newbie hottub?
- Thread starter jodyliebing
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poolcalculator.com
Looks like a total of 29 ounces (by weight) of borax and 14 oz of 30.45% Muriatic acid.
Looks like a total of 29 ounces (by weight) of borax and 14 oz of 30.45% Muriatic acid.
awsome!! Could you give me a quick overview on how to put it in? Should I do 1/2 at a time? And do I add the both chemicals at the same time??
Yes, it's best to alternate so you can do 1/2 at a time so as to lessen the pH swing. Even dosing in four alternating steps would be OK. You do not add them at the same time, but if you add the chemicals slowly over a return flow with the pump running then they should get mixed quickly and you can add them within say 5 minutes of each other. They do not react negatively with each other -- they tend to neutralize each other to produce boric acid.
I added the borates. I also added 1 T dichlor. I used the shock and swim which is 63% dichlor I thought that was suppose to raise chlorine to 8 ( to add stabelizer). This morning chlorine read 0. Am I using the wrong kind of diclor? The tub smells very strong of bleach so not sure why no reading, I am using my test kit and testing the same way I do the pool. What am I doing wrong????
Did you end up doing the tub decontamination?
Was the "strong smell of chlorine" right when you removed the cover?
How does the water look?
With an ozonator, chem geek has said that 50% loss of FC per day is normal on fresh water, so your is obviously below that. How much dichlor did you add?
Was the "strong smell of chlorine" right when you removed the cover?
How does the water look?
With an ozonator, chem geek has said that 50% loss of FC per day is normal on fresh water, so your is obviously below that. How much dichlor did you add?
I did empty and do a refill, didnt do the decontaminate, I really dont think the tub is contaminated, we have kept up pretty good on maintanance. the chlorine smell was right when I opened, I added 1 T of dichlor, maybe I didnt do the calculation right?? The water looks really good.
You measured zero ppm FC AND zero ppm CC with the FAS-DPD test? Does the OTO test show clear and no yellow (or orange or red)? When you added DPD powder, did you see a flash of pink? If so, then the FC is actually very high and you need to add more powder to get a color to hold for the test.
yes 0 on both fc and cc. Not actually sure if I seen a flash of pink, I didnt really pay attention. Also by OTO if you mean the test that is included witht he ph test yes I did that and didnt register chlorine either. Am I using the right dichlor and the right amount??
Looks like you have a product that does not have close to 100% dichlor (the dichlor which the pool calculator assumes is 99%) and you didn't add very much. Also, their may be other chemicals in that "shock and swim" that you do not need. Can you provide a manufacturer of the dichlor your are using? ..."shock and swim" is a very generic title.
I would guess the 1 tbsp of 63% dichlor only added ~ 2.8 FC to your tub, which would disappear quickly with an ozonator.
I would guess the 1 tbsp of 63% dichlor only added ~ 2.8 FC to your tub, which would disappear quickly with an ozonator.
ok!!! that explains it then!!! Yes, my dichlor is only the 63%!!! ok so can I just use that?? It is bioguard shock & swim. Also where would you get 99% dichlor??? so if I would just use what I bought, how much would I need to get cya of 30??? Double the amount?
You have to look at the active ingredient list, you want dichlor in the upper 90%. Looks like there is a few bioguard products that include the term "shock and swim", so it is hard to tell what the rest of the "junk" is. You really don't want to put extra stuff into your tub, at least unless you know what it is.
If you do decide to use it, put in 1.6 times the amount the poolcalculator calls for (by volume).
I am rethinking using bleach for several reasons including the fact that I have a ozonator. I believe I will do the bromine. I do have 50 ppm borax which I read is good in bromine or chlorine. i have already added a bit of bleach which i also read was ok. NOW i will crush up 6 bromine and put them in and the rest is like a foreign language to me( sorry more of a hands on girl than a bookie). What next?? Also how do I test my chlorine/bromine ? What should it be? And should I use bleach to shock or non chlorine shock for spas?? Is that all I need to do other than the obvious ph/TA. Also should my TA remain at the 50 ? Also should I leave bromine in my feeder all the time?
Yes, a chlorine tub can be easily switched to bromine with out draining. However, switching from Bromine to Chlorine does require a full drain.jodyliebing said:
I would give the dichlor then bleach approach a try before giving up on it. It works great for me (however, I have no ozonator, and the longest I go between adding chlorine is 3 days)!
I just feel that with bleach, i will have to check and add every day with the ozonator. I check my pool ever day in the summer which I dont mind, but not sure I really want to check every day with hot tub, and we are lucky to use it once a week, I just think bromine would be easier. I was kinda hoping that I could actually use way less bromine with the ozonator, like not having it in the dispenser ALL the time, only when I need it. Could anyone answer my question regarding how to test my bromine and what it should be??
With what you describe, either bromine or an automatic chlorine dosing (e.g. ControlOMatic Technichlor SWG) would be easier.
You can use your chlorine test kit to test bromine. Just multiply your chlorine result by 2.25 (or just 2, for simplicity) and target a 4 ppm bromine level (roughly a 2 ppm FC level). If you add sodium bromide to create a bromide bank, then the ozonator can create bromine from the bromide to handle background dosing in between soaks. You would then just add some bleach after your soak unless the soaks are very short (say, 15 minutes of 1 person in a larger tub). You can use non-chlorine shock (MPS) if you want, but it's more expensive -- bleach is really the best choice and will keep the water clear. The bleach will convert bromide to bromine quickly.
You can use your chlorine test kit to test bromine. Just multiply your chlorine result by 2.25 (or just 2, for simplicity) and target a 4 ppm bromine level (roughly a 2 ppm FC level). If you add sodium bromide to create a bromide bank, then the ozonator can create bromine from the bromide to handle background dosing in between soaks. You would then just add some bleach after your soak unless the soaks are very short (say, 15 minutes of 1 person in a larger tub). You can use non-chlorine shock (MPS) if you want, but it's more expensive -- bleach is really the best choice and will keep the water clear. The bleach will convert bromide to bromine quickly.
you really need to have bromine tabs in a dispenser if you don't want to add chlorine or mps every other day. with my 400 gal tub I go threw 1 tab in about a week. when I get down to a half tab I add another one. we pull the floater out when we use the tub and add a little chlorine to bump up the bromine. I also have to bump up TA and/or ph once a week since the tabs are acidic.
so really all I do is add a tab when needed and check the bromine, ph and TA 1 time a week and adjust as needed.
the hard part is adjusting your floater so it give you the right amount of bromine. but after that it's very easy.
so really all I do is add a tab when needed and check the bromine, ph and TA 1 time a week and adjust as needed.
the hard part is adjusting your floater so it give you the right amount of bromine. but after that it's very easy.
A tab feeder is definitely needed if one doesn't soak every day or two and if one does not have an ozonator. With an ozonator, however, one can have a bromide bank (from added sodium bromide) and the ozone will make bromine from it. If the ozonator is on long enough and the bromide bank is large enough, then sufficient bromine can be made to provide a residual in between soaks.
so are you saying that I can use bromine and still add bleach after we soak instead of non chlorine shock?