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Refilled Recently Now Trying To Balance Spa Water


bbrock

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Hi,

Unfortunately, I found this website after I had already drained/filled my spa. I have been in contact with the rep at Aquaterra, the manufacturer of my spa, and went of his info to bal

ance the water, but I am seriously questioning the info. I have a 300 gal. Aquaterra Vitale spa for which I sanitize with bromine granules and shock with MPS. Per his recommendation, I don't use a bromine floater as that was possibly the cause of needing to have a seal on the water pump/filter replaced as the spa was leaking. He stated bromine floaters are not recommended for my spa as they oversanitize and can damage the jets, pumps, etc.

Per his instructions, I balance the water and then added my bromine and shock. I added 3 tsp of bromine granules and 3 Tbsp of MPS on Sat. 4/12. Everyday since I have been checking the water chem b/c I have now learned of the benefits of test kits vs. strips and I notice the bromine have been very low. I have added about 1 tsp per day on Sun. and today Mon. Also, after I used the spa on Sat. I added 1 tsp. of bromine as I was instructed to add 1 tsp. after I use it.

Basically, my question is how do I balance the bromine so I don't have to keep checking it daily? Should I use a bromine floater, or is that the cause of premature seal and component wear? What do I do now for a bromine reserve?

FYI, I have read and bookmarked Nitro's water maintenance post and also Waterbear's Bromine for Beginners post. I don't know who to follow, Nitro/Waterbear or the manufacturer rep.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Tx.

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I would follow the instructions on this website, not the reps. I have found these dealers are good at selling you a hot tub, and really don't know much about balancing your water, and then sanitizing it. I would add 1/2 ounce of sodium bromide per 100 gallons of water, as the "bromine for beginners" sticky suggests. Then I would buy your brominating tablets, and add them to your new floater. I am a new hot tubber, and I am using this method. In the beginning, I would suggest checking pH and bromine level every day until you can get a feel for how much you are using. Think of it like adding a gallon of gas to your car. When you drive 25 miles, the car shuts down. But you wanted to drive 50 miles, so you add more gas. If you use your tub more and with more people, you need to add more sanitizer. It's not one teaspoon per day, and you're good. It's all about use, people time + number of people = amount of sanitizer to add. My floater doesn't keep up with my heavy bather load. I have to add bleach every day so my bromine tests between 3 and 6ppm. I have a family of 5, and the tub sees people morning and night most days, and all day long on the weekends. I bought my sodium bromide and brominating tablets at a big box store. Lowes, Menards, Home Depot, should have what you need. Good luck.

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Tx for taking the time to reply Greenhorn.

Should I be concerned of what the manufacturer rep told me that it is not recommended to use floaters with bromine as it can lead to over-sanitization, which could lead to extra wear on spa parts/equipment such as pump, heater, seals? For example, after my wife and I moved into the home, I soon thereafter noticed that the spa was leaking from the equipment compartment. It turned out that one of the seals/washers on the pump had failed due to wear. It was replaced. I emailed my manufacturer rep and he stated that it is possible that the bromine floater that was being used could have caused this. As such, he recommended bromine granules. But, it makes no sense that it was never mentioned to me about setting a bromine reserve. It does not seem logical that it is possible to use my 300 gal. spa right after a water change with having balanced the water chem and sanitizing with 3 tsp. of bromine granules and MPS, vs. setting up a bromine reserve.

Perhaps, the wear on the pump seal was attributed to other chemicals being out of balance, pH or TA. Could that be?

Lastly, in Waterbear's post here and at TroubleFreePool titled "How do I use Bromine in my spa (or pool)?", it discusses that either MPS or chlorine can be used to shock. Which one will have less effect on TA and pH? Also, with either the step 2 or step 3 method, do I add any bromine granules or shock after using the spa (I have been told to use 1 tsp of bromine granules after using the spa)?

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Did you buy this spa new?

Most floaters that I have seen have threads on the stem so you can adjust it to your use. Our spa gets used a lot, and therefore I have it adjusted to dissolve the tabs as much as possible. Your rep stating that floaters over-sanitize is bogus. Assuming you acquired this spa with a home purchase, it's quite possible the seal that went bad was from un-balanced water or under sanitizing, over sanitizing.

Chlorine, and or bleach, will have less effect on your pH and TA. If you have your bromide bank in the spa, I would add bleach to it if your floater can't keep a bromine level of 3-6ppm. Shocking refers to raising the level to 10 or more ppm. I'm still green around the gills, but everything I've learned is on this site and a few others. Good luck.

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Tx Greenhorn for the response and info.

I have s/u the bromide bank. I am not sure if I will use 2 or 3 step bromine mgmt. So far, I'm following 2 step, but I'm unclear on what to do if I need to add more bromine... Add some bromine granules I have (maybe 1 tsp) to bring up level, or use chlorine shock to activate bromine from the bromide bank? Btw, my spa us approx 300 gal., and I read I would use 3/4 cup of 6% bleach or 1 cup of 5 and some change% bleach to shock. But , do I add that same amount ea. time if I check the bromine and it is low?

Can a bromide bank ever be completely used up from shocking?

The 3 step system does seem easier with regards to not having to do daily management/checking of bromine, which seems like has to happen w/ the 2 step.

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The bromide bank would get used up from bromine or bromide getting removed from the spa. Bromine will outgas some. Both bromine and bromide can be carried-out with water removed from the spa so is diluted when you add more water to the spa (evaporation and refill doesn't change it, however). Bromine can react with some organics forming chemicals that may coagulate and get caught in the filter and then be removed when you clean the filter.

Generally though, the bromide bank that is initially set up at around 30 ppm (using the 1/2 ounce per 100 gallons dosing specified on most sodium bromide bottles) doesn't get depleted during the usual time one goes between water changes.

The 3-step system that uses bromine tabs in a floater is most useful for keeping the bromine level maintained in between soaks. You then just add oxidizer after your soak to handle the incremental amount associated with your bather waste. Note that if you have an ozonator that it will make more bromine from the bromide bank and might be enough to not require bromine tabs in a floater or may just mean you need to turn down the dosing amount from the floater.

As for how much oxidizer to add, you should add whatever amount is needed to maintain a bromine level. A rough rule-of-thumb is that with no ozonator then every person-hour of soaking in a hot (104ºF) spa requires around 3-1/2 teaspoons of Dichlor or 5 fluid ounces of 6% bleach (3-1/2 fluid ounces of 8.25% bleach -- most bleach is moving to this concentration) or 7 teaspoons of non-chlorine shock (43% MPS). This is independent of spa size.

As for how much to add each day or two in between soaks, that can be calculated based on your spa volume where in 300 gallons you get 4 ppm bromine from 0.13 ounces (about 3/4 teaspoon) of Dichlor, 1.1 fluid ounces of 6% bleach (about 0.8 fluid ounces of 8.25% bleach), or 0.35 ounces (about 1-1/2 teaspoons as it's rather dense) of non-chlorine shock (43% MPS).

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