Peroxysan - White Floaters After Refill

[bart6453]

I'm not anti chlorine or bromine. When we bought the tub, they threw in a case of Peroxysan with the tub and I snagged a 5 gallon pail from someone right after we filled the tub. That's a lot of chemicals I didn't want to waste.

We almost bought a hot tub years ago, but the dealer (another place) actually talked us out of it due to my eczema. It's not that bad, but he felt very strongly that the chemicals and heat would flare it up. We snagged a sauna instead (again, from somewhere else) I grew up with a sauna so I knew it was going to be fine.

When you read about chemicals online, most sites say, "Chlorine for the pool, bromine for the hotub"

I honestly didn't even know what we were getting when we bought the tub. I thought we were getting biguanide.

So... we're sticking because we have it. If it fails again, we'll move on (unless they give us a new tub and restock our supplies) I am somewhat nervous about switching and finding out I react to chlorine or bromine badly. I never had good experiences in pools as a kid. Rashes, hives, etc... probably just not a balanced pool/tub, but I'd hate to find out after I do a fresh fill.

Interesting that you mention eczema...here is a paste from a previous post I had on the subject of eczema. As you will read, my wife had eczema...and now she does not. Take a minute to read it, kind of surprising that the medical community (including the Mayo Clinic) is suggesting and recommending that chlorine is a treatment for eczema.

Below is the copy/paste:

Well....recent studies have found that a mild bleach bath helps substantially with eczema, and if you do a webmd search there is more in depth detail of it.

From my experience with my wife, who has (or now more accurately had) moderate eczema, twice weekly in our chlorine tub has completely cured her eczema. She has no symptoms or issues.

I have another issue, which is extreme atheletes foot (you could search the forum for my extremely descriptive post about it if you want) but trust me it's bad, prescription medication and all. When I use the tub two to three times a week I dont even need to use foot powder.

Our overall skin health has been greatly improved by our tub.

Keep in mind, we use chlorine as a sanitizer.

webmd

http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-tre...ids-with-ezcema

My post

http://www.poolspaforum.com/forum/index.ph...lete's+foot

Mayo Clinic (look at how much bleach they recommend!!!!! 4oz to 40 gallons!!!!!)

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/eczema-bleach-bath/AN02003

[cramp11]

Good info about eczema. The peroxide seems to be keeping it at bay. I haven't flared up in a long time. It's usually hockey that gets it going and I'm playing 3-4 times a week right now.

Day 17 and still ok. *fingers crossed*

I just read another post about cleaning filters and someone recommended TPS or Cascade with phosphates. Since I have to rotate my filter weekly, I'm going to give it a shot. I usually just blast it with the hose and soak it in a 2:1 solution. I'm going to try blasting it with the hose, soaking it in a phosphate solution, rinse it well and then soak it in the 2:1 solution.

Learning something new everyday...

[bart6453]

Good info about eczema. The peroxide seems to be keeping it at bay. I haven't flared up in a long time. It's usually hockey that gets it going and I'm playing 3-4 times a week right now.

Day 17 and still ok. *fingers crossed*

I just read another post about cleaning filters and someone recommended TPS or Cascade with phosphates. Since I have to rotate my filter weekly, I'm going to give it a shot. I usually just blast it with the hose and soak it in a 2:1 solution. I'm going to try blasting it with the hose, soaking it in a phosphate solution, rinse it well and then soak it in the 2:1 solution.

Learning something new everyday...

I have been using TSP for quite a while now....it seems to work great.

When its cold I cheat and put them in my dishwasher(after the tsp soak)...hey it's Minnesota and -10 out this morning.

I just make sure to catch it before it goes to rinse, I don't think Jet Dry would be good on my filters.

Anyways....when I do a filter change my chlorine demand does go down substantially. If someone were to just randomly change my filters, I could tell by the CD. With that said, I do think my filters become riddled with organic matter over the course of about 3-4 weeks. So for a product like peroxide with a limited amount of sanitizing ability, I would surmise filter changes should be done very frequently. I start to notice a CD change at about week 2. Oddly though, it does level out after week 5 and does not rise after that. But at that point it is approaching 45% compared to about 15% when the filters are fresh. That's too big of a spread for me, so I try to keep them clean.

[mjlopez]

Hope all goes well

[cramp11]

^^ TSP is on my shopping list.

^ Sounds like you need to do a detox too. Crazy cold weather though. Yikes.

I've cycled my filter twice now since I detox'd and haven't noticed anything. I think the stuff from the pics is just dead crap that was stuck on the old filter. That's not in my tub. It used to be though before the detox.

I opened the tub today because I was home early (ie there was still daylight) to have a look in the tub. Looked crystal clear. I did notice white marks on the cover though so I sprayed them with a 5:1 mixture of 35% peroxide. The stuff fizzed I scrubbed the crap out of the cover and coated it with the spray. I hope the heck the lid isn't contaminated and just waiting to get back into the water. If the weather is somewhat decent this weekend, I might wipe the cover with bleach. I just have no idea how to rinse it since the hoses are packed away. I don't want bleach getting into the tub. (lesson learned re: neutralization)

Anywho... bed time for the wee one... then the tub for me...

[cramp11]

TSP worked great. I'll have to figure out how much water my filter container holds so I use the right amount. No point using too much.

We've been adding 1 cup of Peroxysan every 4 days as per recommendation of the dealer. (no matter how often the tub is used or what the ppm level is at)

We're also adding 1/2 a cup of 35% for every 2 people that get in the tub. So far it's only been my wife and I using the tub 2-3 times a week.

We're also debating about shocking the tub with the 35% peroxide monthly. Not sure if that's necessary or not and if so, how much. I dumped in 15 cups last time when I thought there was new white stuff in the tub. (It was stuff from the filter I should have thrown out)

Anywho... day 23 and still ok.

My co-worker is renting/buying the same tub I have. They offered him Perosysan, but he went with Bromine. I'll be interested in comparing notes. I also told him to have the tub decontaminated before it's delivered.

[cramp11]

Just a little over a month and a half since we decontaminated our tub...

We're noticing a bit of foam in the tub when we have the air jets on. We've never had foam... even when we had that white crud in the tub.

The only thing different in the house is a water softener. I clean the filters weekly in the shower with a power jet hand held sprayer. Could this be causing the water to become salty (???) and cause foaming?

When we need to top the hot tub up we do it with a tap that bypasses the softener.

Not sure what else it could be.

Oh... I did clean the filters once with TPS, but I rinsed and rinsed many times, but it was rinsed with softened water.

Any thoughts would be great.

[quantumchromodynamics]

Softer water will foam more easily. Check your calcium level and increase it to about 100-120 ppm.

Water from a water softener can have a slightly salty taste. If it is very salty, then the softener may not be functioning correctly and it should be checked by a service technician.

Water softeners work by exchanging sodium ions for calcium ions. "Saltiness" is a taste produced primarily by the presence of sodium ions.

[cramp11]

I don't have a way to test the calcium level in the tub. I'll have to have my wife take a sample to the spa place near her work. If I need to add calcium, I'll get her to pickup whatever it is we need to add to raise the level.

Our water doesn't taste salty at all. I just don't have access to my outside hoses that bypass the softener and the kitchen tap doesn't produce enough pressure to clean the filter. I guess I can start rinsing the filter in the kitchen before I put in back in the tub. (if that's the problem)

The 2:1 solution of Peroxysan and water that the filter soaks in (I rotate 2 filters) is softened water. I might throw that solution out and make a new batch with non softened water.

I just don't understand how that little bit of water left on the filter being put into 1100L of water could cause problems. I'm still learning though.

[quantumchromodynamics]

Did you fill the tub with water from the softener?

Rinsing the filter with softened water should not cause the water to be "salty". You say that your water does not taste salty; do you mean the softened water or the unsoftened water?

[cramp11]

We did not fill the tub with water from the softener. We used the outside hose which bypasses the softener. Even my 'top ups' are no from the softener. I fill up 5 gallon pails with a tap that bypasses the softener.

The only time softened water is used is when I clean the filter (in the shower) and soak it (in a pail).

Our softened and unsoftened water doesn't take salty. I was referring to the softened water in my last post.

Our untreated water hardness is 18. That's what we have the softener set at as per directions from the water test the company that sold us the softener.

I'm starting to think that the softened water isn't the issue. I'll still get the calcium level tested. The pH and TA look fine, but I'm only using crappy strips. I'm sure they'll do a full test on the water and give us the results.

Thanks for the input. I'll keep everyone posted on my findings...

[quantumchromodynamics]

Could this be causing the water to become salty (???) and cause foaming?

I'm not sure that I understand your reference to your water being "salty". Does it taste salty or is there some other reason you are thinking it is salty?

Our untreated water hardness is 18

I'm assuming that you mean 18 grains per gallon, is that right? Is that total hardness or calcium hardness?

What are your pH, Total Alkalinity and calcium hardness readings?

[cramp11]

I guess salty was a bad word of choice. I just know you're not supposed to use softened water in a hot tub and with the filter being soaked in softened water, I wanted to make sure that I wasn't causing a problem. (like my lesson learned by mixing bleach and peroxide )

I'm guessing the reading is 18 grains per gallon. I never asked. That's just the number they told us to set it at on the softener. I've never had a softener, but it seems to be working fine. No more white deposits around the taps, etc...

My wife hasn't had a chance to hit the spa place. I only have test strips for my levels.

pH : 7.0

TA : 80

Calcium : my strips don't tell us that... that'll come from the spa when she goes.

The test strips we have suck. They seem to stay the same colour and just get more faded as the level gets lower instead of going from pink to orange.

My coworker is trying to get hooked up with a Taylor kit from the States. I'm hoping I can get one too. Our dealer said that we don't need to balance anything with Peroxysan. It doesn't matter. I still would prefer to keep it balanced.

[bart6453]

I guess salty was a bad word of choice. I just know you're not supposed to use softened water in a hot tub and with the filter being soaked in softened water, I wanted to make sure that I wasn't causing a problem. (like my lesson learned by mixing bleach and peroxide )

I'm guessing the reading is 18 grains per gallon. I never asked. That's just the number they told us to set it at on the softener. I've never had a softener, but it seems to be working fine. No more white deposits around the taps, etc...

My wife hasn't had a chance to hit the spa place. I only have test strips for my levels.

pH : 7.0

TA : 80

Calcium : my strips don't tell us that... that'll come from the spa when she goes.

The test strips we have suck. They seem to stay the same colour and just get more faded as the level gets lower instead of going from pink to orange.

My coworker is trying to get hooked up with a Taylor kit from the States. I'm hoping I can get one too. Our dealer said that we don't need to balance anything with Peroxysan. It doesn't matter. I still would prefer to keep it balanced.

Not to echo my post on November 24th saying you need to dump the strips and get a taylor test kit......but YOU NEED TO DUMP THE TEST STRIPS AND GET A TAYLOR TEST KIT.

[pkillur]

My coworker is trying to get hooked up with a Taylor kit from the States. I'm hoping I can get one too. Our dealer said that we don't need to balance anything with Peroxysan. It doesn't matter. I still would prefer to keep it balanced.

Not to bag on dealers, because there are some very helpful (read AWESOME) dealers and techs on this board, but my last dealer told me "I've been doing this for 30 years and I only use strips, you're fine" and then my wife reacted to the water because the PH was 8, but my freaking crappy strips say it's 7.4-7.6 range. These are the strips that dealer says he uses religiously, and told me I would have to spend "hundreds of dollars" on a good test kit with drops. If your dealer is on crack and tells you to do things that doesn't make sense, then I would go to someone else for help if you have someone else in town. Try and buy a kit off of ebay, I'm sure they'll ship it to you, they're like 55-60 bucks.

[Leann]

Hi.. I just got a new tub and started using peroxysan right away. It’s the plus %29. We have approximately 1500L in our tub. We added a full 4L jug to start. It’s been circulating for 24hrs. Our PH is still really high. Does anyone know how long it takes for the water to balance?