Newbie Question

[slbarr98]

I just emptied and refilled my hot tub. It is a royal spa ~450 gallon hot tub. I add a package of instant bromine reserve, chemical to remove metal, and shock. Let the jets run for 30 minutes. 4 hours later I tested the water and not 100% sure on all the results.
Bromine 10. (Need to remove float with bromine tab until bromine level drops?)
Ph was 7.8 to 8
Alkalinity 120
Calcium 120

I know Ph is boarder line high as well.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Stacy

 

[JVTrain]

What did you use to "shock?"

The bromine is a bit high, probably because of the shock + floater. I would remove the floater for just a bit to let the bromine come down.

pH is OK, but based on the TA (alkalinity) you'll likely be fighting continuous pH rise until your TA comes down to the 70 ish range. Adding acid each time the pH rises to 8 or greater will bring the TA over time. If you want to drop the TA lower faster, drop the pH to 7.0-7.2 with acid and then run the jets on high for a cycle, check pH and TA and repeat until you get to about 70. Around 50 is ideal for spas, but don't want to be too aggressive with the TA, it will come down fairly naturally as you maintain pH and settle in in the 50-70 range with less pH rise over time.

Check out the two sticky threads at the top of the Spas and Hot Tubs forums for more information.

 

[slbarr98]

Thanks, is there a cheat sheet of chemicals you can buy at say Wal-Mart to raise/lower the various levels?

 

[Richard320]

Thanks, is there a cheat sheet of chemicals you can buy at say Wal-Mart to raise/lower the various levels?

http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/139-recommended-pool-chemicals

 

[slbarr98]

That is awesome. Thank you very much

 

[JVTrain]

Check out the Recommended Chemicals page here: http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/139-recommended-pool-chemicals

Check out the ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry as well.

From most any store you can get chemicals to lower or raise pH, raise TA, CYA. Raising CH you can get from Wal-Marts with pool supply sections. You're CH is slightly low, but I wouldn't worry about it.

Check out the Pool Math link on the top of the website. If you learn to use that calculator, it will tell you exactly how much to add of each chemical to achieve the desired result. Feel free to ask about what you are going to add before you add it to make sure you're using it correctly.

Also... add the details of your spa to your forum signature so it's easier to see in every post what we're dealing with. Click Settings in the upper right, then Edit Signature on the left of the next page.

And welcome to TFP!