Baqua, Goo, Scum Lines, And Light Cover

[cosmos]

I used bromine for the past 5 years and I got tired of the smell, and of the bright white waterline rings on my tub.

I recently switched to Baqua, and now have that peanut butter goo, my blue light cover deteriorated, and I still have the bright white rings.

I've drained the tub. And I'm willing to try again with the Baqua - but would love some advice:

1. How do I get rid of the amber goo? How do I keep it away? I was able to be a little lazy with the bromine (was able to ignore my tub for a month at a time); will I have to be religious with the baqua chemicals?

2. I unplugged my ozonator (retailer told me it'd burn off the baqua chemicals too quickly) - would leaving it plugged in help?

3. Can I find a light cover that the baqua won't deteriorate? (I like the blue light in the water)

4. Does anyone know how to get rid of the white tub rings? I've used plastic brillo, baqua shell cleaner, orangeclean, even a soft-scrub product; no luck.

Thank you!

Cosmos

[devilwoman]

Cosmo,

I did not use Baqua but used Soft Soak from SpaGuard which is similar and I got the same thing, the gooy peanutbuttery substance. It was because my ph was too high and alkalinity was too low. I was for awhile any way, constantly testing my tub until I got my ph down and my Alkalinity in check. It was a challenge, but after that it was pretty simple. Our city water is way high in the ph area, 8.4 so we used alot of spa down to get the ph in check. Which means the alkalinity was always out of wack as well.

I think if you spend the time to get those two things incheck the goo will go away.

Good luck.

edit: ozone. We kept our ozone on all the time.

[tom the spa guy]

I used bromine for the past 5 years and I got tired of the smell, and of the bright white waterline rings on my tub.

I recently switched to Baqua, and now have that peanut butter goo, my blue light cover deteriorated, and I still have the bright white rings.

I've drained the tub. And I'm willing to try again with the Baqua - but would love some advice:

1. How do I get rid of the amber goo? How do I keep it away? I was able to be a little lazy with the bromine (was able to ignore my tub for a month at a time); will I have to be religious with the baqua chemicals?

2. I unplugged my ozonator (retailer told me it'd burn off the baqua chemicals too quickly) - would leaving it plugged in help?

3. Can I find a light cover that the baqua won't deteriorate? (I like the blue light in the water)

4. Does anyone know how to get rid of the white tub rings? I've used plastic brillo, baqua shell cleaner, orangeclean, even a soft-scrub product; no luck.

Thank you!

Cosmos

Hi Cosmos:

Baqua is a very good product. Here are some tips:

1. The amber goo that you describe is a couple of things. Partially, it's the contaminants in your water that the Baqua Spa could not dissolve and dissapate. Baqua actually coagulates these contaminants so that your filter can catch it and you can wipe it off, so a little of the amber goo will be present each time you drain and refill with fresh water or add a significant amount of water (from spillage/evaporation). The other partial reason for the goo is Metals in the Water. There are over 80 metals out there, but we only test for 2 - copper and iron. Using Metal control (it's the one chemical that you can put in your spa and not worry about overchemicalizing) will also help to control the goo.

2. Tests with an Ozonator and Baqua Spa showed that it "ate" up Baqua Sanitizer more than no ozonator. However, the results were very minimal - Baqua puts it in their literature that you should check your sanitzer lever more often if you have a sanitizer, but just because their lawyers said they needed to. But the difference is really minimal.

3. The white cloudiness is usually caused by high Ph, Alkalinity, & Calcium Hardness Levels. If any or all of these are extremely high, there is more potential for the white waterline ring.

Hope this helps.

tomthespaguy

[SmilinBare]

I started with BaquaSpa in my new tub and, once I figured out how to work with it, find that I love it. Just the other day a friend of mine joined me for a soak and his comment says it all: "This baqua stuff is great! It's like there's nothing in the water other than water."

Cosmo. Is your tub inside or outdoors? I read somewhere, while doing MY research on BaquaSpa, that if you're using it indoors you should cut the recommended dosages in half.

[IknewIwasright]

I also started with Baquaspa, and after learning the whole process, have enjoyed it. I have an ozonator that is not shut off. It doesn't really seem to be a problem at all.

[Rod Roehnelt]

Is Baqua similar to Spa Magic, or is Spa Magic an entirely different concoction?

[IknewIwasright]

I cant answer that for you as I have only ever used Baquaspa. All I can tell you is that my wife has used both clorine and baqua, and she raves over the Baqua and the lack of odor.

[Brulan1]

I cant answer that for you as I have only ever used Baquaspa. All I can tell you is that my wife has used both clorine and baqua, and she raves over the Baqua and the lack of odor.

If it has an odor it is the spa cover. Alot of people still like the bromide because it overpowers the musty smell

[IknewIwasright]

The musty smell is easily overcome by cleaning it on occasion.

[tony]

Is Baqua similar to Spa Magic, or is Spa Magic an entirely different concoction?

Baqua is a biguanide, entirely different than Spa Magic. Other biguanide products are Soft Soak by Spa Guard (Bio Guard), and Free by Leisure Time.

There are three approved sanitizers, chlorine, bromine and biguanides. Spa Magic is a bacteriacide.

[Brulan1]

The musty smell is easily overcome by cleaning it on occasion.

Lysol

[cosmos]

Hi Cosmos:

Baqua is a very good product. Here are some tips:

1. The amber goo that you describe is a couple of things. Partially, it's the contaminants in your water that the Baqua Spa could not dissolve and dissapate. Baqua actually coagulates these contaminants so that your filter can catch it and you can wipe it off, so a little of the amber goo will be present each time you drain and refill with fresh water or add a significant amount of water (from spillage/evaporation). The other partial reason for the goo is Metals in the Water. There are over 80 metals out there, but we only test for 2 - copper and iron. Using Metal control (it's the one chemical that you can put in your spa and not worry about overchemicalizing) will also help to control the goo.

2. Tests with an Ozonator and Baqua Spa showed that it "ate" up Baqua Sanitizer more than no ozonator. However, the results were very minimal - Baqua puts it in their literature that you should check your sanitzer lever more often if you have a sanitizer, but just because their lawyers said they needed to. But the difference is really minimal.

3. The white cloudiness is usually caused by high Ph, Alkalinity, & Calcium Hardness Levels. If any or all of these are extremely high, there is more potential for the white waterline ring.

Hope this helps.

tomthespaguy

Thanks Tom the Spa Guy!

Is Metal Gone an ok product to add to the tub with Baqua?

Of course my retailer checked iron and copper, and pronounced that "the metals are fine".

I scraped the goo off almost everything, except it has hardened on the bottom of my cover - left a brown film I can't remove with the baqua shell cleaner, or citris shine, or a plastic brillo...

How do I get it off?

jc

[Brulan1]

Thanks Tom the Spa Guy!

Is Metal Gone an ok product to add to the tub with Baqua?

Of course my retailer checked iron and copper, and pronounced that "the metals are fine".

I scraped the goo off almost everything, except it has hardened on the bottom of my cover - left a brown film I can't remove with the baqua shell cleaner, or citris shine, or a plastic brillo...

How do I get it off?

jc

Bioclean by Natural Chemistry the same company that makes Spa perfect. "Bioclean"!!! There is no detergent either and it gets anything off

[waterbear]

1. The amber goo that you describe is a couple of things. Partially, it's the contaminants in your water that the Baqua Spa could not dissolve and dissapate. Baqua actually coagulates these contaminants so that your filter can catch it and you can wipe it off, so a little of the amber goo will be present each time you drain and refill with fresh water or add a significant amount of water (from spillage/evaporation).

One of the places the "goo" can come from is your fill water. Biguinide does not react well with chlorine and if there is a free chlorine residual in your fill water ( as there is in most city water) then it will react with the biguinide and create the "goo" which will clog up your filter and deposit all over your spa.

the white water line sounds like scale deposit. that will happen with any type of sanitizer if your water is not balanced. Get a drop based test kit and check your Alkalinity, Calcium (even if you don't add any there might be calcium in your fill water), and pH. Test strips are not accurate enought to properly balance your water.

I also noticed someone comment about the 'musty smell' of a biguinide sanitized spa in this thread. That can happen if the hydrogen peroxide oxidizer is not used enough and there is a high level of organics in the water. It means you need to shock (this is assuming the biguinide levels are proper)

AS far as the blue light cover deteriorating, that is most likely from your ozonator. Anyone who has ever used ozone in a salt water aquarium (and it's been used in aquariums MUCH longer than it has been used in spas) will tell you that ozone will degrade and destroy plastic of variuos types!

Hope this helps!

[SmilinBare]

A ha!

Thanks, waterbear! I wasn't "getting" that BaquaSpa is reacting with the chlorine in our city water and therefore generating the goo! So, even though I DO use a hose-end filter when I add more water to the tub, it still doesn't eliminate the chlorine. A ha! A ha! A ha!

Now. I stopped at a pooly supply place the other day to get a drops-style test kit but passed it up because I thought I did NOT need to test for chlorine in the water because I'm using BaquaSpa but I do. I want to fine tune my tub water as much as I can in an effort to keep the addition of "chemicals" to a minimum. I figured that the test stroips were a weak link in the water sampling process.

[waterbear]

A ha!

Thanks, waterbear! I wasn't "getting" that BaquaSpa is reacting with the chlorine in our city water and therefore generating the goo! So, even though I DO use a hose-end filter when I add more water to the tub, it still doesn't eliminate the chlorine. A ha! A ha! A ha!

Now. I stopped at a pooly supply place the other day to get a drops-style test kit but passed it up because I thought I did NOT need to test for chlorine in the water because I'm using BaquaSpa but I do. I want to fine tune my tub water as much as I can in an effort to keep the addition of "chemicals" to a minimum. I figured that the test stroips were a weak link in the water sampling process.

Just for your info. The manufature of zeolite which is a filter medium for pool sand filters recommends that the filter medium be cleaned MONTHLY when using biguinide and for bromine and chlorine it is YEARLY! Biguinide generates goo whether it is reacting with chlorine, bacteria, or whatever else is in your water. It is the nature of the beast! I kept my old spa on bromine for many years and my new spa/pool combo is on chlorine with a salt water generator. I don't even have to rinse off when I get out. NO smell, irriatation, etc. Bromine was good but that smell would linger on your skin. Biguinide was too expensive and just never kept the water clean, IMHO. If I wanted to soak in peanut butter I'd jump in a jar of Jif!

[SmilinBare]

I'm using a MicroPure filter element which is made of plastic fibers (as opposed to a paper filter cartridge). The most "goo" I've ever had to remove from the filter basket was, maybe, a thimblefull.

>>If I wanted to soak in peanut butter I'd jump in a jar of Jif!<< LOL! If your water was THAT gooey, I'd have to guess that both the hygiene of the soakers AND the tub water maintenance was lacking.

To date, I am very pleased with the BaquaSpa sanitizing system and recommend it highly. I would be very disappointed if, for some reason, I was forced to switch to a bromine or chlorine product. In fact, I'd probably just sell the tub and forget it.

Each to his own.

[waterbear]

I'm using a MicroPure filter element which is made of plastic fibers (as opposed to a paper filter cartridge). The most "goo" I've ever had to remove from the filter basket was, maybe, a thimblefull.

Actually, the cartridges are made of a polyester material, not paper.

>>If I wanted to soak in peanut butter I'd jump in a jar of Jif!<< LOL! If your water was THAT gooey, I'd have to guess that both the hygiene of the soakers AND the tub water maintenance was lacking.

No, just the main drawback to biguinide. It produces goo. It is actually considered a feature. Your filter is supposed to trap it in theory.

To date, I am very pleased with the BaquaSpa sanitizing system and recommend it highly. I would be very disappointed if, for some reason, I was forced to switch to a bromine or chlorine product. In fact, I'd probably just sell the tub and forget it.

I am glad you are one of the pleased biguinide users. Most pool/spa supply stores like people like you becuase they make a lot of money off of them.

Each to his own.

If you ever were forced to try chlorine or bromine you might change your mind about those systems All three system work when done properly. I would hate to see you give up your spa. Each system has it's strengths and weaknesses, Each one works. There is a difference in how much they actually cost over a years time and how much time you need to invest to keep your water healthy. My point is that chlorine is the easiest and the least expensive once you understand it and that biguinde is the most expensive and most restrictive when done properly. The important thing with all three systems is to keep you water balanced and sanitized properly!

[SmilinBare]

Well, I'll keep your advice in mind if I ever tire of BaquaSpa. Thanks!

>>I am glad you are one of the pleased biguinide users. Most pool/spa supply stores like people like you because they make a lot of money off of them.<<

Isn't that one of the primary reasons to be in any retail business? Hey! I'm just doing my part to support the local economy! Beats shopping at MallWart!

[waterbear]

Well, I'll keep your advice in mind if I ever tire of BaquaSpa. Thanks!

Once you get watermold because the organism has developed an immunity to bguinide you might need it. This is usually when most biguinide users convert (hope you keep your spa cover VERY clean, this helps to delay or prevent it from occuring!)

Also, thanks for helping to keep my paychecks coming. I work summers in a pool store!

[SmilinBare]

>>Most pool/spa supply stores like people like you because they make a lot of money off of them.<<

Most of the pool/spa supply stores I've been in, recently, DON'T carry the BaquaSpa product line. I finally resorted to driving to the dealer who sold me our tub because I KNEW he had it. If, as Waterbear says, spa supply stores like to sell BaquaSpa then why did all of the hot tub dealers we visited when we were shopping try to talk us out of using BaquaSpa? Even the place where we ultimately bought our tub initially discouraged us from using BaquaSpa!

I suspect that in actuality, pool/spa dealers make lots more money on chlorine and bromine sanitizers because the profit margin is better.

Until we chanced upon a BaquaSpa-sanitized outdoor hot tub at a friend's house a couple of years ago, we were convinced that a tub wouldn't work for us because we DON'T LIKE chlorine or bromine. We've been in numerous "heavily chlorinated" tubs over the years (my gym, her health club, hotel hot tubs, other friends' tubs) and regretted the chlorine/bromine experience every time. Had we not had the good fortune of having friends who had "discovered" BaquaSpa (yes...they switched from bromine to BaquaSpa!), we may never have had the pleasure of having our own outdoor tub.

IMO, $300.00 a year for products to keep my hot tub clean and healthy isn't much at all. Heck! Most of my neighbors have $68.00 per month cable television bills!

[sharkman009]

>>Most pool/spa supply stores like people like you because they make a lot of money off of them.<<

Most of the pool/spa supply stores I've been in, recently, DON'T carry the BaquaSpa product line. I finally resorted to driving to the dealer who sold me our tub because I KNEW he had it. If, as Waterbear says, spa supply stores like to sell BaquaSpa then why did all of the hot tub dealers we visited when we were shopping try to talk us out of using BaquaSpa? Even the place where we ultimately bought our tub initially discouraged us from using BaquaSpa!

I suspect that in actuality, pool/spa dealers make lots more money on chlorine and bromine sanitizers because the profit margin is better.

Until we chanced upon a BaquaSpa-sanitized outdoor hot tub at a friend's house a couple of years ago, we were convinced that a tub wouldn't work for us because we DON'T LIKE chlorine or bromine. We've been in numerous "heavily chlorinated" tubs over the years (my gym, her health club, hotel hot tubs, other friends' tubs) and regretted the chlorine/bromine experience every time. Had we not had the good fortune of having friends who had "discovered" BaquaSpa (yes...they switched from bromine to BaquaSpa!), we may never have had the pleasure of having our own outdoor tub.

IMO, $300.00 a year for products to keep my hot tub clean and healthy isn't much at all. Heck! Most of my neighbors have $68.00 per month cable television bills!

Your right for a spa that is used regularly $25 a month isnt bad. I use softsoak in my spa and regardless of the stories you hear I'll never switch back. Its nice to get in the spa and when you get out you cant even tell there is any chemical in there. In my case I would pay more if I had to just because of the feel of the water.

I've also found the chemical levels in my area easier to maintain after swithching from bromine to softsoak.

[artie]

Smilinbare,

I was using Baqua for two years. I loved it. Unfortunetly I developed a water mold that would not go away no matter how many times I refilled my spa. I am now on bromine and am having no problems but I know that the mold could come back. Enjoy your Baqua experience for as long as you can but do not try to pull back on your sanitizer regimen. Lowering these levels WILL lead to unsanitary conditions and water mold. Water mold is showing up on most of the tubs that have been using Baqua eventually. As a matter of fact most dealers that sell Baqua have prepared protocols for tub owners who have the problem. Unfortunetly the only cure is super chlorination that needs to be run through every pipe for a couple of days. Any part that is missed will innoculate the whole tub again within a week. I keep my Bromine tub at 2-3 PPM and I have no water smell or skin problems. So dont be afraid to go to Bromine if you need to. I loved my Baqua and even though it was about 3 times as expensive as Bromine the water did feel smoother. But I am not going to go through the mold problem again for at least a year or two then maybe I'll try and go back.

Good luck

Artie

[The Spa Guru]

Try removing the scum lines with a solution of vinegar / water or alcohol. Never use anything abrasive on your acrylic finish!

[djv]

1. The amber goo that you describe is a couple of things. Partially, it's the contaminants in your water that the Baqua Spa could not dissolve and dissapate. Baqua actually coagulates these contaminants so that your filter can catch it and you can wipe it off, so a little of the amber goo will be present each time you drain and refill with fresh water or add a significant amount of water (from spillage/evaporation).

One of the places the "goo" can come from is your fill water. Biguinide does not react well with chlorine and if there is a free chlorine residual in your fill water ( as there is in most city water) then it will react with the biguinide and create the "goo" which will clog up your filter and deposit all over your spa.

the white water line sounds like scale deposit. that will happen with any type of sanitizer if your water is not balanced. Get a drop based test kit and check your Alkalinity, Calcium (even if you don't add any there might be calcium in your fill water), and pH. Test strips are not accurate enought to properly balance your water.

I also noticed someone comment about the 'musty smell' of a biguinide sanitized spa in this thread. That can happen if the hydrogen peroxide oxidizer is not used enough and there is a high level of organics in the water. It means you need to shock (this is assuming the biguinide levels are proper)

AS far as the blue light cover deteriorating, that is most likely from your ozonator. Anyone who has ever used ozone in a salt water aquarium (and it's been used in aquariums MUCH longer than it has been used in spas) will tell you that ozone will degrade and destroy plastic of variuos types!

Hope this helps!

//\\

Degrade the plastic! Wow. Sounds like there are a lot of problems with ozonators. Can they cause an odor? I'm reading they eat up chlorine? I have a "Sunzone Ozone Water Purification" system (6472-625) in a 97 Sundance Spa. Do they wear out and then cause a problem? I see the bubbles coming in. Does that mean its still working? Or does age mean one way or the other for working correctly?