Lol dang it. I just got an email from Richard aka chem geek and he said that gentle spa is boric acid. My head is spinning but I do appreciate the help!Manufacturers say alot of things. My SWG says right on it to acid wash it every 3 months. I effectively have no calcium, therefor no scale to ever clean, but I'm supposed to fill the unobtainium plates with acid 4 times a year anyway.
They also say to run a 1 to 3 FC when you might lose 4ppm *a day* to the sun. (For uncovered pools/spas).
They also also say that adding copper lets you use less chlorine when it does nothing to lower UV demand. They convieniently leave out the unsanitary and copper staining part tho.
Don't even get me started on industry or manufacturer recommendations.
Calculating ppm
- Thread starter wickflair23
- Start date
Does the label list the ingredient? The internet said tetraborate pentahydrate but could be wrong, or it changed since the MSDS link I found.
It doesn't Chem said he could be wrong with what's in it but he does belive it to be ph neutral
Welp. It's one of the two.
Boric acid jives with their claims of it being ph neutral.
Borax ($6 per 4lb box at Target, etc, btw if you like it and continue using it) raises the ph and needs MA to combat its use. The internet is saying STP but my GoogleFu could just as easily be off today.
I think you are right. All the MSDS I read said STP which must mean it has some type of buffer?Welp. It's one of the two.
Boric acid jives with their claims of it being ph neutral.
Borax ($6 per 4lb box at Target, etc, btw if you like it and continue using it) raises the ph and needs MA to combat its use. The internet is saying STP but my GoogleFu could just as easily be off today.
Had a min to dig deeper. LOVE when off site searches bring me back here I do.
The MSDS I found was 2007 with STP. In 2018 they started listing 'trade secret' and now I can't find a current one. The last we knew (per TFP threads in 2020 to 2022) it was boric acid with unknown (if any) proprietary adds.
If it didn't jack the Ph, let's go with boric acid.
You are all awesome around here. Thank you.Had a min to dig deeper. LOVE when off site searches bring me back here I do.
The MSDS I found was 2007 with STP. In 2018 they started listing 'trade secret' and now I can't find a current one. The last we knew (per TFP threads in 2020 to 2022) it was boric acid with unknown (if any) proprietary adds.
If it didn't jack the Ph, let's go with boric acid.
So I was using the frog @ease system which appears to not work well. After my soak last night I added roughly 3 teaspoons of Dichlor. Tested FC this morning and I was at 1. Decided to test CC which was at 7.8. I think this tells me that my frog system wasn't doing anything beneficial. I got my scale out due to your feedback and I wad consistently getting .21oz per teaspoon but will use a scale going forward. I added .75oz to try to get the CC down and FC up some.
Am I on the right track?
Here's a breakdown of trying to use the frog system.
First Time Bullfrog Owner - Need help with Frog Ease System
Hello! First time hot tub owner and desperately hoping to find an answer to this issue. Have had our Bullfrog A8 for about 3 weeks now and have been using it almost every night since. It came equipped with the inline cartridge Frog @ ease system which was sold to us a a more 'efficient' way to...
www.troublefreepool.com
YMMV if it's worth it to attempt to right the ship or take the lessen learned on the chin and start over.
- Jun 1, 2018
- 16,027
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
The frog may be reading as cc’s or if you used non chlorine shock (mps)
Don’t worry too much- it will dissipate if you discontinue.
For dichlor (which is the only tiny amount of granular stuff i add) I just use google calculator with fluid oz to tsp/tbsp - its close enough & always works well for me even though it isn’t exact. At some point I looked up “how much does a tbsp of sugar weigh” since it is similar and it was almost .5 oz.
With liquid .5 oz is a tbsp.
Don’t worry too much- it will dissipate if you discontinue.
For dichlor (which is the only tiny amount of granular stuff i add) I just use google calculator with fluid oz to tsp/tbsp - its close enough & always works well for me even though it isn’t exact. At some point I looked up “how much does a tbsp of sugar weigh” since it is similar and it was almost .5 oz.
With liquid .5 oz is a tbsp.
If that water is clear should I be worrying about CC for this round? I'm going to use the next month or so to learn how the chemicals work, but if it's recommended to change the water out and start over, I'll do it. Just have to go back to fighting to 300 TA lol.
Dragger just answered at the same time. I'll ride it out for now.
Dragger just answered at the same time. I'll ride it out for now.
- Jun 1, 2018
- 16,027
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Also - gentle spa is both boric acid & sodium tetraborate pentahydrate- unfortunately they don’t disclose how much of each. For reference, in my 200 gal tub I need almost 8oz of boric acid to reach 50ppm -
the gentle spa directions say 4oz per 150 gal but they don’t elude to what ppm of borates that would net you so no real way to know except add what they say & test afterwards. Fwiw I don’t use things that I cannot calculate beforehand to know exactly what it should do to my chemistry. The one & only exception for me is aqua clarity which has no impact on any of my parameters.
the gentle spa directions say 4oz per 150 gal but they don’t elude to what ppm of borates that would net you so no real way to know except add what they say & test afterwards. Fwiw I don’t use things that I cannot calculate beforehand to know exactly what it should do to my chemistry. The one & only exception for me is aqua clarity which has no impact on any of my parameters.
After adding the .75oz of Dichlor I let it sit overnight. my FC is still reading under 1 this morning. What should I do? Should I add some bleech to get things back on track?
Like I said much further above, I'd give it a quick try with a SLAM first. Bring it back to target FC every couple of hours. If the FC doesn't hold in a day or two, I'd cut my losses and move on.
- Jun 1, 2018
- 16,027
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
I don’t fight with the hot tub. If a few rounds of slam level fc doesn’t remedy the situation- purge, drain & refill.
Drained the tub and refilled it. Got everything mostly in check. Added .62oz of dichlor and FC was at 6.8. Tested again this morning and it was around 2.2. Is that normal? Maybe the ozonator eating it up? Seems excessive for a fresh fill with no usage but this is all new to me.
There could easy have been residuals in the plumbing. No matter how much I blew out or sucked with the shop vac when winterizing, a few more glugs always came out.
Did you purge it with ahhsome when new ?
Did you purge it with ahhsome when new ?
I didn't but I did run leasure time jet cleaner before I dumped the water.
Ok it probably did a similar job. But there still can be 'old' water to some extent in there. The FC should hold much sooner than when it was all old water.
