high, after the shock, because there were no "nasties" in the water to use up the bromine...the water was pretty clean and free of contaminates. Now, this may be because you don't use it that often. Therefore, you are not introducing nasty contaminates into the water. This happens to me periodically. Because we don't use the hot tub too often, I don't shock it too often. My floating bromine dispenser slowly builds the bromine level above 10 ppm (it's barely cracked open). Once I notice the bromine level is too high, I remove the floater and wait for it to come back down. I have found that I can leave the floater in for about 2 days, and then remove it for nearly 2 weeks if we don't use the tub. In that amount of time the bromine level will only drop a few ppm...nothing drastic. This routine usually keeps the bromine level around the 3 - 7 ppm range, depending on how often I check the water Hopefully, others will chime in to help you further, and/or to correct any of my mistakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dm800 Posted February 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 Hmmm, that sounds like it makes sense. I have never taken the floater out, and although I didn't test it weekly, I would maybe every 2 weeks or so and there was always a slight bromine reading at around 1-2, so it never spiked from just the tabs. I think I will drain it tomorrow and refill it and then test the water more frequently to see what happens. Then by that time maybe some others will add to the post. To start it out though, you just put the floater in and add shock right away dont you? I think thats what I did last time but I don't remember for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdegree Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 After a fresh refill, you will want to get everything else in line first...pH, TA, Calcium Hardness, etc. Then, I add sodium bromide to establish a bromide bank. Then, I shock to get the bromine level above 10 ppm. I run the pumps for about 30 minutes. I leave the cover open as long as possible. After the bromine level drops to a safe level...under 10 ppm...I place the floater in. Exposing the water to sunlight will help deplete the bromine, if that tip helps any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dm800 Posted February 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 Thanks, that does help. I have noticed that on some other posts about leaving the cover open, and I have never done that, so that could be part of the problem why it was high after I shocked. I used to just add it, cover it back up, and run the pumps. So from now on I guess I should leave it open for a half hour while the pumps are running. The sodium bromine is the step I didn't do last time, I just put in the tabs and shocked it. I don't have any of that, but what exactly is that? Would that be the brominating concentrate that Spaguard makes (I noticed in the ingredients it says 14.7% sodium bromine, and the rest sodium dichlor), or is there something else I should get? After a fresh refill, you will want to get everything else in line first...pH, TA, Calcium Hardness, etc. Then, I add sodium bromide to establish a bromide bank. Then, I shock to get the bromine level above 10 ppm. I run the pumps for about 30 minutes. I leave the cover open as long as possible. After the bromine level drops to a safe level...under 10 ppm...I place the floater in. Exposing the water to sunlight will help deplete the bromine, if that tip helps any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdegree Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 Thanks, that does help. I have noticed that on some other posts about leaving the cover open, and I have never done that, so that could be part of the problem why it was high after I shocked. I used to just add it, cover it back up, and run the pumps. So from now on I guess I should leave it open for a half hour while the pumps are running. The sodium bromine is the step I didn't do last time, I just put in the tabs and shocked it. I don't have any of that, but what exactly is that? Would that be the brominating concentrate that Spaguard makes (I noticed in the ingredients it says 14.7% sodium bromine, and the rest sodium dichlor), or is there something else I should get? Check out these threads, they may help: Bromine Shock Bromine Questions To answer your question...I really don't know much about the different products that are out there. So, I'm not sure if the Spaguard brominating concentrate is the right product for establishing a bromide bank/reserve or not. I can tell you, the product I use is 99% sodium bromide. That probably doesn't help too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dm800 Posted February 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 Thanks for all your help. I found some products online with the 99% sodium bromide and went to a local store to get some so I can drain this tomorrow, and I asked for it and they sold me a couple of pouches of some stuff called Arctic Pure Peak Boost. It does not say what it contains on the label, but they told me you add it when changing the water. Anyways, I looked it up on the web when I got home and found that it contains 14.7% sodium bromide and 52.7% sodium dichlor. Well, anyways, not exactly what I thought it was, but I guess it will be better to start the bromine than just the tabs. I'll be sure to order some of the 99% stuff for next time. But I guess I still should just add this, then add shock, then add the tabs later, right? Thank you again for the help, and I will try to test and add shock more consistently this time and see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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