You're probably right that CYA is still there. It was just a thought/possibility. Shutting off the ozonator and seeing the results will be very interesting.
CYA at 150 -- How Did I Get There and Now What?
- Thread starter Yukon
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So, after another month of maintenance and observations, here are my conclusions. This applies only to my system - I'm not saying any of this is relevant to other hot tubs, as so many people appear to get completely different results than I have with various water chemistry/sanitizing techniques.
1) In an attempt to "avoid chemicals" (especially chlorine), all I did was make my water maintenance far more complicated and expensive. The ozonator, metal ion, MPS, enzyme route was a complete waste of time and money. I now add 2 oz of bleach every 2 days and the water remains absolutely crystal clear for a small fraction of the cost of all the other stuff.
2) The metal ion system does absolutely nothing, as far as I can tell.
3) The ozonator does absolutely nothing, except get rid of the chlorine very quickly.
4) Despite the high CYA, 2 oz of bleach keep the water perfectly clear. As I have no way to test for bacteria in the water, all I have to go on is the level of clarity (and bather health). Using 2 oz of bleach every 2 days is enough to keep the water as crystal clear as it has ever been, even with CYA over 100.
5) Bleach is super cheap and we never, ever notice the chlorine level in the spa. I usually add the 2oz of bleach after we soak, but even if I dose it in the morning, by the time we use the tub in the evening, the FC level has fallen to zero again, thanks to the ozonator. So we seem to be getting all the sanitizer/oxidizer benefits of the chlorine without any real exposure to it when soaking.
By now, the water is four months old and ready to be dumped. I'll probably use the Ahh-Some product during the changeover, though frankly, as long as the water continues to be this clear, I have no issues. All other parameters are stable, so hopefully my next batch of water will also be well behaved regarding pH, hardness, etc. I won't be replacing the Nature 2 metal ion system - maybe the one I bought on Amazon is counterfeit, but whatever, it adds nothing but cost, as far as I can tell. I'll leave the ozonator in, but I have no confidence in its ability to keep the water clean. I actually like the way it gets the chlorine level down quickly, and as long as the bleach does the job, I'm happy. I have plenty of left-over dichlor to establish a reasonable CYA level with the new water before switching to bleach.
My only complication now is if I am away from the house for a few days, as my current system requires bleach every 2 days, but I imagine I can find an alternative for those occasions.
1) In an attempt to "avoid chemicals" (especially chlorine), all I did was make my water maintenance far more complicated and expensive. The ozonator, metal ion, MPS, enzyme route was a complete waste of time and money. I now add 2 oz of bleach every 2 days and the water remains absolutely crystal clear for a small fraction of the cost of all the other stuff.
2) The metal ion system does absolutely nothing, as far as I can tell.
3) The ozonator does absolutely nothing, except get rid of the chlorine very quickly.
4) Despite the high CYA, 2 oz of bleach keep the water perfectly clear. As I have no way to test for bacteria in the water, all I have to go on is the level of clarity (and bather health). Using 2 oz of bleach every 2 days is enough to keep the water as crystal clear as it has ever been, even with CYA over 100.
5) Bleach is super cheap and we never, ever notice the chlorine level in the spa. I usually add the 2oz of bleach after we soak, but even if I dose it in the morning, by the time we use the tub in the evening, the FC level has fallen to zero again, thanks to the ozonator. So we seem to be getting all the sanitizer/oxidizer benefits of the chlorine without any real exposure to it when soaking.
By now, the water is four months old and ready to be dumped. I'll probably use the Ahh-Some product during the changeover, though frankly, as long as the water continues to be this clear, I have no issues. All other parameters are stable, so hopefully my next batch of water will also be well behaved regarding pH, hardness, etc. I won't be replacing the Nature 2 metal ion system - maybe the one I bought on Amazon is counterfeit, but whatever, it adds nothing but cost, as far as I can tell. I'll leave the ozonator in, but I have no confidence in its ability to keep the water clean. I actually like the way it gets the chlorine level down quickly, and as long as the bleach does the job, I'm happy. I have plenty of left-over dichlor to establish a reasonable CYA level with the new water before switching to bleach.
My only complication now is if I am away from the house for a few days, as my current system requires bleach every 2 days, but I imagine I can find an alternative for those occasions.
The ozonator is actually doing something but you aren't noticing it because you haven't compared it against not having it. 2 ounces of 8.25% bleach would only handle around a half-hour of one person soaking so it's the ozone from the ozonator that is oxidizing a good deal of your bather waste. The chlorine is getting used up because the ozone reacts with it and you may not be adding enough relative to your bather waste (though the ozone eventually takes care of it unless you were to increase your spa usage).
Chlorine is better than bromine or MPS at keeping spa water clear (which is why we recommend it), but if the water has zero chlorine for too long than there is the risk of having bacterial growth. You might have so much ozone that some lasts in the bulk water when the ozonator is on and that may help to disinfect, but it also may outgas and degrade the hot tub cover faster. The better situation would be to only have the ozonator on for a limited time after your soak and to add enough chlorine to last through to your next soak though you can start with a low chlorine level (you won't notice 1 ppm FC at all). Unfortunately it sounds like the ozonator does not have that sort of on/off control.
Chlorine is better than bromine or MPS at keeping spa water clear (which is why we recommend it), but if the water has zero chlorine for too long than there is the risk of having bacterial growth. You might have so much ozone that some lasts in the bulk water when the ozonator is on and that may help to disinfect, but it also may outgas and degrade the hot tub cover faster. The better situation would be to only have the ozonator on for a limited time after your soak and to add enough chlorine to last through to your next soak though you can start with a low chlorine level (you won't notice 1 ppm FC at all). Unfortunately it sounds like the ozonator does not have that sort of on/off control.
You may be right, and if so, that would be great! I did not disconnect the ozonator yet because it's a bit of a hassle to get to it - the tub is actually in-ground and the access requires unbolting some boards. When I dump the water, I will leave the ozone off for a few days and see what happens.
In any event, after careful measuring and monitoring, 2 oz every 2 days is working great. I can always throw in a bit more as usage goes up, but it has been only 2 of us in there every 4-5 days, on average.
In any event, after careful measuring and monitoring, 2 oz every 2 days is working great. I can always throw in a bit more as usage goes up, but it has been only 2 of us in there every 4-5 days, on average.
Just as an update, I did a complete water change at the end of January, got rid of the metal ion system, but kept the ozonator operating 24/7. I shocked the system to over 10ppm right after fill with dichlor, and I used dichlor to get the CYA level to about 30ppm over the next couple weeks before shifting to liquid bleach. (30ppm is the lowest reading I can reliably get from my Taylor kit).
With the new water, I am using 2 oz. of bleach every 2 days, plus another 2 oz. right after use (typically 2 bathers). That keeps the water absolutely crystal clear. One time, I added nothing for 4 days and noticed the water beginning to get just a touch cloudy, but a bit of dichlor brought it back to crystal clear again in a few hours. So, in general, my chlorine level is pretty low on an ongoing basis, and usually close to zero when we use the tub, but gets a bump to 5ppm every couple days. This, along with the ozonator, seems to keep everything clean and healthy.
With the new water, I am using 2 oz. of bleach every 2 days, plus another 2 oz. right after use (typically 2 bathers). That keeps the water absolutely crystal clear. One time, I added nothing for 4 days and noticed the water beginning to get just a touch cloudy, but a bit of dichlor brought it back to crystal clear again in a few hours. So, in general, my chlorine level is pretty low on an ongoing basis, and usually close to zero when we use the tub, but gets a bump to 5ppm every couple days. This, along with the ozonator, seems to keep everything clean and healthy.
So if you find that your bather load becomes lower so that you don't use the spa as frequently, then you can consider lowering your circulation pump run time which should turn off your ozonator when the pump is not on. That would reduce the amount of chlorine used up in between soaks. There is a sweet spot of ozone use that is enough to reduce chlorine usage to handle bather load but not so much as to increase chlorine usage in between soaks.
I'm pretty sure these systems (Hot Spring) are designed to run the circulation pump 24/7, but I will check with them and see if it can be reduced.
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