Vicki5112 Posted September 30, 2021 Report Share Posted September 30, 2021 Hiya folks, I am experiencing a problem with our spa & I'm not sure what to even try to fix 😉 When the filter is in & locked down the water will not circulate correctly through the filter. It has surges with the jets. If we loosen the filter the jets work fine but I know it is not filtering the water this way. I have tried 3 different filters that we had on hand. Two were bought within the past year. We clean it regularly with SoftSoak (we use Baqua Spa chemicals). Thought it might be that the filter wasn't clean enough so we brought them down to the house & cleaned them with the power washer & replaced it but it still does the same thing then when it is locked down. We had a situation the past few weeks where it had been too warm to enjoy the spa so we didn't go out. The water got really cloudy, kind of yellowish and a bit stinky. I thought it needed some water clarifier so I added that 3 times but it didn't help. So anyone know what our problem might be. I have looked high & low on the net & can't seem to find anyone with this issue. Hot tub weather is upon us & I sure miss going out to relax in the tub. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicki5112 Posted October 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2021 So I have been researching, not really sure what to research but I did see something that might indicate a circulation pump issue. Think this could be the issue? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted October 1, 2021 Report Share Posted October 1, 2021 7 hours ago, Vicki5112 said: anyone know what our problem might be. Answer: 7 hours ago, Vicki5112 said: (we use Baqua Spa chemicals). If it works without the filter then the filter is the problem. A clogged filter cannot be washed clean, it is inside of the filter fibers. Baqua is notorious for this. Search this forum for other threads on the subject, or just ask @waterbearabout it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicki5112 Posted October 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2021 OK, thanks so much for your for your response. We have used Baquaspa for over 10 years. I'll go out & get a new filter today if I can find one locally & see if that fixes it. I hope it does since it's a much cheaper fix 😉 We had been soaking our filters in Soft Soak as the spa place doesn't carry Baquaspa cleaner. The spa folks said it was OK to use that brand with Baquaspa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicki5112 Posted October 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2021 OK, so I can't get a filter locally so I ordered one on Amazon. Question...is there a way I can keep the water from getting so yucky until Tuesday when the new filter comes? We had just cleaned & refilled the tub on Wednesday. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted October 1, 2021 Report Share Posted October 1, 2021 Shock heavily. I am not that familiar with Baqua, except for the service calls related to it's use, and I always recommend not using it. You are one of a handful of people I have heard from in my 26 years in the field who has used Baqua successfully for any significant period. @waterbearis the chemical guru, I am a repairman. I'm sure he can offer you some better advice. My advice is to dump it, clean it, and start over on the dichlor/bleach method. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicki5112 Posted October 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2021 Thanks I suspect you are quite right about no way of keeping it from getting yucky till the filter comes. We had never had a problem with the Baquaspa since we started using it when we bought our first tub in 2008. We recommended it to our neighbor since they were impressed how clear & nice smelling our spa was. They had nothing but problems trying to balance it. They went back to their old method but they still complain about the chlorine smell. I suspect they aren't getting that balanced well either. I was reading some of the comments from @waterbear & have picked up some info that I'll share with hubby. I appreciate the help. This has been a great informative forum for me & I have appreciated having the access to it. You may not remember but last year we had a leak & used the Fix A Leak...we have been fortunate there too so far as we haven't had a leak since July of last year 🙂 But as you said at the time, it can have it's drawbacks. We only paid $100 for the tub since the seller couldn't find the leak so we figured we didn't have much to lose if it didn't work 😉 Pic of my $100 hot tub 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbear Posted October 26, 2021 Report Share Posted October 26, 2021 Pretty sure your filter is clogged with "baquagoo" (technical term for the stuff that forms when biguinide sanitizes, it causes bacteria cell walls to 'explode' creating a goo that clogs filters and causes scum lines. The peroxide oxidizder helps to a degree but if there is a high bacteria load it can only do so much. Each person entering the tub adds urine, sweat (almost identical chemically to urine), and feces to the water no matter how clean they THINK they are and the sanitizer/oxidizer has to deal with it. Both chlorine and bromine are both sanitizers and oxidizers. Biguinide is only a santizer and relies on a peroxide to oxidize. I am not a fan of biguinde systems. In addition, the bacteria eventually develop a resistance leading to white water mold and pink slime (both bacterial). The only differenced between BaquaSpa and Softsoak is that the former is made by KIK (multiple pool/spa brands including Biolab, SpaGuard, Clorox Pool & Spa, Natural Chemistry, SeaKlear, and others) and the latter is made by Sigura Water (multiple pool/spa brands including Baqua, HTH, Renzezvous, GLB, Applied Biochemists and others). Both are biguinide/peroxide sanitizer systems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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