Puzzling bleach demand

[Lyd]

Good Morning, All

I am confused. I recently dumped my spa water for the first time and refilled. I used Ahh-Some per the directions. Now, I am having a hard time keeping adequate bromine levels in the spa. I used to be able to put in an ounce or an ounce and a half of bleach after every soak (15-20 mins) but last night I put in 3.75 ounces and still have a reading of 2.25. I just put in 4 ounces in an attempt to shock it.

Yes, I was the one who overdid the bromide. I drained half the water and started over. Yes, I did end up putting back the bromide because my bromine levels would not stay the way they used to. Meaning I could not even get them to 4.5. The rest of the readings are TA 100 and CH 150.
PH has been way high at 8+ so I dosed that down. Can't take a reading because jets have been on. Can someone explain to me what might be going on? Much appreciating.

 

[chem geek]

Did you remove the greases and biofilm that cane out of the piping, caused foaming, and stuck on interior spa surfaces at the water line? Also, if you are testing not too long after adding chlorine you should be registering bromine. You can try the elevated amounts of chlorine to see if you can get rid of the excess demand.

 

[Lyd]

Thank you, Chem Geek. Yes. I diligently vacuumed the greenish particles, until gone. I wiped the waterline with Ahh-some spray. Yesterday morning, I added 5 ounces of bleach and left it alone for 24 hours.

This morning (before the jets came on) I checked the ph and it was past 8 still after twice trying to get it down. The BR reading was 2.25. I cannot fathom what is eating the bleach nor causing the ph to skyrocket. I am going to treat with Ahh-Some, drain and start over. The only thing I remember doing wrong was the initial overdosing of bromide and then half draining the tub to try and correct and then having to add it back in because the sanitizer level would not hold. I wish I knew for sure if this is was the problem causing my issues.

Ok, after reading your post on the enzyme inquiry, I discovered a possibility. On Oct 26th, I cleaned my filter with TSP solution. On Nov 3rd, I did the Ahh-some treatment. I DID NOT run the Ahh-Some treatment with the filter in place. I immediately placed it inside the tub. I am wondering if this faux pas is what did me in? Comments, Chem Geek?

Fast forward a few hours. Got some green gunk out of treatment, more than I had expected but still nothing to speak of. Very little on the foam but enough sticking to the walls to keep me chasing it. I have filled tub, added half a bottle of Metal Gon, 2 ounces of Defender and ONE ounce of Sodium Bromide. I am going to let it heat to 99 and then start testing and balancing. Wish me luck.

 

[chem geek]

Excess sodium bromide would not cause a problem unless there were some contaminants in it.

As for the filter, so long as you had it in the Ahh-Some treated water, that should be OK. So that doesn't explain it.

Good luck. The extra demand was a mystery and hopefully has gone away with this latest treatment and water change.