What Is The Correct Procedure To Maintain My Tub?

[rdefino]

First off, i suck at maintaining my tub. I'm just not really sure what to use and when to test, etc...

I have a D1 Californian, 350gal kept at 98 degrees

This tub gets used about 3 times a week.

I have a taylor 2006 chlorine test kit. My PH is about 7.4, ALK is about 60ppm.

Problem is I'm not sure how often to test. I read that people use chlorine. MPS, bleach, baking soda and I'm not sure what I should be using and when.

If anyone knows or has some type of guide, what test numbers should I be getting and when. What to use? Anything!!

I got in my tub tonight and there was a little brownish goop around the water line (is this normal?), also the water was a little musty. I changed the water about 3 weeks ago but I've only used it 3 times since then.

Any help someone can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[hrustar]

go the www.thepoolcalculator.com It was my a-hah moment for mastering my water.

You enter your test numbers and what you what your target numbers are. Then it it tells you what you need to add in terms of bleach, baking soda, etc.

Play around with it for a bit, and it will soon make sense.

s long as you have the Taylor kit, you are half way home. The pool calculator can get you the rest of the way.

[chem geek]

If you go with chlorine, then Nitro's Approach to Water Maintenance may be helpful to you.

[rdefino]

go the www.thepoolcalculator.com It was my a-hah moment for mastering my water.

You enter your test numbers and what you what your target numbers are. Then it it tells you what you need to add in terms of bleach, baking soda, etc.

Play around with it for a bit, and it will soon make sense.

s long as you have the Taylor kit, you are half way home. The pool calculator can get you the rest of the way.

This looks good. 1 question, how do I determine my target numbers?

thanks

[hrustar]

In your Taylor book, there is a chart of suggested ranges for you most categories, but each situation may be slightly different. You really want to make sure the Targets you choose to work with will results in a 0 or slightly less than 0 CSI (the last field in the pool calculator.

In my spa right now I use

FC 5

PH 7.6

TA 100

CH 125

CYA 30

Borates 50

Temperature 102°

This gives me a CSI 0f -0.02

But understand, you can play with most of these numbers. Just make sure your ph remains between 7.2 and 7.6 and the TA is between 70 and 140.

Now for the most part, the CH is what it is based on your water. I never try to adjust it. I just work with it.

The Borates are optional. I added 50 ppm to stabilize ph drift and it works great. Why 50 ppm? Not sure, but it was a suggested level I found in my resources.

CYA will be determined by how Dichlor you added. While 30 to 40 is what you should have before switching to bleach, don;t freak if yours is much higher. Mine is 120 or so and it doesn't create any problems.

[chem geek]

Note that if there is a lot of aeration or if you don't use MPS at times, then the pH may rise too quickly unless you lower the TA level (as low as 50 ppm, if needed). If you do lower the TA, you can adjust the CH and target pH (say, to 7.7) up higher to compensate. Just see how things go and adjust the TA lower if the pH tends to rise too much over time.

[simonc]

In your Taylor book, there is a chart of suggested ranges for you most categories, but each situation may be slightly different. You really want to make sure the Targets you choose to work with will results in a 0 or slightly less than 0 CSI (the last field in the pool calculator.

In my spa right now I use

FC 5

PH 7.6

TA 100

CH 125

CYA 30

Borates 50

Temperature 102°

This gives me a CSI 0f -0.02

But understand, you can play with most of these numbers. Just make sure your ph remains between 7.2 and 7.6 and the TA is between 70 and 140.

Now for the most part, the CH is what it is based on your water. I never try to adjust it. I just work with it.

The Borates are optional. I added 50 ppm to stabilize ph drift and it works great. Why 50 ppm? Not sure, but it was a suggested level I found in my resources.

CYA will be determined by how Dichlor you added. While 30 to 40 is what you should have before switching to bleach, don;t freak if yours is much higher. Mine is 120 or so and it doesn't create any problems.

Generally I agree with what hrustar says, however I disagree slightly with his statement that ...

"Now for the most part, the CH is what it is based on your water. I never try to adjust it. I just work with it."

Even if you have a fiberglass tub, there is an advantage to raising CH levels. My tub at refill had a CH of about 100 ppm. I raised it to 150ppm to decrease the likelihood of foaming in the future. The added calcium makes the water harder and therefore less likely to foam.

The reason I said that I "disagree slightly" is that obtaining Calcium can be a little difficult and maybe not worth the trouble. You probably only need to add a couple of ounces of Calcium to raise your CH, but most pool/spa supplies sell it in 5 pound buckets ... enough to last you a few life times. Calcium is typically used for swimming pools and therefore larger amounts are needed. I solved this problem by asking my brother (who has a swimming pool) for some Calcium from his large bucket of the stuff.

If you add calcium you should dissolve it first in some cold water before adding it the spa. It actually dissolves better in colder rather than warmer water. Also, calcium as it dissolves, gives off heat, so you should only dissolve small amounts (a couple of ounces) at a time. I put a couple of ounces in a large glass measuring cup ... no problems. Lastly, don't add calcium at the same time you add other chemicals because it could interfere with the calcium properly mixing with your tub water.

For some more information about the proper way to add calcium, see this post.

Anyway ... whether you add calcium or not ... I strongly agree with hrustar to use the pool calculator to adjust your CSI close to zero.

Good luck,

- Simon