Startup Chemicals For Hot Tub

[joeljmiller]

Hi all:

I am fairly new to the hot tub I have (I bought the house with the tub already here).

It is a 500 gallon, and I use Chlorine.

The first time I started up the tub, I struggled with PH and Alkalinity. The second time, I used "Leisure Time pH Balance Plus" when I first filled it. for my 500 gallon tub, I used a full 3lb bottle per the instructions. For that fill, I had perfect PH and Alkalinity for the entire time until I drained it. Now I am trying to recreate it without the $20-$30 expense.

The MSDS says that there are only 2 ingredients, baking soda and boric acid. Does anyone know what amounts to combine them in to recreate the mixture?

Thanks a lot,

Joel

Also - does anyone use anything homemade to clean the pipes before draining the tub, like 'Leisure Time Jet Clean'?

[chem geek]

Just lower your TA first to around 50 ppm via acid addition and aeration of the water at low pH (around 7.0). Then after aerating to get the pH back up to 7.5 or so, add 50 ppm borates by adding boric acid. That's all there is to it. Your pH should then be reasonably stable after that. You can use The Pool Calculator to calculate dosing.

[arches2]

you can also use 20 mule team borax found in the laundry isle as well. search this forum for borax and you'll find a lot of great tips.

Your observations was very good on the PH stabilizing though. Borates work wonders for pH stability and make maintenance so much easier.