- Jun 1, 2018
- 16,019
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
About 4oz is correct to get a 4.5ppm rise if using 5-6% bleach.
Using dedicated pool chlorine that is 10-12% strength you will use less to acheive the same ppm as it’s twice as potent.
Clorox w/ Cloromax is a no go.
Some store brands also will say they have “fabric protection” so steer clear of that. Its also polymers- they cause foaming.
Not sure what’s available where you are. But aldi sells plain bleach & the chloralen brand plain is also fine to use.
Unadulterated household bleach is just harder to find these days which is why dedicated pool chlorine is recommended.
A spa is essentially a communal bathtub that keeps the same water for months. So There is a high fc demand that must be met or nasties will grow quickly. It is it’s own ecosystem that needs proper sanitizer levels to keep the funky stuff at bay.
The bather load is comparable to having a frat party in your 20k gal pool every time you use it.
Yes, you need to test every day even if you don’t use it so you can get a better understanding of your standby fc needs & can dose accordingly with confidence.
Once you gather some data you’ll be able to wing it a little more.
Every tub’s standby fc loss looks different because there are sooo many variables (frequency of use/bather loads/ tds/ temperature/ biofilms) - mine won’t be the same as yours.
My tub is half the size of yours, this means my bather load is higher but my volume of liquid chlorine used each dose is less.
i use a salt water chlorine generator for my standby chlorination & I generally dose to around 6-10ppm after use depending upon how the tub was used. (How dirty were the people/how many people)
My tub is then maintained at about 5/6ppm fc all the time w/ the swcg so that’s where I generally begin my soaks. If its more than 1 person or I go longer than 30/40 minutes alone I add more chlorine back up to 6ppm to prevent falling below minimum for my cya of 30 before I am done. Then I dose again when I get out if needed. If its a teen get together I raise to 10ppm before anyone gets in as 3 or 4 teenagers can make the fc drop 4ppm or more in my tiny tub in just a few minutes.
I make them take a break & add some liquid chlorine every 30 minutes or so in those instances. Especially if sunscreen is involved + teen girls with all their hair/skin products!
The main thing is keep fc above minimum at all times - whatever it takes to accomplish that in your tub.
Most average users (1-2 people for 30 minutes) , who manually chlorinate, can dose to near slam level after use & return the following day to high enough fc to allow them to use the tub for a reasonable amount of time and then repeat the process afterwards without fc falling too low.
In my tub, when manually dosing, I have found that raising fc to slam level buys me 6-7 days of standby time before broaching minimum.
it is safe for people & equipment/surfaces for fc to be anywhere between minimum and slam level for your cya.
Hope this helps
Using dedicated pool chlorine that is 10-12% strength you will use less to acheive the same ppm as it’s twice as potent.
Clorox w/ Cloromax is a no go.
Some store brands also will say they have “fabric protection” so steer clear of that. Its also polymers- they cause foaming.
Not sure what’s available where you are. But aldi sells plain bleach & the chloralen brand plain is also fine to use.
Unadulterated household bleach is just harder to find these days which is why dedicated pool chlorine is recommended.
A spa is essentially a communal bathtub that keeps the same water for months. So There is a high fc demand that must be met or nasties will grow quickly. It is it’s own ecosystem that needs proper sanitizer levels to keep the funky stuff at bay.
The bather load is comparable to having a frat party in your 20k gal pool every time you use it.
Yes, you need to test every day even if you don’t use it so you can get a better understanding of your standby fc needs & can dose accordingly with confidence.
Once you gather some data you’ll be able to wing it a little more.
Every tub’s standby fc loss looks different because there are sooo many variables (frequency of use/bather loads/ tds/ temperature/ biofilms) - mine won’t be the same as yours.
My tub is half the size of yours, this means my bather load is higher but my volume of liquid chlorine used each dose is less.
i use a salt water chlorine generator for my standby chlorination & I generally dose to around 6-10ppm after use depending upon how the tub was used. (How dirty were the people/how many people)
My tub is then maintained at about 5/6ppm fc all the time w/ the swcg so that’s where I generally begin my soaks. If its more than 1 person or I go longer than 30/40 minutes alone I add more chlorine back up to 6ppm to prevent falling below minimum for my cya of 30 before I am done. Then I dose again when I get out if needed. If its a teen get together I raise to 10ppm before anyone gets in as 3 or 4 teenagers can make the fc drop 4ppm or more in my tiny tub in just a few minutes.
I make them take a break & add some liquid chlorine every 30 minutes or so in those instances. Especially if sunscreen is involved + teen girls with all their hair/skin products!
The main thing is keep fc above minimum at all times - whatever it takes to accomplish that in your tub.
Most average users (1-2 people for 30 minutes) , who manually chlorinate, can dose to near slam level after use & return the following day to high enough fc to allow them to use the tub for a reasonable amount of time and then repeat the process afterwards without fc falling too low.
In my tub, when manually dosing, I have found that raising fc to slam level buys me 6-7 days of standby time before broaching minimum.
it is safe for people & equipment/surfaces for fc to be anywhere between minimum and slam level for your cya.
Hope this helps
