Help! New hot tub owner, chem questions. High CYA.

[Srbinette]

We recently got a hot tub and was given the @ease system to use. I was given instructions on shocking with 1oz dichlor and 2oz MPS weekly. Well the @ease system wasn’t keeping up with heavy usage. My tub was turning slightly green in color (still very clear) and my CC was through the roof. So I ended up adding dichlor and MPS more frequently. Now my hot tub is at 50-60ppm CYA. I’ve been reading that the frog system needs CYA close to 0. Not sure why dichlor was recommended to me if thats the case because dichlor adds CYA!

Is a drain and refill necessary at this point? If I do drain, do I use the frog and stop shocking dichlor? If I can use liquid chlorine to shock with the frog, I would rather do that (that’s what I’m used to in my pool).

Also, I am having trouble testing CC with my Taylor k-2006 test kit. It’s always crazy high. I’ve read MPS can throw off the readings. Also when I test for FC, the solution will turn clear but then go back to pink after sitting for several seconds. Is this due to water temp? Do I need a different kit for my hot tub vs pool?

Thank you in advance!

 

[ajw22]

I think you need to dump your water and start over.

Go easy on the Dichlor. Use Dichlor until you get to 20-30 ppm CYA and then switch to liquid chlorine.

Follow this process, and dump the @ease Frog...

How do I use Chlorine in my Spa or Hot Tub?

If you have a question about any information within this Sticky, please start a new thread for yourself where you will receive very quick responses to your specific questions. Thank you! Introduction There are two main things to consider when maintaining your hot tub water, Water Balance and...

www.troublefreepool.com

Your K-2006C kit is fine. The FC test is done when it turns clear. Ignore color changes after.

 

[Gebo]

I sold my frog on eBay before opening it. I don’t use MPS.

I concur with ajw22.

The only thing I would add is I would do a purge with AhhSome before dumping the current water. That’s assuming you haven’t already done one.

Well, there is one other thing I would do. Come to this forum for advice and direction. There are some really helpful and knowledgeable people here.

 

[Mdragger88]

Yup what they said
Ditch the ,
Ahhsome purge (till clean),

what is ahh-some?

What is Ahh-some?

www.google.com

Dump, refill & follow the guide @ajw22 posted

 

[phonedave]

The chlorine that the Frog system uses is a different kind of chlorine than "normal" pucks (usually dichlor). The chlorine that Frog uses shows up on a standard FAS/DPD test as CCs. That is why your CC's are through the roof (well, and you likely have some "real" CC's in there too). My tub came with a the Frog and I used it until it ran out. I was already using TFP process in my pool for years. First test I ran in my hot tub, my CCs were showing above 20 ppm

As others have said, adding dichlor adds CYA. Dichlor adds two things to your pool. Chlorine (FC) and CYA. Bleach or Liquid Chlorine adds one thing, chlorine (FC). Most of the hot tub users here start with dichlor when they first fill their tub, to add both FC and CYA. When the CYA gets between 20 - 40 ppm they then switch to regular bleach (or liquid chlorine).

MPS (aka oxygen shock) does not do anything from a sanitation perspective. It helps to oxidize (get rid of) CCs, but does not provide any sanitation benefits. It can help if you have high CCs (real CCs, not Frog CCs). However chlorine does the same thing. FC will oxidize the CCs as well. There is nothing wrong with using MPS per se, but it is not necessary and some people are allergic to it and get a rash (maybe - as far as I know, the jury is still out on that one). But even if the rash thing is questionable, if you don't need it, then why use it. I myself never use MPS. My hot tub runs on the following

DiChlor - on startup, to build CYA (and for FC as well)
Bleach - for FC once my CYA is around 30 ppm
Muriatic Acid - To get pH down to where it should be
Calcium Chloride - One time dose at start up to get my CH to around 320 ppm to prevent foaming
AquaClarity - one scant ounce weekly to keep biofilms from forming.
AhhSome - To purge before a water change - really has become kind of useless with the AquaClarity, since nothing seems to grow at all since I have started using that.

Things you do not see on the list - MPS, Baking Soda, Frog Stuff, Defoamer, pH up. I do not attempt to adjust TA to some arbitrary point as I do in my pool. I knock the pH down with acid daily after a water change until the pH and TA come to an equilibrium on their own. I have never had to raise pH in my hot tub.

One thing that may make the list in the near future is Boric Acid. I had a small amount of borates in my pool from many additions of Borax over the years and I liked the way the water looked and behaved. I have a new pool and when I open it, I think I will just use boric acid, instead of dozens of boxes of borax and gallons of MA. If I have boric acid for my pool, I may as well put it in my hot tub too.

 

[Gebo]

Things you do not see on the list - MPS, Baking Soda, Frog Stuff, Defoamer, pH up. I do not attempt to adjust TA to some arbitrary point as I do in my pool. I knock the pH down with acid daily after a water change until the pH and TA come to an equilibrium on their own. I have never had to raise pH in my hot tub.

One thing that may make the list in the near future is Boric Acid. I had a small amount of borates in my pool from many additions of Borax over the years and I liked the way the water looked and behaved. I have a new pool and when I open it, I think I will just use boric acid, instead of dozens of boxes of borax and gallons of MA. If I have boric acid for my pool, I may as well put it in my hot tub too.

You got me thinking again. Where does your TA settle?
I also added the straight Boric Acid. 14 Oz to 350 gallons.

 

[phonedave]

You got me thinking again. Where does your TA settle?
I also added the straight Boric Acid. 14 Oz to 350 gallons.

My pool math logs get posted, when I decide to actually log the tests in pool math - I don't normally log routine FC readings

My last full battery was two weeks ago with the following

FC 2.5
CC 0.0
pH 7.8
TA 60
CH 350
CYA 20

I added DiChlor and Acid to get my CYA up and my pH down to 7.5. My CYA is now 40

I had to dose with acid one more time, and now my pH is steady at 7.5. I haven't added acid in over a week now.

My TA starts out around 90 and settles in the 50 to 60 range.

 

[98Poolmaster]

The chlorine that the Frog system uses is a different kind of chlorine than "normal" pucks (usually dichlor). The chlorine that Frog uses shows up on a standard FAS/DPD test as CCs. That is why your CC's are through the roof (well, and you likely have some "real" CC's in there too). My tub came with a the Frog and I used it until it ran out. I was already using TFP process in my pool for years. First test I ran in my hot tub, my CCs were showing above 20 ppm

As others have said, adding dichlor adds CYA. Dichlor adds two things to your pool. Chlorine (FC) and CYA. Bleach or Liquid Chlorine adds one thing, chlorine (FC). Most of the hot tub users here start with dichlor when they first fill their tub, to add both FC and CYA. When the CYA gets between 20 - 40 ppm they then switch to regular bleach (or liquid chlorine).

MPS (aka oxygen shock) does not do anything from a sanitation perspective. It helps to oxidize (get rid of) CCs, but does not provide any sanitation benefits. It can help if you have high CCs (real CCs, not Frog CCs). However chlorine does the same thing. FC will oxidize the CCs as well. There is nothing wrong with using MPS per se, but it is not necessary and some people are allergic to it and get a rash (maybe - as far as I know, the jury is still out on that one). But even if the rash thing is questionable, if you don't need it, then why use it. I myself never use MPS. My hot tub runs on the following

DiChlor - on startup, to build CYA (and for FC as well)
Bleach - for FC once my CYA is around 30 ppm
Muriatic Acid - To get pH down to where it should be
Calcium Chloride - One time dose at start up to get my CH to around 320 ppm to prevent foaming
AquaClarity - one scant ounce weekly to keep biofilms from forming.
AhhSome - To purge before a water change - really has become kind of useless with the AquaClarity, since nothing seems to grow at all since I have started using that.

Things you do not see on the list - MPS, Baking Soda, Frog Stuff, Defoamer, pH up. I do not attempt to adjust TA to some arbitrary point as I do in my pool. I knock the pH down with acid daily after a water change until the pH and TA come to an equilibrium on their own. I have never had to raise pH in my hot tub.

One thing that may make the list in the near future is Boric Acid. I had a small amount of borates in my pool from many additions of Borax over the years and I liked the way the water looked and behaved. I have a new pool and when I open it, I think I will just use boric acid, instead of dozens of boxes of borax and gallons of MA. If I have boric acid for my pool, I may as well put it in my hot tub too.

We use BioGuard Optimizer in our showroom hot tubs,I make sure to balance TA PH and CH of course after getting balanced I add the product and the water looks excellent,customers see the sparkle and wonder how they can never get the sparkle we have.Unfortunately we only sell 8 lb and 20 lb sizes so it’s a challenge to get them to purchase but a lot of our pool customers have it so they use it on their tubs also.The ratio for a pool is 1.5 lbs per 1000 gallons,so I usually add 2-3 ounces to the tubs.Also would recommend to use the product Aahhsome!!or Serum Watercare products for purging tubs and the cleaner spray to wipe down shell and underside of cover(both products are made by the same manufacturer)Aahhsome!! is available on Amazon so may be easier to find than Serum

 

[phonedave]

We use BioGuard Optimizer in our showroom hot tubs,I make sure to balance TA PH and CH of course after getting balanced I add the product and the water looks excellent,customers see the sparkle and wonder how they can never get the sparkle we have.Unfortunately we only sell 8 lb and 20 lb sizes so it’s a challenge to get them to purchase but a lot of our pool customers have it so they use it on their tubs also.The ratio for a pool is 1.5 lbs per 1000 gallons,so I usually add 2-3 ounces to the tubs.Also would recommend to use the product Aahhsome!!or Serum Watercare products for purging tubs and the cleaner spray to wipe down shell and underside of cover(both products are made by the same manufacturer)Aahhsome!! is available on Amazon so may be easier to find than Serum

BioGuard Optimizer comes in a one pound box. It is called Borax Laundry Enhancer. One of the three B's in the BBB program (Bleach, Borax, and Baking Soda).

Both of them are essentially sodium tetraborate. They add borates to the water. They also drive your pH up, which you can counteract with acid.

Many of the people here use straight boric acid, which while also adding borates does not impact pH. You have to make sure you get pure boric acid with no additives (people have tried the boric acid pesticide, but those often have anti caking and other additives in them). A good source for pure boric acid is Duda Diesel. It is used in bio diesel manufacturing.

Borates do make the water really sparkle, in both pools or hot tub, regardless of if you use BioGuard, Borax, or Boric Acid to get them in there.

I use AhhSome gel when I purge, AquaClarity on a weekly basis, and while I have the cleaner spray most of the time a damp rag works for me.

 

[98Poolmaster]

BioGuard Optimizer comes in a one pound box. It is called Borax Laundry Enhancer. One of the three B's in the BBB program (Bleach, Borax, and Baking Soda).

Both of them are essentially sodium tetraborate. They add borates to the water. They also drive your pH up, which you can counteract with acid.

Many of the people here use straight boric acid, which while also adding borates does not impact pH. You have to make sure you get pure boric acid with no additives (people have tried the boric acid pesticide, but those often have anti caking and other additives in them). A good source for pure boric acid is Duda Diesel. It is used in bio diesel manufacturing.

Borates do make the water really sparkle, in both pools or hot tub, regardless of if you use BioGuard, Borax, or Boric Acid to get them in there.

I use AhhSome gel when I purge, AquaClarity on a weekly basis, and while I have the cleaner spray most of the time a damp rag works for me.

Thank you for your input appreciate you very much.The small amount I add doesn’t really change the ph barely at all.I am very meticulous about the showroom tubs test them everyday except Sunday in the winter.Its a lot easier to keep them near perfect because nobody ever uses them except a couple employees and the occasional potential customer,that’s the reason I come on here for great advice from this forum.Pretty much every situation or problem is found here or technical stuff from RDspaguy.There are so many knowledgeable people on here,if you can’t get the right answer on here it’s probably not attainable or a lost cause.