First Purge on New Tub

[greatestvalue]

Hi everyone,
Hope you're awesome (pun intended)

Will have a AquaTerra Montera tub delivered this Friday. Ordered my ahh-some for the after delivery purge.

I read ahh-some Q & A here. Watched the You Tube video on how to purge using Ahh-some.

I am so confused on how do you purge the hot tub for the 1st time at delivery when:

1) Owners Manual says NEVER run the jets without the filter in place.
2) The water wont be hot. I read it says doesn't need to be but is better if it is hot
3) Chemicals wont be balanced (wasn't clear on whether it needed to be or if I just needed to make sure we added Dchlor (which Im still not sure what that is) or liquid chlorine so it has some type of sanitizer in the water as we do the drain?

TIA and look forward to learning & sharing

 

[Newdude]

Hey GV !!!

1) Short term, for the duration of the purge, is fine. With brand new cartridges I wouldn't bother cleaning the filters, but you could also toss them in the middle of the tub during the purge if you'd like.

2) the gel disperses easier in hot water and that's it. I did it both ways and maybe it took 2 mins longer to get sudsy when the water was cold. It really was no biggie.

3) you are going to dump the water immediately, or run a 2nd purge cycle with a half dose and then dump the water. You will not be bathing in it so there is no need for sanitizing. Save your chemicals.

 

[greatestvalue]

@Mdragger88 --- So to do a 2nd purge.
1) add ahh-some at 1 tsp per 125 gallons (per ahh-some sales person on you tube video)
2) let jets run XXX how many minutes?
3) Skim gunk & clean water line
4) add ahh-some again at 1/2 tsp per 125 gallons
5) skim gunk & clean water line again and then
6) and then drain?

Thank you

 

[Newdude]

^^^^^^ exactly like that. Each 'cycle' is however long until your tub shuts off which should be about 15 mins.

I found my pool net worked great to scoop out the foamy gunk. You can get alot of it before it sticks to the tub.

I went one step further after draining the last time and filled just high enough that it would suck water and ran the jets in 3 second spurts to flush them. Just a couple of quick taps on the jet button. Then i drained, cleaned and filled for real.

 

[greatestvalue]

I found this picture on another topic, discussing dichlor.

Is this an image of Dichlor and what I need to use first before switching over to liquid chlorine?

I have the info on what Im looking for in the long named sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione ingredients in my notes but visuals are always better for me.

I looked online and Im finding leisure time, Spa this and that but they all indicate they have 1% additional ingredients but they don’t say what that ingredient is.

If this isn't what I'm looking for in Walmart/Home Depot/Online/Lowes etc would someone mind posting an image of what a good Dichlor looks like?

Thank you in advance...

 

[Newdude]

Thats CYA (cyanuric acid) a.k.a. stabilizer. It buffers the chlorine so the sun doesn't burn as much off, and it also helps bather comfort as with 30ppm the water will feel less harsh than tap water.

Dichlor has the same CYA, and chlorine. Its a great way to get both up to start, but once you've reached your CYA level, switch to bleach. I have no idea about the brands as i've never used it. Hang tight.

 

[Mdragger88]

So long as it says 99% sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione it’s fine.
Walmart usually has Spa selections 99% but it’s been out of stock lately they seem to have replaced it with hth - either is fine

 

[5tan]

1) <cut> With brand new cartridges I wouldn't bother cleaning the filters, but you could also toss them in the middle of the tub during the purge if you'd like.

Pro-tip: tie your filters to something heavy so they stay submerged and have 0% chance of reaching the surface. The released gunk stays on the water surface, so if your filters float even a tiny bit above the water surface, they'll catch the gunk. That gunk is near impossible to remove from the filter pleats.

 

[greatestvalue]

My hot tub came today.

I filled it for testing
I will do my purge(s) as instructed from everyone's help here tomorrow

and then I will do this?

Sanitation
On a fresh fill use Dichlor until you get to 20-30 ppm CYA. (10 ppm FC = 9 ppm CYA) (and I do this by hanging a sock over the side of the tub?
Then switch to plain bleach or liquid chlorine.
Never let FC drop to Zero for any length of time. Keep it between 3-6 ppm normally, min of 1 ppm, (do this by adding chlorinating liquid after every use and/or every day if not being used)?? and shock to 12 ppm once a week. (Using the chlorinated liquid)??

I do nothing else but test every day?

I added the pictures of what should be used when because Im feeling confused about what products are what. Example: Chlorinating Liquid says "Shock" on the box. I thought you were only supposed to "shock" the hot tub once a week. But we are using it and adding it daily to keep FC between 3-6ppm?

Thank you
Roberta

 

[Mdragger88]

My hot tub came today.

I filled it for testing
I will do my purge(s) as instructed from everyone's help here tomorrow

and then I will do this?

Sanitation
On a fresh fill use Dichlor View attachment 395436until you get to 20-30 ppm CYA. (10 ppm FC = 9 ppm CYA) (and I do this by hanging a sock over the side of the tub?
Then switch to plain bleach or liquid chlorine. View attachment 395437
Never let FC drop to Zero for any length of time. Keep it between 3-6 ppm normally, min of 1 ppm, (do this by adding chlorinating liquid after every use and/or every day if not being used)?? and shock to 12 ppm once a week. (Using the chlorinated liquid)??

I do nothing else but test every day?

I added the pictures of what should be used when because Im feeling confused about what products are what. Example: Chlorinating Liquid says "Shock" on the box. I thought you were only supposed to "shock" the hot tub once a week. But we are using it and adding it daily to keep FC between 3-6ppm?

Thank you
Roberta

You just add the dichlor to the water with the jets running- it will dissolve.
The sock method is for granular cya only (it doesn’t contain chlorine) & is generally used for pools.
As for your fc target - you always follow the FC/CYA Levels so as cya rises so does the fc target
The minimum fc level is 2ppm for a cya of 30ppm or below.
Maintaining proper fc levels all the time prevents the need to raise go shock/slam level on some arbitrary schedule.
You may find that after soaking you will need to raise fc somewhere between high target & slam level to account for current bather waste & to have enough fc to get you through to the next day/dose/soak without going below minimum.
You also need to test & maintain ph in the 7’s.

 

[greatestvalue]

I used the ahh-some but didnt understand how I was to get sanitizer in the tub as I hadnt put any chemicals in yet, as it was a brand new tub. I wish I had come here to check out that I just needed to add a bit of liquid chlorine.

However, did 2 purges with the Ozone generator and no additional sanitizer. Neither produced any green gunk. A lot of foam both times but just a slight brown and very minimal what looked like dirt. Drained and refilled, will be testing and adding chemicals today.

Should I redo the Ahh-some while throwing some liquid chlorine in or do we think the 2 purges we did with the ozone would have pulled out the green gunk if it was in the plumbing?

TIA

 

[Ahhsomeguy]

Two purges are fine. You are now good to go. Please spend some additional time learning the water testing and maintenance basics with the vast amount of information available to you on this forum. The initial time spent learing will reward you with pristine, healthy, inviting and safe water for your recreational soaking pleasure.

PS: The next day or so you may notice slight foam and possible floaters on the water. Just wipe away and no need to be concerned. Just residual Ahh-Some and possible gunk that finally was released.

 

[greatestvalue]

Two purges are fine. You are now good to go. Please spend some additional time learning the water testing and maintenance basics with the vast amount of information available to you on this forum. The initial time spent learing will reward you with pristine, healthy, inviting and safe water for your recreational soaking pleasure.

PS: The next day or so you may notice slight foam and possible floaters on the water. Just wipe away and no need to be concerned. Just residual Ahh-Some and possible gunk that finally was released.

Awesome - Thank You

We got the Taylor K2006C kit, and you better be willing to read and learn. As we feel like we need to be chemist to even decipher what the instructions say.
I should have bought the TFP kit instead of the Taylor. The kit keeps saying refer to the color match and no where in the guide book etc can we find a color chart. So continued reading, watching you tube videos and more reading we are doing.

But overtime we will master the healthy water & maintenance with the help of all of the good souls, like yourself, here on TFP. Grateful for your encouragement!

 

[Mdragger88]

Be aware that ozone is only an oxidizer- not a sanitizer so adequate fc levels must be maintained at all times according to the FC/CYA Levels regardless of the use of an ozone generator.
Here’s some more info on the subject

Ozone Systems - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[greatestvalue]

Be aware that ozone is only an oxidizer- not a sanitizer so adequate fc levels must be maintained at all times according to the FC/CYA Levels regardless of the use of an ozone generator.
Here’s some more info on the subject

Ozone Systems - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Thank you - that was a great read.

 

[CristyW]

3) you are going to dump the water immediately, or run a 2nd purge cycle with a half dose and then dump the water. You will not be bathing in it so there is no need for sanitizing. Save your chemicals.

You said not to add sanitizer when you are purging, but I thought you were supposed to jack up the sanitizer so as the Ahh-Some strips the biofilms away, there is something there to kill the exposed microorganisms. Does the dose of Ahh-Some actually have enough killing power for whatever is dislodged and exposed in the plumbing?

(I actually learned about the product when my local store had a rep trying to get them to carry a product called Hot Tub Serum, and they asked me to test it. The Rep told me to shock with chlorine when purging. I then learned Ahh-Some was the same product and I could get it online.)

 

[Newdude]

There is zero need to kill anything. You dump the water and treat the new water after filling. I Ahhsome-ed my bathtub also, which never has FC. Right down the drain afterwards.

 

[Mdragger88]

The reason for having sanitizer in the water is because you touch it whilst scooping/removing goo.
In all the info/videos “adequate levels of sanitizer” is recommended.
I am also team “mo bleach!” & want the most thorough impact with my purge.

 

[CristyW]

My theory on super-chlorinating it prior to purging is the assumption that not every single microorganism in the pipes would be dislodged and removed. If any colonies were remaining, but hopefully had their protective biofilm cover stripped or damaged, the chlorine could zap them.

The downside though would be use of more chemicals, and the water being dumped would not be as safe on the ground. Although letting it sit open after purging could dissipate much of it.

To the questions of the OP... I do remove the filters for the brief time of purging the tub. However, if it is windy and leaves are blowing in, you might want to rig some kind of leaf netting so nothing gets sucked into the system. I try to do it on calm days and keep an eye out for debris going in.

Balancing the chemicals isn't important for this brief run.

I usually see two kinds of "spa shock" at our local store. An oxidizing shock, and chlorine shock. I use the chlorine shock for this purpose. My pool guy said bleach is fine, which I assume extends to liquid chlorine.

 

[Newdude]

My theory on super-chlorinating it prior to purging is the assumption that not every single microorganism in the pipes would be dislodged and removed. If any colonies were remaining, but hopefully had their protective biofilm cover stripped or damaged, the chlorine could zap them.

I see your point entirely and when i went to SLAM level with the new water, it effectively did the same. The purge started with my normal love of running 'hot', so I guess by default I was already higher FC than the average user with little or none.

I don't believe I touched my water during the purge. I used the pool net for the suds and plenty of paper towels for wiping the sides. I used my submersible pump to drain the bulk of the tub and shop vac'd the rest, also remaining dry.

However. That said. I am never against chlorone. If it helps you feel better about it, SLAM the tar out of it. Me not feeling the need to does *not* mean you can't or shouldn't.