Help me with a new hot tub sanitizing regimen

[DavidB]

Totally new to pools and spas.  We just had a brand new Jacuzzi J-480 installed at our house.  490 gallons.  2 bathers for 30 minutes at a time about 5-7 times per week.

 

After filling the tub PH was 7.8 and TA was 50.  I increased TA to 80 and lowered PH to 7.6.    That seems to be holding stable.

I did initial 3 tablespoons Dichlor to activate the Nature 2 stick and left the tub for 24 hours.  

I have been using 2 tablespoons MPS 15 minutes prior to each session.  I leave the jets running for those 15 minutes.  The MPS test shows OK levels on the Nature 2 strip the following day before adding new MPS and getting in so I know there is a residual MPS left the following day before I add more.  After a couple days Chlorine registers as 0 now but according to the nature 2 instructions I shouldn't need to use Chlorine except "As needed." which i don't really know what that means.

Should I just continue on with the 2 Tbls MPS 15 minutes prior to each usage?  Should I do more dichlor additions on the weekend or throughout the week?  Is it OK to use the spa with 0 chlorine after the initial superchlorination if I am maintaining 100F water, 2 tablespoons MPS almost every day, and a nature2 stick?

 

I've been reading for what seems like hours and there is so many old posts with conflicting information and it seems things have changed over the years.  Can someone steer me in the right direction with updated info on how to keep our brand new beautiful jacuzzi in top shape?  Our tub has ClearRay but no ozone.

[MPurcell]

MPS is an oxidizing agent. That means it burns away contaminants such as bather waste, cosmetics, soaps, etc. It is not, however, a sanitizing agent. That means it does not kill bacteria, and without a sanitizing agent, your put yourself and your family at risk. I don't know much about the Nature 2 stick, but from what I've read, they are really not very effective, and certainly are not recommended on this forum or the Trouble Free Pool forum. You can't use the Nature 2 stick safely without chlorine. See the thread right below this one on the Nature 2 stick.

The only approved sanitizers in the US are chlorine, bromine and biguanide. You need to decide on one of those. Biguanide is expensive, causes extreme problems for many users, and is not especially recommended for hot tubs anyway. So that leaves you with a decision between chlorine and bromine as a sanitizing agent. Either one works well, but many users on these forums prefer chlorine. I personally used bromine for the first six months of having a tub, but switched to chlorine and prefer it.

If you decide to use chlorine, you should follow the "Dichlor/bleach Method in a Nutshell" sticky thread you will find at the top of this forum. There is a similar sticky post over at the Trouble Free Pool forum.

It is good that you have been doing a lot of reading. I would suggest that you continue to read until the whole picture comes into focus for you. That's what I did when I first started out. The information available on these forums is mostly good and useful today. Yes, there has been some adjustment of the materials as experience has dictated over the years. But in general, you can trust the information you find on the forums more than you can the information from manufacturers or retailers of pool products.

[DavidB]

5 hours ago, DavidB said:

Totally new to pools and spas.  We just had a brand new Jacuzzi J-480 installed at our house.  490 gallons.  2 bathers for 30 minutes at a time about 5-7 times per week.

 

After filling the tub PH was 7.8 and TA was 50.  I increased TA to 80 and lowered PH to 7.6.    That seems to be holding stable.

I did initial 3 tablespoons Dichlor to activate the Nature 2 stick and left the tub for 24 hours.  

I have been using 2 tablespoons MPS 15 minutes prior to each session.  I leave the jets running for those 15 minutes.  The MPS test shows OK levels on the Nature 2 strip the following day before adding new MPS and getting in so I know there is a residual MPS left the following day before I add more.  After a couple days Chlorine registers as 0 now but according to the nature 2 instructions I shouldn't need to use Chlorine except "As needed." which i don't really know what that means.

Should I just continue on with the 2 Tbls MPS 15 minutes prior to each usage?  Should I do more dichlor additions on the weekend or throughout the week?  Is it OK to use the spa with 0 chlorine after the initial superchlorination if I am maintaining 100F water, 2 tablespoons MPS almost every day, and a nature2 stick?

 

I've been reading for what seems like hours and there is so many old posts with conflicting information and it seems things have changed over the years.  Can someone steer me in the right direction with updated info on how to keep our brand new beautiful jacuzzi in top shape?  Our tub has ClearRay but no ozone.

Yeah I read through that method.  Sounds like lots of work.  I want the least amount of work.  So far the tub seems great and no smell.  Its only been 6 days however since I filled it after flushing it.  Also I think I read somewhere that EPA says that 90F+ water + MPS + Nature2 is considered OK for sanitizer.  I am trying to just fine tune a sanitizing schedule that will keep things clean and safe for 3 month before i refill.

I am not opposed to trying the dichlor then bleach method at some point in the future but it seems overwhelming right now.  I just want to enjoy my tub

[arobbert]

The as needed part in the instructions means when the water gets cloudy, which it will  become at some point based on my experience. With mineral products you are locked in a cycle of shocking to correct cloudy water. I found since I switched to the dichlor/bleach method I use a small amount of chlorine daily and never have to shock. I ended up using about the same amount of chlorine in the long run without the expense of the N2 stick. I end up with lower overall chlorine levels because I don't have to shock.

[DavidB]

On 9/29/2017 at 10:50 AM, arobbert said:

The as needed part in the instructions means when the water gets cloudy, which it will  become at some point based on my experience. With mineral products you are locked in a cycle of shocking to correct cloudy water. I found since I switched to the dichlor/bleach method I use a small amount of chlorine daily and never have to shock. I ended up using about the same amount of chlorine in the long run without the expense of the N2 stick. I end up with lower overall chlorine levels because I don't have to shock.

I actually get eczema flare ups when using Chlorine at 1-3ppm.  I am trying to avoid going in the SPA while there is any amount of chlorine.  So far no skin issues whatsoever when using N2 a + MPS.  I shocked the spa with chlorine this weekend to 10ppm.  I got in after it tested at 2ppm using a Taylor kit not a strip.  Itchy eczema skin.....

[arobbert]

You could try Bromine. MPurcell used it in the past. Maybe he can comment on this. Otherwise your stuck. Use the N2 and MPS, shock with chlorine to correct problems and wait for the chlorine to dissipate. One thing you could do is use bleach instead of dichlor. Bleach doesn't have CYA (a stabilizer that makes it last longer) so it will dissipate a bit quicker.

[MPurcell]

If you have an allergy to chlorine, you may also have an allergy to bromine, since they are both halogens. But it may be worth a try to find out.

With a bromine tub, you put a large reserve (usually about 50 ppm) of sodium bromide into the water upon first fill, and you use a daily dose of chlorine to activate the bromine. Chlorine converts the sodium bromide into hypobromous acid, and when the hydrobromous acid oxidizes the bather wastes and other contaminates, it turns back into sodium bromide. The conversion of the sodium bromide happens very quickly, so you really have no chlorine in the tub when you are soaking. If you keep the water balanced, and the sanitizer level up to the recommended levels, you can maintain a clear clean tub for many months.

Here's a detailed post on how to use bromine: https://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/84-How-do-I-use-Bromine-in-my-spa-(or-pool)

[DavidB]

12 hours ago, MPurcell said:

If you have an allergy to chlorine, you may also have an allergy to bromine, since they are both halogens. But it may be worth a try to find out.

With a bromine tub, you put a large reserve (usually about 50 ppm) of sodium bromide into the water upon first fill, and you use a daily dose of chlorine to activate the bromine. Chlorine converts the sodium bromide into hypobromous acid, and when the hydrobromous acid oxidizes the bather wastes and other contaminates, it turns back into sodium bromide. The conversion of the sodium bromide happens very quickly, so you really have no chlorine in the tub when you are soaking. If you keep the water balanced, and the sanitizer level up to the recommended levels, you can maintain a clear clean tub for many months.

Here's a detailed post on how to use bromine: https://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/84-How-do-I-use-Bromine-in-my-spa-(or-pool)

Thanks guys. Bromine is out too.  I've been in a friend's bromine tub and had even worse issues than Chlorine.   Thanks for all the suggestions everyone.  Sounds like sticking with the N2, non C shock, and then occasional Chlorine shocks are the way to go for me.  

[MPurcell]

You can use hydrogen peroxide to neutralize chlorine. In this way, you could shock the tub to a fairly high level, and not have to wait for the chlorine to all come down naturally, but do it all in one or two days. I've done this fairly recently when super-shocking to try to get rid of combined chlorine, and it works well. When hydrogen peroxide combines with chlorine, it produces hydrochloric acid (or muriatic acid, the same chemical that is used as pH down) and water, so it will lower pH a little but is otherwise harmless. To do this, the volume of 3% hydrogen peroxide needed to neutralize X amount of FC is equivalent to the volume of 6% bleach that would raise the FC by X.