Any tips for Ahhsome treatment for Bullfrog spa?

There’s some good tips on this thread

You could have definitely skipped step 1- then no gross stuff/ extra cya in your pool, you would have had hot water for the purge, & no extra wasted water. It wouldn’t have harmed the grass if you were @ or below slam level for your cya.
About Step 7….
going higher than slam level for your cya is generally unnecessary & not recommended except in extreme situations (confirmed hot tub lung- which I don’t think this was).
Slam level & the Ahhsome purge are sufficient enough to eliminate any “white water mold” (which is a bacteria - not mold) & any other biofilms.
So long as adequate fc levels are maintained going forward the issue shouldn’t return.

Now it’s just time to follow the guide


Hot tubs aren’t terribly complicated- the pace is just different from pools because of the bather load proportions.
I like to apply the KISS principle -
*Keep fc above minimum for your cya at all times FC/CYA Levels maintaining around 30ppm cya
* Keep ph in the 7’s
* Purge w/ Ahhsome every 4-6 months (this can be done with the current water)
Then refill & follow the guide again.
It’s really quite simple.

Radiochemista said:

First time spa owner, maker of rookie mistakes here. Thanks to the advice from TFP members, I will be treating my tub with Ahhsome this coming weekend. Ahhsome is ordered and I am getting ready for battle royale with spa gunk. I saw some posts that Ahhsome with Bullfrog is challenging, and I wanted to arm myself with as much knowledge as possible. I have the 474 gal M8, if that makes a difference.

Please share any threads/posts that would be of use here!

Questions for the Ahhsome treatment:
1. Do I leave the mineral cartridge, chlorine cartridge, and the filter (it's a flat, pleated one, changed once a month) in the housing?
2. Do I scale the amount of Ahhsome to 474gal or should I use less? I'm afraid of the "too much foam" situation
3. Will I need a shop vac?
4. Any tricks and tips for the jetpacks?
5. What cleaner do you recommend to use on the shell to finish cleaning?
6. After the treatment, will I have to fill and drain the tub multiple times to rid of any residual Ahhsome?
7. What else should I know?

Thank you in advance!

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You can drain onto the lawn as long as you do not have salt in your water. The concentration of salt is low, even in a SWGC spa, but I would not do it. I have an overflow pipe on my salt water pool, and anytime it rains, the pool overflows into a single spot. The grass is dead there. Granted it has all been concentrated into a 2' diameter area, but I would still be cautious about it.

Remove mineral and chlorine cartage and throw them away and use bleach. But seriously, you need to remove them. Take the filters and put them into the water in the middle of the tub

You want foam when purging. The Ahhsome will release the gunk from the innards, and the foam will float it to the top where you can remove it - as opposed to it sinking to the bottom and reattaching. Use the amount recommended for your volume.

A shop vac helps. So does a sump pump. The built in drain on my A6 is SLOW. I use a sump pump to get most of the water out, and a shop vac to get the last few gallons out of the bottom.

Purge with the jet packs in and the jet valve wide open. Then after your purge (when you have turned the power off) you can start draining and pull your packs. Wipe down the packs wherever you can reach with a rag. Then take a hose and stick it into the main intake port (again with the jets wide open) and thoroughly rinse out the innards of the pack. While the tub is draining also retrieve your filters and hose them out, and also remove and clean the pillows, filter weir door, and anything else that comes off.

I use AhhSome spray cleaner on my shell.

You can refill after using AhhsSome, no need fill and drain and fill again.

When filling, put the hose into the filter hole until the water is above the filter holes. That way you will not arilock your pumps

Radiochemista said:

The Ahhsome treatment went well, so I figured, might as well give an update with pics!

The protocol was as follows:
1. Drained the tub into the pool - it was either that or grass, and I did not want to kill the grass with the FCs, CCs, and CYA. I know it was not a necessary step, but I suspected there was a lot of gunk in the pipes so might as well remove the water gunk from equation.
2. Removed filter, dichlor and mineral cartridges including filter housing. Removed headrests. Refilled below water line, above the min fill level.
3. Added 4 tsp of Ahhsome to water and turned on jets on max for 20 min. Lots of foam! Overlowing the tub, and wind blowing it around. I used the hose to keep it under control and prevent it from drying out on the outside of the tub. The foam had some yellow gunk in it, but not too much.
4. Drained onto the grass. Used the hose to keep the foam down and rinse sides.
5. Wiped the shell with Ahhsome cleaner solution (1/8 oz Ahhsome in 32 oz warm water). Wiped all surfaces ( including all jetpack surfaces) with a soaked rag. The water line was completely gone!
6. Rinsed the tub with hose. Inverted jetpacks and rinsed the inside.
7. Filled with water to above water line to perform a decon procedure as per Hot Lung Tub Cleaning . I think we might have had white mold (in addition to blackish-colored mold- mostly due to a design flaw in the headrest!). I will post an update when I'd done with it.

Thank you all for guidance and advice. The water is crystal clear with no foaming!

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That is the amount of foam I get when purging with AhhSome.

What is the design flaw in the headrest?

How old is your tub. My understanding is the older jetpacks had issues with the water behind them not getting a lot of circulation. My jetpacks have little holes in the manifold in the back that circulates the water behind them. Still, on a weekly basis I do the following, in no particular order

1) Add Aqua Clarity
2) Remove and rinse filters and replace
3) Remove the jet packs and wiped down the area behind them
4) Remove and wipe down the headrests
5) Clean the waterline of the shell with AhhSome cleaner. I know where mine gets dirty. Behind one particular headrest mount.

It takes me about 10-15 minutes to do this.

Radiochemista said:

The Ahhsome treatment went well, so I figured, might as well give an update with pics!

The protocol was as follows:
1. Drained the tub into the pool - it was either that or grass, and I did not want to kill the grass with the FCs, CCs, and CYA. I know it was not a necessary step, but I suspected there was a lot of gunk in the pipes so might as well remove the water gunk from equation.
2. Removed filter, dichlor and mineral cartridges including filter housing. Removed headrests. Refilled below water line, above the min fill level.
3. Added 4 tsp of Ahhsome to water and turned on jets on max for 20 min. Lots of foam! Overlowing the tub, and wind blowing it around. I used the hose to keep it under control and prevent it from drying out on the outside of the tub. The foam had some yellow gunk in it, but not too much.
4. Drained onto the grass. Used the hose to keep the foam down and rinse sides.
5. Wiped the shell with Ahhsome cleaner solution (1/8 oz Ahhsome in 32 oz warm water). Wiped all surfaces ( including all jetpack surfaces) with a soaked rag. The water line was completely gone!
6. Rinsed the tub with hose. Inverted jetpacks and rinsed the inside.
7. Filled with water to above water line to perform a decon procedure as per Hot Lung Tub Cleaning . I think we might have had white mold (in addition to blackish-colored mold- mostly due to a design flaw in the headrest!). I will post an update when I'd done with it.

Thank you all for guidance and advice. The water is crystal clear with no foaming!

Click to expand...

Don't know what a dichlor cartridge is, but best is a CYA target level, usually hit by using dichlor (gradually).

Looks like the other advice you were given is golden, I have a sump pump and it wasn't all that expensive. It's a Little Giant tall version for horticulture, purchased on sale on Amazon around $100. Glad I bought it.