Tokoloshe Posted October 28, 2010 Report Share Posted October 28, 2010 Hi Guys. I've only had a tub for 5 months and I've been having a problem with the whole chemistry thing. The initial filling water is very alkaline so I threw in some Dry Acid to bring it down. I have then been using Stabilised 20g Chlorine Tablets (1 Tablet/day) and I've seen the Ph drop drastically until we were all itching like crazy. I then poured in some proprietory Sodium Carbonate to increase the Ph. Eventually I dumped that water and the second filling I've simply put in the regulation 1 tablet/day. The Ph is now very low (30 days after filling) and I'm putting in Na2CO3. I have found out that the tablets have Trichloroisocyanuric Acid as their active ingredient so I guess it would acidify the water. One thing I have noticed is that the test strips do not reflect any Chlorine content - it looks as if I'm not using any Cl at all but the water is beautifully clean. I'm a bit worried that I'm using the wrong product or are spas simply a bast**d to keep neutral? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razorhog Posted October 28, 2010 Report Share Posted October 28, 2010 I'm no expert, but I don't think you should be using tablets. Take some time to do some reading here. Nitro's water maintenance guide is long, but worth the read. http://www.poolspaforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=13634 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonc Posted October 28, 2010 Report Share Posted October 28, 2010 I'm no expert, but I don't think you should be using tablets. Take some time to do some reading here. Nitro's water maintenance guide is long, but worth the read. http://www.poolspaforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=13634 I agree with Razorhog. Do NOT use triclor tablets as your regular sanitizer. Also, the link Razorhog provided about the diclor-then-bleach method is what I am using. It works great. I used to use triclor tablets in a floater and I also had problems with low pH and constantly adding "pH up" chemical. I switched to the diclor-then-bleach method described in the link above. No more problems with acidic water. Also, regular triclor use over time raises your CYA levels too high and that interferes with the availability of FC to sanitize your tub. Occasionally, I do use a floater with triclor when I'm away on vacation to keep FC levels up. The keyword here is "occasional", triclor does not work well as your regular sanitizer in a hottub. - Simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly Hot Tub Posted October 28, 2010 Report Share Posted October 28, 2010 Also agree, tri-chlor is not for hot tubs. The itchy is from acid water, or a rash because you have no chlorine reading. just because your water is clear does not mean anything. Acid water usually is pretty clear. if you have no chlorine reading you have no chlorine, if you want a chlorine system, you need to do the bleach method. if you want a tablet floating system, you should use bromine, not tri-chlor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quantumchromodynamics Posted October 28, 2010 Report Share Posted October 28, 2010 Assuming that your tub is 400 gallons, 1 tab per day will add 12 ppm of chlorine and 7 ppm of cyanuric acid per day. Your chlorine is probably very high, and the cyanuric acid is probably over 200 ppm. The itching can be from the pH being too low, the chlorine being too high or from bacteria caused by low chlorine or by the cyanuric acid being too high for the chlorine level. The chlorine is probably not registering on the strips because it is too high and bleaching out the color. You need to dump the water and the test strips. Refill, follow Nitro's dichlor/bleach method and use the Taylor K-2006 test kit. http://www.poolspaforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=13634 http://www.poolspaforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=18706 http://www.poolspaforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=23090 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokoloshe Posted October 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2010 Great information and all contrary to what I was given by the "salesman" I will be changing regimes as soon as I can get the necessary product. Many thanks for providing all the links and information. Good on you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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