New First Time Hot Tub owner

[ramsfan]

Hello all - I was able to purchase a used Tiger River Spa Hot Tub. Tiger River is, or was, a division of Hot Springs. It is a 2001 model, but was kept indoors. It looked to be in nice shape, but was not running due to a broken pvc three way pipe. It was also missing jets. I paid very little for it, and had it delivered to a spa repair/delivery company. The company ran it for a week, no issues. They fixed the pvc issue, ordered jets for the ones missing, the ordered new filters (my choice, I will try and clean the current ones to have backups) and will be delivering it this week.

I am just taking over my maintenance on my own pool, and own a TFT KL Kit with Speed Stir. We are going to place the hot tub near the pool, about fifteen steps away and expect some people to go in and out of the hot tub and pool when both are open. We plan to run the hot tub year round.

Can anyone point me to "hot tub 101"?

For example....

Water Chemistry - how to choose Bromine versus Chlorine? Does having it near a pool matter?
Basic equipment chemical needs - what things do I need on Day One to get off to a good start, additional test kits, chemicals, floaters, etc..
Other things to do regularly to have best experience and keep hot tub nice and enjoyable.
Is there a startup guide to filling, testing, etc.. on day one?

Thanks!

 

[JoyfulNoise]

See this sticky - How do I use Chlorine in my Spa (or pool)?

Also, you are DEFINITELY going to want to purge the tub with Ahh-some - Ahh-Some Water Cleanser for Your Pool, Hut Tub, Jet Bath, Swim Spa and Washing Machine -

Try the dichlor-then-bleach method as it will be a closer approximation to what you're doing in your pool. There's nothing wrong with bromine it's just generally more expensive.

Here's the bromine sticky - How do I use Bromine in my spa (or pool)?


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[YippeeSkippy]

I won't use Bromine in my hot tub because the kids go back and forth from pool to hot tub and I don't want to transfer bromine into the pool over time. Maybe I worry about it too much but its one less thing to deal with.

Yippee

 

[ramsfan]

Thanks all, this is what I was hoping to learn today (Bromine vs. Chlorine). i will go with Chlorine, and will study the link in depth.

 

[ramsfan]

OK, I have 5 days under my belt of being a hot tub owner, and I have a couple follow up questions.

So far, I am focusing on getting my water balanced, etc... Two starting values that stood out to me are my TA started out quite high at 240, so working that down via acid and aeration. Also, CH is 375, I am not doing anything to change that.

I also did borates, and CYA + Bleach. I have bought DiChlor for next go round. My targets are to maintain FC between 3-6 CYA 30, Borates 50, TA 50, pH 7.5.

A couple things, and a few questions.

One, I forgot to check chems for 36-40 hours. I checked today, and FC was negligible, like zero. Obviously not good, and I realized I can't take a day off any more! Also, pH tends to drift high, but that seems to be getting a little better each day, maybe due to Borates, or maybe due to TA reduction.

Here are my questions:

1) I received my Ahhh-Some in the mail today, is this only used at fill up? in other words, after use does the water have to be drained? i assume it does, but want to confirm that I cannot use it and keep on using the hot tub.

2) Other than maintaining water chemistry per the sticky thread provided, is there anything I should do once per week? I see mention of two things along these lines in the sticky thread, once regarding shock once per week, and another talks about using

Sanitation
On a fresh fill use Dichlor until you get to 20-30 ppm CYA. (10 ppm FC = 9 ppm CYA)
Then switch to Clorox Unscented 6% or 8.25% bleach.
Never let FC drop to Zero for any length of time. Keep it between 3-6 ppm normally, min of 1 ppm, and shock to 12 ppm once a week.
Use MPS if needed before hot tub party's and/or once a week to help oxidation. Don't use more than needed, because it's acidic and may lower your TA/pH.
Dichlor, Bleach and MPS is all you need to keep your tub sanitized.
Use PoolMath to calculate exact amounts to add.

Lastly, get a drop test kit such as the Taylor K-2006 or a TF-100. Also get FC test strips. They come in handy for a quick FC estimate, during party's etc. The only two things you need to check regularly are FC and pH. Check them every day and after soaks. Adjust TA as needed. If you have your water well balanced, you'll rarely need to adjust your TA. You'll just be adding chlorine every day, and after soaks. Shock once a week, and/or after high bather loads. Use MPS if you have party's, and/or don't want to use as much chlorine. Easy as can be, and your tub is always ready.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Use the Ahh-some before you dump this current water volume.

Your acid demand (pH rise) will get better as your TA decreases.

Don't worry about "weekly treatments". Just get a feel for your tubs chlorine demand by tracking FC and CCs consistently for the first few months. CCs will tell you if any kind of shock is needed.


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[ramsfan]

Use the Ahh-some before you dump this current water volume.

Your acid demand (pH rise) will get better as your TA decreases.

Don't worry about "weekly treatments". Just get a feel for your tubs chlorine demand by tracking FC and CCs consistently for the first few months. CCs will tell you if any kind of shock or MPS is needed?


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Awesome, thanks. Follow up question about FC and CC related to any need to shock. What level of CC (or what level of FC vs CC) does it become a concern and need for doing something like shock or

 

[pooldv]

If you miss a few days and FC drops to 0 or close or you see a little cloudiness in the spa raise FC up to 10-12. I have never had any CC in my tub, but any CC in the tub you should raise FC to 10-12. I tend to keep FC on the higher side in my pool and my tub to be on the safe side. It is safe to swim up to shock level for your CYA, [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]. So with my CYA at 30 in the tub I pretty much always raise FC to 10 after a soak and again to 6 or 8 a few hours later if needed.

I never use MPS, always just more bleach. I don't do anything weekly. If I know I won't be in the tub for several days to a week I'll jump FC up to 12.

TA at 240 is tough! Bummer. CH at 375 is fine.