Aussie Help - Chlorine / bleach with hidden extras?

[w1nta]

Hi all, noob here with a question about chlorine. I have been reading heaps of articles from this site which has helped immensely and have decided to follow Nitro's Dichlor/bleach method but am having issues with products. I have the water balanced fairly well and CYA is at about 30 ppm. I purchased some unfragranced White King brand bleach from the supermarket and added it a couple of times but I had foaming issues. I since found out White King has added soaps in the bleach that are not listed on the ingredients so that was a big fail. I went to Bunnings (big box hardware warehouse in Aus) and bought 2Kg of granular Pool Chlorine which has 650g/Kg available Chlorine present as Calcium Hypochlorite. The label on the back says "Do not use this product in spa pool water". Is this a load of bollocks or is there another additive in granular pool chlorine that can cause issues in spas and hot tubs?

 

[Texas Splash]

G'day and welcome! Foaming is typical for one of two reason: Either the chlorine used has some sort of "product" added (i.e. fabric polymers, scented, or splashless) .... OR ... the CH level is too low. So if your CH level is okay, it sounds as if you've already noted that White King product may be at fault. I'm not familiar with the chlorine products in your local area, so I'm going to modify your thread title to get the attention of some Aussies who should know. Have a great day.

Oh, I did find this discussion: Aussies - "Bleach"

 

[Jezza]

Welcome to the TFP.

Yep the Australian bleach is generally weak and not good value for money compared to the liquid chlorine you can buy either from Bunnings or your local pool store (just compare prices for the cheaper option). The granular chlorine you mentioned has calcium in it which you can use although you will need to monitor the CH very closely to make sure it doesn't lead to to a potential scaling issue. The best option assuming that your CYA is at the appropriate level would be now to maintain your FC with liquid chlorine

I would consider getting a recommended drop test kit (Clearchoice labs are a local supplier) to really help you hone your levels accurately. Aussie Gold is reasonable but doesn't have the ability to test for for CYA or CH and levels above 5 FC accurately. Test strips are just junk and cannot be relied upon at all.

 

[ajw22]

Use of cal-hypo will cause the CH level in your spa to rapidly rise unless you are frequently draining water. High CH levels with high water temperature can cause scaling in the tub and equipment. The warning is likely to not have liability should scaling damage occur.

 

[w1nta]

Fantastic feedback! Thanks for the replies. I'll go get myself some liquid chlorine and yes I have my eye on the Clearchoice labs kit but they are unfortunately out of stock of the fresh water kit ATM.