walleye Posted July 7, 2012 Report Share Posted July 7, 2012 Upon refilling my hot tub, I had the water pretty much balanced. My tap water has about 50 PPM CH. This has been the way it is each time. I added the proper amount of Calcium booster and had it around 300 PPM. I then realized that my supplier told me on all refills to add a bottle of "Metal Gone". Well, without thinking, I added after the fact. Now my CH is at zero. I have since added 12 ounces of calcium chloride and it is still at zero. (400 gallon tub) Do I need to drain and start over? Or can I keep adding till it comes up? AUHGG!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chem geek Posted July 8, 2012 Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 Some metal sequestrants bind strongly to calcium, though the better ones focus more on iron and copper. At any rate, if you aren't experiencing any foaming and your spa doesn't have any plaster or grout (most don't since most are fiberglass/acrylic or similar materials), then I wouldn't worry about the CH level (i.e. just handle this at your next water change). Also, you normally would only increase it to 150 ppm, not to 300 ppm, because of the higher spa temperatures that increase the saturation index and you only need enough CH to prevent foaming, not to saturate the water with calcium carbonate. Was the product Leisure Time Metal Gon? If so, then that's HEDP, but that usually doesn't bind calcium quite as strongly as you've seen (it does inhibit scale, but via other mechanisms than just binding calcium). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walleye Posted July 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 Chem Geek, it was Leisure time Metal Gone. I was in the middle of converting to a SWG when this happened. Last night I drained the tub as it was also cloudy for some reason. I really had things messed up. I rinsed toughly this AM and refilled. Added 6.5 pounds salt (5.5 pool salt and 1 lb certified mineral salt) All else I added was 20 ppm Borates with 20 mule borax, took the CH up to 150 with calcium chloride, added baking soda to raise TA, adjusted PH to 7.8 with dry acid after all else stabilized and used 6% Clorox to bring FC to 4 ppm. I have the Technichlore running now and all looks good. Just sat in it for 20 minutes and I think I am going to like the salt system. Maybe my imagination but it sure seems to feel better then the bromine system did. Skin just feels smoother I guess is the word. Felt good as the water temp is only at 86 degrees! So hot outside I thought I would just leave heat off for a bit. Current readings after getting out of tub are: CH = 150 TA = 100 Borates = 30 PH = 7.8 FC = 3 Sodium chloride = 1850 ppm (SWG is showing good level with green lights, I will take to pool store to have it checked digitally prior to adding more salt) Do you think I should add CYA? Pool guy said not to since it is a covered spa? I will do whatever you recommend. THX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chem geek Posted July 8, 2012 Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 If you don't add the CYA, then the chlorine will be about 5 times stronger than it needs to be and will oxidize your swimsuits and skin 5 times faster and degrade the hot tub cover faster as well. CYA isn't just about protecting chlorine from breakdown from sunlight, but also moderates chlorine's strength. Add about 20-30 ppm CYA. You may notice the difference since chlorine won't outgas as faster after the CYA is added. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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