Newbie getting ready to fill

[ffmedic]

Hi all,

I am trying to make the shift from maintaining my tub by the "looks cloudy, add some of this....Now smells funky, add some of dat" to actually knowing what the heck I am doing. I have an Sundance Altamar 385 gal, no O3, and filled by well water. The tub was initially filled and treated w/ Baqua. After deciding that that was not a good idea, I threw the (new $70 filter away), and drained the tub and installed a new filter. Tub is now empty.

So here I am ready to begin anew and learn the BBB method. My question is about my well water chemistry. I bought the TF100 kit and have the following results from the tap:
Ph < 6.8
TA 60
CA 50

It looks like my Ph & CA is pretty low. What are your suggestions to get my tub ready?

Thanks!!!
Matt

 

[duraleigh]

Hi, Matt,

I'm not a hot tub guy but first, as you suspect, bring your pH up to around 7.4-7.6 with borax and then retest TA. The TA will come up with the pH and probably be fine but you may need to add a little baking soda if it's much below 100.

Have you decided if you are going to use bromine or chlorine for your sanitizer?

 

[PaulR]

You should start here: How do I use Chlorine in my Spa (or pool)?

Or if you want to use bromine, there's How do I use Bromine in my spa (or pool)?

The main concern with well water is usually the risk of high iron or calcium content. It looks like you don't have a calcium problem, and in fact need to add a little to the tub. Chlorine will react with iron and turn the water brown, and it's generally a pain to clear that out. If you know you don't have iron, your well water is good to go.

Once you read up on the other articles, if you have more questions reply here again and we'll see what we can do for you.
--paulr

 

[ffmedic]

Thanks for the tips guys. I will retest after getting the Ph up. I am thinking that I will use chlorine. Don't really like the bromine smell, but in reality I am concerned with how much maintenance the BBB will take. I have a moderate to heavy bather load (2 adults, 2 kids). How often are your BBB users having to test and add bleach? Daily, weekly?

Thanks!
Matt

 

[PaulR]

If you use the tub daily, you probably need to add bleach daily, because tub use equals chlorine consumption. My tub gets used a few times a week and I'm adding chlorine every 2-3 days. I could probably get that down to twice a week.

chem geek has posted this rule of thumb a number of times and I've finally gotten around to capturing it so I can repeat it:
You should be using around 2.5 fluid ounces of 12.5% chlorinating liquid after a one person-hour soak. Or 5 oz of regular 6% bleach.

Hope this helps,
--paulr