Offer to help

[samshpamalta47]

@Mdragger88 - I had granulated chlorine, chlorine pucks, and non chlorine shock.

Ok it's empty. Weather could be better. It's raining, but not too cold.

Here's my progress:

Over filling, running the equipment after adding 150ml of liquid chlorine 12%.


Added Ahh-some, running the equipment with the aerators on.


Got a bit of grime. Not much foam.


Added the correct amount of Ahh-Some because I added 4 level HALF teaspoons the first time. Got more grime. I sprayed, wiped, scooped, scrubbed.


Draining, spraying, wiping, scrubbing.


Ran the jets when empty. Shopvacced, sucked all the crevices, and jets.


Refilling.


When should I add chlorine? Which one? I have granulated chlorine. If I've grokked anything from Nitro's phd thesis and you guys I need to add CYA. I don't have a way to measure it, my K-2006 kit hasn't arrived. Should I assume adding 40gms of granulated chlorine for 36ppm of CYA? When should I add it? If I'm wrong about all of this what is my next step?

 

[Leebo]

Can you take a photo of the active ingredient for the granular chlorine?

 

[Mdragger88]

@Mdragger88 - I had granulated chlorine, chlorine pucks, and non chlorine shock.

Ok it's empty. Weather could be better. It's raining, but not too cold.

Here's my progress:

Over filling, running the equipment after adding 150ml of liquid chlorine 12%.
View attachment 382421

Added Ahh-some, running the equipment with the aerators on.
View attachment 382422

Got a bit of grime. Not much foam.
View attachment 382423

Added the correct amount of Ahh-Some because I added 4 level HALF teaspoons the first time. Got more grime. I sprayed, wiped, scooped, scrubbed.
View attachment 382424

Draining, spraying, wiping, scrubbing.
View attachment 382425

Ran the jets when empty. Shopvacced, sucked all the crevices, and jets.
View attachment 382426

Refilling.
View attachment 382427

When should I add chlorine? Which one? I have granulated chlorine. If I've grokked anything from Nitro's phd thesis and you guys I need to add CYA. I don't have a way to measure it, my K-2006 kit hasn't arrived. Should I assume adding 40gms of granulated chlorine for 36ppm of CYA? When should I add it? If I'm wrong about all of this what is my next step?

You don’t need to add it all at once - just add 10ppm of dichlor (if that’s what u have) - make a note that it has raised your cya by 9ppm (as this will be your new cya value until u add more dichlor)
You will do this 2 or 3 more times over the next few days as fc drops near minimum to chlorinate your water & get cya to about 30ppm then you will proceed to chlorinate with bleach thereafter. Always keeping above min for your cya FC/CYA Levels
It’s about 2.5 tablespoons of dichlor.
If its trichlor it will be a little different. Let us know.

Be aware of the ph hit & aerate as necessary to bring ph back up to the 7’s.

 

[wireform]

How did you treat the filter?

 

[samshpamalta47]

 

[Mdragger88]

Yes that’s dichlor- add 10ppm

 

[samshpamalta47]

I logged that I added 30mg of dichlor

 

[Mdragger88]

I logged that I added 30mg of dichlor

Great
I think u meant 30 grams. Though I’m Not big on imperial measurements
Btw- If you have the poolmath subscription it will keep all your logs. You can also share them with us if u toggle on sharing in the settings. They will be available for us to view when clicking your avatar.
If you do not it will just keep the last one & u may want to keep a notebook so u know what you did over time.
Now,
Check your ph to confirm that it’s in the 7’s w/ the kit u do have until the other comes in which will be soon hopefully.
*Aeration to increase ph
*Acid to lower

Tomorrow check total chlorine (which is free chlorine + combined chlorine- that’s all your OTO kit tests) & add more dichlor to get to 10ppm again. Record how much you added.
OTO isn’t very accurate so if it says fc is 5 or below add chlorine.
When your kit comes you will be able to test fc more accurately.

Note* If you notice a scum line forming don’t be alarmed- just use paper towels or a microfiber rag & wipe it up as it appears. Sometimes residual stuff comes out as there may still be a little product left behind doing some work.

So long as fc is anywhere between minimum & slam level for your cya
&
your ph is in the 7’s you can use the tub.
Just be sure to replenish the chlorine when you’re done. *ALWAYS FOLLOW THE CHART* FC/CYA Levels
Happy hot tubbing

 

[Leebo]

Now that we’re starting fresh, let’s go baby steps and maintain your water. First two questions……
1. How did you treat the filter?
2. Keeping in mind we’re ignoring Calcium, Total alkalinity, and pH for now……do you have any questions on maintaining the hot tub?

 

[samshpamalta47]

I have that drop test kit, but who knows what it will say.

Right now my water is heating up to 38c. It's 24c right now. I expect it will get to temp at 1200, 1230am tonight.

I added dichlor 30grams, not mg.

That's it. The filters are sitting in buckets with filter cleaner. I'm going to dump the buckets and soak them both again in fresh filter cleaner over night.

So what should I do tonight?

 

[Mdragger88]

Sounds great
Take a rest!
Rinse those filters off tomorrow & reinstall them.
Check the chlorine level tomorrow morning & add dichlor to 10ppm according to poolmath.
I would trust that drop kit over strips thats for sure.
You are basically in a holding pattern until your proper kit arrives.
Just Maintain fc daily not letting it ever get below 3ppm.
If u want to use the tub I suggest also checking that ph is somewhere in the 7’s.

When your kit arrives let us know & we can walk u thru doing the tests if u need.
Its really not too complicated- the priority is always fc.
I think that before you were possibly just not adding enough chlorine to make up for bather loads & to keep fc above minimum for your cya level. This is common when people solely use stabilized chlorine yet try to maintain a low chlorine level. Stabilizer (cya) builds up quickly rendering low levels of chlorine ineffective.
That issue is remedied by switching to unstablized chlorine (bleach) when cya gets to approximately 30.

Have a good evening

 

[samshpamalta47]

Sounds great
Take a rest!
Rinse those filters off tomorrow & reinstall them.
Check the chlorine level tomorrow morning & add dichlor to 10ppm according to poolmath.
I would trust that drop kit over strips thats for sure.
You are basically in a holding pattern until your proper kit arrives.
Just Maintain fc daily not letting it ever get below 3ppm.
If u want to use the tub I suggest also checking that ph is somewhere in the 7’s.

When your kit arrives let us know & we can walk u thru doing the tests if u need.
Its really not too complicated- the priority is always fc.
I think that before you were possibly just not adding enough chlorine to make up for bather loads & to keep fc above minimum for your cya level. This is common when people solely use stabilized chlorine yet try to maintain a low chlorine level. Stabilizer (cya) builds up quickly rendering low levels of chlorine ineffective.
That issue is remedied by switching to unstablized chlorine (bleach) when cya gets to approximately 30.

Have a good evening

But if I add more dichlor that's going to put me over CYA right? 10ppm dichlor adds 9ppm CYA. I added 30..ohh right I gotcha. I added 10ppm so..ok nevermind. It just sank in. So tomorrow I'll change CYA to a presumptive 11 (source water is 2 + 10ppm dichlor tonight). My k2006 is in transit so it should be here by Friday. I'm safe to add 10ppm dichlor tomorrow (20ppm CYA) and hopefully get to test on Friday.

 

[samshpamalta47]

Today I have these supplies.

Learned a lesson. Not to use a bottle to do the tests. Fill comparator directly from spa.

TC 7ppm
CC 0.5ppm
PH 8.0ppm
Acid demand is 1.83floz 400gal for 7.4ph
CYA <30ppm can assume 11ppm
TA 260ppm
CH 160ppm

 

[samshpamalta47]

Today I have these supplies.

Learned a lesson. Not to use a bottle to do the tests. Fill comparator directly from spa.

TC 7ppm
CC 0.5ppm
PH 8.0ppm
Acid demand is 1.83floz 400gal for 7.4ph
CYA <30ppm can assume 11ppm
TA 260ppm
CH 160ppm

 

[jimmythegreek]

Does this hot tub have ozone? Do you have a small pump making bubbles all the time in the tub coming out of one of the lower foot well ports?

 

[Mdragger88]

Today I have these supplies.

Learned a lesson. Not to use a bottle to do the tests. Fill comparator directly from spa.

TC 7ppm
CC 0.5ppm
PH 8.0ppm
Acid demand is 1.83floz 400gal for 7.4ph
CYA <30ppm can assume 11ppm
TA 260ppm
CH 160ppm

Great job testing!
For the chlorine-
so the 1st result is fc & the 2nd result is cc. The combination of the two is TC (total chlorine). So your fc is 6.5 correct? That’s what your poolmath shows.
That’s also what we care about fc & cc

If you plan to use the tub tonight & don’t want it to be shock level when u soak - go ahead then test fc afterwards & raise fc back to 10ppm. This would allow u to make up for bather waste & still have fc in the water by tomorrow. Otherwise you can let it ride & check it tomorrow or go ahead & add enough dichlor to get to 10ppm. Its really up to u. So long as you check & add more fc before it gets below 3ppm.

*Remember that adding dichlor also lowers your ph so you may not need to add acid if you’re going to use dichlor.
Put in the amount u intend to use in the effects of adding section to see all its effects (its in the hamburger menu on the left)

Ph-
U don’t have to go through all the acid
demand stuff- just use poolmath. Easy Peasy.

For the ta test -
try wiping the counting reagent bottle tip with a damp paper towel between drops on your next test- some people report a static cling that affects drop size on new bottles - this can make the result higher than it actually is. You only need to do this for the 1st couple of tests & the problem should be rectified.
No need to worry with trying to adjust TA right now. Test it again at your leisure.

Ch- this test can also be afflicted by the static issue. The remedy is the same.
I wonder if that could be the case for you as I thought you used softened water to fill with? If you did not then don’t worry about it but try to use it when you replenish water from splashout/evaporation.
I have low ch fill water (25ppm) so i just test it once upon fresh fill to confirm & move on.

*Priorities *
- follow the FC/CYA Levels at all times
- keep ph in the 7’s
You’ll be golden

 

[samshpamalta47]

Does this hot tub have ozone? Do you have a small pump making bubbles all the time in the tub coming out of one of the lower foot well ports?

It does have ozone. It's showing O3 on the panel but I haven't seen it making bubbles. Does that mean the ozone bulb/plate has to be replaced?

 

[samshpamalta47]

Great job testing!
For the chlorine-
so the 1st result is fc & the 2nd result is cc. The combination of the two is TC (total chlorine). So your fc is 6.5 correct? That’s what your poolmath shows.
That’s also what we care about fc & cc

If you plan to use the tub tonight & don’t want it to be shock level when u soak - go ahead then test fc afterwards & raise fc back to 10ppm. This would allow u to make up for bather waste & still have fc in the water by tomorrow. Otherwise you can let it ride & check it tomorrow or go ahead & add enough dichlor to get to 10ppm. Its really up to u. So long as you check & add more fc before it gets below 3ppm.

*Remember that adding dichlor also lowers your ph so you may not need to add acid if you’re going to use dichlor.
Put in the amount u intend to use in the effects of adding section to see all its effects (its in the hamburger menu on the left)

Ph-
U don’t have to go through all the acid
demand stuff- just use poolmath. Easy Peasy.

For the ta test -
try wiping the counting reagent bottle tip with a damp paper towel between drops on your next test- some people report a static cling that affects drop size on new bottles - this can make the result higher than it actually is. You only need to do this for the 1st couple of tests & the problem should be rectified.
No need to worry with trying to adjust TA right now. Test it again at your leisure.

Ch- this test can also be afflicted by the static issue. The remedy is the same.
I wonder if that could be the case for you as I thought you used softened water to fill with? If you did not then don’t worry about it but try to use it when you replenish water from splashout/evaporation.
I have low ch fill water (25ppm) so i just test it once upon fresh fill to confirm & move on.

*Priorities *
- follow the FC/CYA Levels at all times
- keep ph in the 7’s
You’ll be golden

FC makes sense. You're right that I was not maintaining this before. I appreciate you helping learn about this. What is a good workflow for maintaining chlorine? Test every day? Always test before going in, always test after getting out?

I understand I'm shocking with dichlor to raise my CYA and when I get to 30something I will switch to liquid chlorine. I feel like I should be comfortable with the app to work that out. Can I speed this process up in any way? Like can I dose twice a day?

Ph- because I'm using dichlor to raise CYA I can't treat ph until that's done. I was going to ask if I could start adding acid yesterday. When this entire process is done I'm going to create a workflow so I can repeat it on next fill.

Static. I have a zerostat gun I wonder if I can zap the bottles. I will figure out the static with the paper towel method or my gun. But I expected alk to be high because my source water chemistry is that high. Thing about the CH is yes I have whole home water softener and it was supposed to be zero but all this water I used my softener is out of salt lol.

Thank you so much for helping me get to this point. Amazing.

Is it safe for us to use our tub? I know you said that a couple times but the pH is 8, alk is 260, aren't those in the danger zone?

 

[dan1333]

Yes you can use the tub, but first I'd try to get the PH in range. Just calculate how much acid you need to get it in range and stump in in. Retest Ph to verify and go in. Don't worry about TA for now.

Ph will continue to creep up until you get the TA stabilized though so if you want to read that section in nitro's post about PH/TA and getting your PH/TA dialed in I think it would be really helpful... It's not that complicated and it's an easy process, if not a little time consuming.

Once you get this all dialed in and get used to how it all works you won't have to test so much. I tested so much in the beginning and know my tub and the process now that I only test PH and FC weekly or every week and a half or so. And I don't usually adjust anything. Just stay on top of making sure your tub has enough FC at all times.

 

[duganderson]

samshpamalta47......Sounds like you're getting on the right track and TFP is the BEST source for information and advice (in my opinion)!!! Other sources of information, especially the hot tub dealers I've talked to, are not as helpful as the folks here. Keep up with the advice you're getting and it will become simpler over time. Once you get things dialed in, it gets easier and less work if your following the dichlor/bleach method and using a good test kit (like one of the kits with Taylor solutions). At some point, if you want it to be even simpler, I love my SWCG but a SWCG is NOT necessary. I'd focus on the diclor/bleach method for now. Also, there is a now product made by the same company as AWW-Some that I think is helpful too. It is called Aqua Clarity. A concentrated bottle of Aqua Clarity is $89 a year and it is a weekly product that helps prevent the buildup of biofilm in your tub. You can also use it for purges; however, if you have AWW-Some, you can use the Aww-Some for purges and the Aqua Clarity weekly. I use it and thinks it's worth it! This, however, is not necessary either.