Recent content by digger0713

You're right. I shouldn't. I'll just worry about me and what works for my pool and hot tub. Thanks.

Thanks for the replies. That's what I'm talking about though. I've been keeping my hot tub alkalinity around 50 and it's been doing good keeping my PH under control from drifting, but on most other sites and even the chemical bottles or testing kits, they all tell you to target between 80-120...

Hello everyone. I've been using this site for quite a few years with my pool and hot tub and love all the advice given. My question is about recommended levels for Bromine, PH, Alkalinity, and Hardness for hot tubs. It seems like everywhere you read on the internet and even on the spa chemical...

Thank you everyone for the advice. I'm still relatively new to hot tub maintenance. I have my pool down to a science and it goes great all summer. This hot tub is a little trickier, but I'm slowing beginning to understand it better. I'll make sure to target the 50 alkalinity and when my PH gets...

When I do my drop test, the sample doesn't turn completely red at 50 ppm, but at 60 ppm it goes bright red, so I just split the difference and call it 55. Maybe I'm not doing that correctly, but I figured it was better than under or over shooting it. I know CYA is probably a moot test to run...

Hi Everyone. I have been reading as many posts on this subject as I can, as well as pool school and I still don't quite have an answer. I have a Viking Royale Hot Tub and every time I think I have my alkalinity in line, my PH drifts high into the 8.2 range, so I lower it with muriatic acid to...

Thank you for that informative response Matt. This is why I love this site. I think I'll just pass on using it. It was free so it's not going to hurt if I don't use it.

Hello all, My wife and I recently replaced our old, aging hot tub with a brand new Viking Royale hot tub. We have had it for about a month now and the I'm using a 3 step bromine system for sanitation like I did with my old tub and everything is going great so far with the water. When I...

I always seem to get strange looks from people when they comment on how nice my pool water looks and I try telling them about the TFP method. I guess people are creatures of habit and don't like trying something new, even if it works better and saves money. I was a slave to the pool store for...

Hey Mhokenberg. I have a Jacuzzi Echo/Essence hot tub and I ran into a similar issue you did last fall. My control panel is a Balboa model and I had to have some parts replaced on my heater. The repair person unplugged all connections to the heater, including my control panel. When he plugged...

I used the HTH Bromine Reserve packet first. I've since begun adding chlorine following the pool math calculations with good results so far. I plan to continue to use this method and put my bromine tabs and floater on the shelf for awhile. I like keeping better control of my chlorine level...

Thanks for the help. I definitely think my PH rise is due to me keeping the TA so high. I'm going to keep it much lower. I think I'll give chlorine a try this time around since I'm doing a fresh fill anyways. I'll see how that goes. Hopefully I can keep better control of the ppm with liquid...

Hello. I read the sticky note on Bromine usage for a hot tub and I have some confusion. I'm going to do a drain and fresh water fill because it's been about 4 months since my last water change. I always use the HTH Bromine Reserve packet once the hot tub has been refilled and then I use bromine...

Good to know. Thanks for all the help. I was not really accounting for error margin + and - and that would explain a lot. Makes me feel better about things. You guys have eliminated my need to depend on the pool store and I'm flying solo for the first time on my own and loving it. Thanks.

Yes it is Richard. It's a Lamotte Color Q 7 Pro 2056 test kit. I really like it and it probably is just the error margin. You guys don't seem too concerned over my numbers so I'm not going to stress over them either.