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I've thought about tweaking around with a calculator like Chem Geek's spreadsheet or similar. And I know there are plenty of variables that can affect it. I like messing around with calculations, too. But really I'm looking more for a general rule that I can apply to the 30 or so bodies of water...

I like to think I have a moderate level of understanding of pH and TA. Definitely not a beginner, definitely not a chemist. But I do a lot of balancing of bodies of water. I know that the amount of chemical needed to tweak pH is affected by (and affects) TA. A lot of the dosages on product...

The unit is one part of a consumer add-on system. I was going to test it and forgot the pump in my test setup was on a 12-hour timer cycle. The unit itself just has a standard electrical plug. I haven't opened it yet to see what switches it might have inside, but the unit stopped putting out...

If a corona discharge ozonator is left operating full-time but all water pumps stay off, is there any potential damage to the ozonator? We're talking maybe a full day of operation with no suction from the injector. I'm trying to figure out why my ozonator stopped putting out ozone but haven't...

One thing I've seen in Sundance, Jacuzzi, and Marquis spas from the early 2000s is that the plastic actually degrades. Eventually the tabs that hold it in the socket will erode away and it will get "spit" into the spa. In the case of a rotating jet, the metal ball bearings can end up all over...

OK, thank you Matt. I'm glad TFP has knowledgeable people like yourself to help the rest of us along. I've learned a lot on this forum. BTW, it has been an unusually cool Spring here in Minnesota. Even had overnight frost on the grass Monday night. But highs in the 80s forecasted for next week.

I've been reading through old posts on here about removing phosphate with lanthanum, and there are lots of posts, and lots of answering by Matt. But I'm a little unclear about some things: Does the lanthanum react simultaneously with carbonate and phosphate, or does the it react with carbonate...

I've been doing some reading about the various types of phosphates and their use in water supplies. This Link says in its section titled "The Functions of Orthophosphates/Polyphosphates" that Ortho is an anodic inhibitor and Poly is a cathodic inhibitor, when talking about electro-chemical...

If I remember, ACE is the one that says it uses boron-doped diamond. Fussy about calcium levels, etc. Usually the simplest system is the best, lowest cost, and most trouble free, so you can probably find something more satisfactory. It might affect the warranty but at $800 a cell, that's an...

Pool Hippo leaves behind a mess. Might need to do a little shock & brushing...

I wish I could go into detail but there are nondisclosure agreements and corporate secrets & such. It isn't for calcium. I need something that works like commonly available pool clarifiers do, but with the opposite charge. And I can't travel to an anti-matter universe to get it.

I have a need for either clarifier or flocc that is anionic (for some experiments I can't talk about). I'm assuming that some of the "metal out" products are anionic but not sure if any work as clarifiers or floccs. Simply deactivating or sequestering isn't enough, I need to be able to filter...

Interesting to see this after years of discussion of CYA vs FC on this forum. CYA and Chlorine in Plain Language

It's almost catch-22. You need more FC to sanitize at higher levels of CYA, and you need more CYA to protect a higher level of FC. You are right, you have to seek some level of balance between what you lose and what you supply. My own personal preference would be to keep a small concentration of...

At first glance, I thought the title said "Mental" instead of "Metal". I feel better knowing it says "Metal". :laughblue:

The research papers I've looked at show that most of the protective benefit of CYA is achieved with only 20-25 ppm. There's no reason to go to 70 ppm. Places like Arizona probably need a little more than Illinois, but I bet if you put in 30-40ppm that would be plenty.

If your sanitizer is really high, or your pH really low, you can get strange colors on test strips and kits. I'd be surprised if the issue is what the brand of test kit you have, despite the TF and Taylor ones being preferred. If possible I'd check expiration dates or lot numbers to see if they...

Organic (carbon-containing) chloramines can be much harder to get rid of than inorganic ones. Depending on the type of material the chlorine is combined with, it may not respond as readily to high levels of chlorine. Dr. Tom Tufano of Dupont has studied this and replicated it in the lab. Here is...

One observation I'd make of Seaklear vs Ahhsome is that while the Seaklear was very foamy, the Ahhsome was so foamy that it was running down the sides of the spa. I got pretty similar cleaning results from both, though.

OK, this has bothered me for a long time. Does CYA actually interfere with ORP sensors, or is the sensor giving a true indication that most of the chlorine is bound to CYA and not truly "free"? My inclination is toward the latter one but I don't have enough experience with them to know.

I've used a smaller one of these https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BF6HCYC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 for filling spas. Just hook it up to the garden hose and voila. And they are recharged by pouring a container of salt into the top & letting it soak.

Sure. Hach / Aquachek 7 test strips have that ability. Not anywhere near precise, but you should be able to tell if it is still too high or has come down into the ballpark.

I see that Natural Chemistry is going to come out with the 2-part "CYA Removal Kit", and apparently they were talking about it at the Pool & Spa Expo in Las Vegas this week. What little I've seen online makes me think it is just a bottle of their Thiotrine and a bag of Bioactive CYA Reducer. Has...

BTW - I did verify with a conductivity meter that a spa filled WITH the filter had about half the TDS of one filled without, so it does do something. I think I'm going to try one of these Pleatco sediment-type filters and compare the results...

I looked at some other threads about pre-filters but didn't really address what I was looking for. I currently have 10 spas going for various kinds of testing. A couple of years ago I started using a HydroPure Metal Trap pre-filter because my source water is terrible. It doesn't look too bad and...

Thanks

This may be a stupid question. Is the CYA in pool water not part of TDS (because it is an acid and not a salt) or is it part of TDS? I realize that the magnitude of the ppm is very small compared to the ppm of TDS. I'm thinking about the effects on TDS of spa BCDMH vs Dichlor, and my assumption...

Spa looks like this one, but controls don't. http://www.thespaworks.com/sites/default/files/700series2003.pdf

Another annoying thing is that you can't take the pack out while you purge, else you have a giant geyser of water blasting into the air. I like that idea of taping up the seams. Vacuuming the scum off the foam while the purge is in process will reduce the amount of it that you have to wipe off...

Does it maybe look a little more like this one, color-wise? If so (more greenish) then I would guess a couple of years earlier than 2005: https://www.lifestyleshottubs.com/product/pre-owned-hot-tubs/pre-owned-hotspring-grandee/