Cleanwater Blue Hot Tub System - Green Water

[sherwood]

Hello All,

We purchased our first hot tub in June 2015. 320 Gallon Hydropool Serenity 5000.

Started with Chlorine system which caused coughing & sneezing, so at the first water change, 3-4 mths later, we changed over to Bromine at the suggestion of our hot tub dealer. Bromine was much easier on the respiratory system, however, immediately caused skin irritation.

At this point our dealer suggested Spa Marvel. After speaking with a few people in our community who tried it, we decided to look for an alternative as they were not completely happy.

This is when I found the Spa Depot site and the Cleanwater Blue system. Although I couldn't find much online in relation to this product other than on the Spa Depot site, I decided to take a chance and try it based on the great reviews. I know my dealer, as well as a few others in town, have their own brand of product so figured Spa Depot as well would have and this may be why I couldn't much else online regarding the Cleanwater Blue.

We did a water change in the middle of March 2016 and started up with the Cleanwater Blue; following the instructions strictly. Had sparkling clear water. The best looking water we have ever had! No coughing, sneezing, skin irritation or milky foaming water "AT ALL" while running jets and air on high. I thought we were golden and loved every aspect of this system UNTIL, about a week and a half into it when the water turned a cloudy green color.

I have several times since been able to clear the water back to sparkling crystal clear, however, continue after about a week and a half, of getting cloudy green water, with this last bought being unable to recover my crystal clear water.

I absolutely love it when it's good but absolutely hate it when it's bad! I am constantly checking sanitizer, Alk & PH to ensure they are in check but it doesn't seem to matter.

Just wondering if anyone else has tried this system and if so, do you have any suggestions to tweak it.

 

[tim5055]

We generally don't recommend systems like this because they are metals based. As I understand it, you still should have been using a small amount of chlorine, hence the dichlor that is included in the chemicals.

The problem is that metals are slow,to kill the bad things in the water and they don't oxidize at all, which is why you have to shock weekly with MPS.

The thing is that with your cloudy green water you now have lots of organics growing in the water.

The vast majority of our members use chlorine in their spa with most of the rest using bromine. Myself, I use chlorine. The smell you described with chlorine is what you get when it is not properly balanced.

You may have seen this, but check it out - How do I use Chlorine in my Spa (or pool)?)

 

[pooldv]

Agreed, I have been using bleach (chlorine) to maintain my tub for several years and it is great. Most likely the reason you found it to be irritating was caused by lack of CYA, cyanuric acid, in the water. I would urge you to give the process Tim linked another chance. That process uses CYA and borates, both contribute to excellent water feel and the borates and lowered TA also help to control PH rise.

 

[cowboycasey]

I have to agree, i changed from bromine because of skin irritation also and following that guide has been perfect... I have now gone to a salt water system that is even better because it adds a small amount of chlorine every 3 hours

 

[Donldson]

Clearwater Blue is a copper based system. Copper is an effective algaecide but provides little protection against bacteria, which is a considerable issue in a spa. It also is the cause of green hair. As such I never recommend any copper based systems.

I would agree with the others that your chlorine problems likely resulted from excessive unbuffered chlorine levels. Following the guidelines posted by Tim results in a much lower active chlorine level that is far less harsh than typical chlorine or bromine tubs.

I would drain the tub, drop the Cleanwater Blue, and give our chlorine-based system a trial run. See if it meets your expectations and doesn't cause the same problems. If you still are not happy and really want a chlorine-free tub then look for a silver-based system. Silver is an algaecide that does kill bacteria and is approved as a sanitizer in spas. It is a much better option if you are going to go the chlorine-free route.