I recently bought one of those blow-up spas (hey, I'm on a budget!) and put it in my unfinished basement. Indoor relative humidity here in the winter runs 25-30% without active humidification, so I'm just planning on running my humidifier less to account for the spa (normally I humidify to the tune of ~6-10 gallons/day; the spa loses much much less water than that).
Anyway, I decided on bromine with hope that it would be less smelly. I balanced the water per the "how do I use bromine" guide ... took me almost a full pound of sodium bisulphate for 250 gallons, but I ended up with:
TA = ~120 (still kind of high, I know, I'm still slowly adding additional sodium bisulphate each time I test)
PH = ~7.7
Hardness = ~350
Then I added 1oz sodium bromate, shocked with MPS, thew in the floater with 3 tabs, and put on the cover. Next day I tested it and the PH/TA were about the same, and Total Bromine was at ~3-4, so I decided to take a dip. Wife immediately noticed that the whole house smelled like a swimming pool.
So my question is: 1) considering that I'm using this indoors with little outside ventilation (it's 30f out!), should I expect the smell? (note - I monitor the humidity, it's OK)
2) Would switching to dichlor/bleach smell any less?
3) Would switching to a saltwater setup smell any less?
Basically, I need to achieve the *least possible smell*, because if it's still too much after whatever changes I make, the spa is going to end up deflated until it can go outside next spring
It has now been 3 days and I've done no maintenance other than add sodium bisulphate and fiddle with the floater setting. I'm considering removing the floater altogether and going to a 2-step system (Regular application of MPS), but I don't know if that will help things or make them works. I'm also considering switching systems entirely, but once again, I really don't know if/what would be better. Help!
Anyway, I decided on bromine with hope that it would be less smelly. I balanced the water per the "how do I use bromine" guide ... took me almost a full pound of sodium bisulphate for 250 gallons, but I ended up with:
TA = ~120 (still kind of high, I know, I'm still slowly adding additional sodium bisulphate each time I test)
PH = ~7.7
Hardness = ~350
Then I added 1oz sodium bromate, shocked with MPS, thew in the floater with 3 tabs, and put on the cover. Next day I tested it and the PH/TA were about the same, and Total Bromine was at ~3-4, so I decided to take a dip. Wife immediately noticed that the whole house smelled like a swimming pool.
So my question is: 1) considering that I'm using this indoors with little outside ventilation (it's 30f out!), should I expect the smell? (note - I monitor the humidity, it's OK)
2) Would switching to dichlor/bleach smell any less?
3) Would switching to a saltwater setup smell any less?
Basically, I need to achieve the *least possible smell*, because if it's still too much after whatever changes I make, the spa is going to end up deflated until it can go outside next spring
It has now been 3 days and I've done no maintenance other than add sodium bisulphate and fiddle with the floater setting. I'm considering removing the floater altogether and going to a 2-step system (Regular application of MPS), but I don't know if that will help things or make them works. I'm also considering switching systems entirely, but once again, I really don't know if/what would be better. Help!