Hello! I've had my hot tub for 5 or 6 years and muddled along with the test strips with reasonable success. My tub has mostly stayed balanced, except the odd times I've missed a few maintenance cycles. I have noticed the bromine smell is stronger than I'd like, so I did some research and found this great forum! I've read up on a bunch of threads and feel a lot more confident and knowledgeable about maintenance now.
One thing I learned right away was that the strips are a pretty bad way to go. I ordered the Taylor K-2106 test kit and have a few questions about bromine testing. I do the test and get the free and combined, do I multiple the result by 2.25? The directions don't specify that for the DPD test. Is the total bromine the sum of the free and combined?
I'm curious what the advantages are using the DPD test. It seems like the test I need is for total bromine, is there an advantage to knowing free vs combined? How do I use this information to better maintain my tub?
Lastly, I've been shocking with MPS and after reading a lot of the posts here I'm thinking about switching to chlorine shock. I have a bottle of Spa 56 that seems like it would be the right thing to use. How do I determine the best shock dosage for my 320 gallon tub?
Thanks in advance!
Adrian
One thing I learned right away was that the strips are a pretty bad way to go. I ordered the Taylor K-2106 test kit and have a few questions about bromine testing. I do the test and get the free and combined, do I multiple the result by 2.25? The directions don't specify that for the DPD test. Is the total bromine the sum of the free and combined?
I'm curious what the advantages are using the DPD test. It seems like the test I need is for total bromine, is there an advantage to knowing free vs combined? How do I use this information to better maintain my tub?
Lastly, I've been shocking with MPS and after reading a lot of the posts here I'm thinking about switching to chlorine shock. I have a bottle of Spa 56 that seems like it would be the right thing to use. How do I determine the best shock dosage for my 320 gallon tub?
Thanks in advance!
Adrian