Cedar hot tub challenges

[LucB]

Hi all,

A while ago I bought a beautiful cedar hot tub. The dealer said that the water would turn brown from the tannins for the first little while, but that this would go away after a few refills.  5 years later (!),  the water still turns the same dark brown shortly after filling.  s this normal?

In terms of sanitation, the tub came with an ionizer and an ozonator, which helps. I'm still putting a bit of chlorine in, over the years I've learned how much I can put in before it starts eating the wood and clogging my intakes and filters with wood pulp.  But I still have no idea as to what my water chemistry is like, apart from the fact that test strips tell me the ion levels are good.  I think the tannins just overwhelm everything.  There is a some brown foam that accumulates on the surface when the jets are on, which might indicate not enough chlorine... or is this foam just a byproduct of chlorine eating the wood? 

Haven't had any skin or health issues this entire time, so not too worried.  Just curious as to whether others have also encountered this.  

Thanks,

L

 

[Ryno]

Would love to hear how much chlorine you use in your cedar tub to bandage your bather load. I am also shocked that it’s still leeching tannins 5 years later. What does you daily/weekly management look like? Beautiful tub btw!