Blowing through FC...
- Thread starter dunginhawk
- Start date
ok, so i shocked to 16 again... interestingly enough, the pool math said i should be at 16, but i am once again at 13... so my guess is there is more water in my tub than the gallons calculated... So I modified that a bit for my pool math app going foward.
Try entering FC Now/13 Goal/16 in PoolMath, add that amount of chlorine and retest in 15min, see what you are at then.
ok.. that got it to 17... so gallons in my tub is not perfect 
ill see what we are at in an hour. Certainly isnt cheap to do a slam. feel like im going through DPD reagents like mad haha
ill see what we are at in an hour. Certainly isnt cheap to do a slam. feel like im going through DPD reagents like mad haha
Yes the reagents do add a "cost" to the slamok.. that got it to 17... so gallons in my tub is not perfect
Have you checked out the bulk refills?
- R-0870 powder (look for the .25lb or 110g size, R-0870-J)
- R-0871 liquid (look for the 16 or 32 oz size, letter F or J, I think)
- make SURE to compare & verify the size
- make SURE to compare & verify the size
I havent... im searching around to try to find the larger sizes.Yes the reagents do add a "cost" to the slam
Have you checked out the bulk refills?
- R-0870 powder (look for the .25lb or 110g size, R-0870-J)
- R-0871 liquid (look for the 16 or 32 oz size, letter F or J, I think)
- make SURE to compare & verify the size
40 minute test.. showed about 15.5FC... so still holding up there. less than .5cc...
1.5 hours later i am down to around 12.5. about to bump it back up to 16... man this is strange.
Oly
Gold Supporter
you mean clean the water with ahhsome, while having high FC as well?
FYI ive completely drained (ahhsome both times) and filled the tub 2x in the last 45 days
FYI ive completely drained (ahhsome both times) and filled the tub 2x in the last 45 days
Oly
Gold Supporter
Yes I would run the purge again while the FC is high.
If you are still getting discolored foam then you have plumbing contamination / biofilm buildup.
If you are still getting discolored foam then you have plumbing contamination / biofilm buildup.
So my question would be then how do I prevent that from happening? I know its impossible to prevent it all, but I JUST did an ahhsome purge a few weeks ago... got a lot out... I cant drain my tub every month because I have gunk in it... thats not sustainable...
Oly
Gold Supporter
My experience was / is that the biofilm build up went on for years prior to my understanding proper spa sanitation.
My initial purge yielded a lot of detritus and I thought I was done and my system was clean but my chlorine usage continued to be excessive.
Only after 3 purges over time and by raising the FC during each purge did I get my system clean enough to drop my daily FC loss to <1.5ppm with no use.
I now routinely add 3ppm per person per hour when in use and always keep my FC in or above the target zone for my CYA ppm.
I change out the water after a purge with a high FC level and a quality surfactant every time now and do this every 60 days or earlier if CCs get above 1ppm and I cannot lower it by opening the cover for several hours.
We use our small spa every day sometimes twice a day during winter.
I also change out my filter every 30 days or less with a cleaned one between each purge/drain/refill.
I also purge and fully drain my spa, pump and hoses over the summer.
That is my sanitation plan.
My initial purge yielded a lot of detritus and I thought I was done and my system was clean but my chlorine usage continued to be excessive.
Only after 3 purges over time and by raising the FC during each purge did I get my system clean enough to drop my daily FC loss to <1.5ppm with no use.
I now routinely add 3ppm per person per hour when in use and always keep my FC in or above the target zone for my CYA ppm.
I change out the water after a purge with a high FC level and a quality surfactant every time now and do this every 60 days or earlier if CCs get above 1ppm and I cannot lower it by opening the cover for several hours.
We use our small spa every day sometimes twice a day during winter.
I also change out my filter every 30 days or less with a cleaned one between each purge/drain/refill.
I also purge and fully drain my spa, pump and hoses over the summer.
That is my sanitation plan.
So ive only had the tub since nov... since then its had 4 ahhsome purges.. 1 before its first use. I dont doubt that there is SOME gunk always in there, but thats normal. So that 1.5ppm with NO USE is the figure ive kind been after for a while.. no one seemed to address that. For 5 months my SWG had ZERO issue keeping up with daily use. none at all. However since i let the tub go green (cya dropped to 0) ive had this issue im fighting now...
Oly
Gold Supporter
Open up your equipment panel door and have a look inside. You may have an area of your plumbing where you have water this is not circulating is stagnant and cannot be properly cleaned or sanitized. See if you can find a plumbing diagram of your system or call the manufacturer and talk to one of their techs about your issue.
I popped the panels... didnt see anything... Im going to keep it up in slam levels for a couple days just see what happens... I feel like the gunk is out of it, and if thats the case, maybe it can stabilize.
I tell ya, the tub saw some pretty heavy use (kids) this weekend. I put in a couple oz of clarifier and BAM gunk again.. I am really confused... I thought clarifier essentially gathered the smaller stuff, grouped and and it should get grabbed by the filters... Im starting to think my filter system is garbage. I get a nice swirl of water and stuff is being filtered out but everytime I add clarifier the walls just get gunked up.
There is plenty of FC in the tub. So do I not worry about the fact that the clarifier gets that gunk out? The tub is still pretty clear without it.
If you FC is good level, it could be causing the clarifier to "gunk" (reaction)