We have a new Viking Royale ETS tub and are having issues keeping the water balanced. We also have a 13k gal pebble pool which we have no trouble keeping balanced using TFP's test kit and methods. But this hot tub has got us scratching our heads. We can't seem to keep the chlorine level up. Even after shocking, it's back to 0 within 2 days. The TA is at 70. Our pH fluxuates pretty dramatically. We can't figure out what we're doing wrong, and now we have cloudy water. We've been using the granulated dichlor for sanitizer. Any advice?
Hot tub water balance trouble
- Thread starter desert-ginger
- Start date
Have you considered a small Salt Water Chlorine Generator for the tub? This is what I have:
Maddie
Maddie
I believe that would void the warranty.Have you considered a small Salt Water Chlorine Generator for the tub? This is what I have:
Maddie
I strongly recommend that you perform a plumbing purge. Based on what you are saying it is apparent that the di-chlor you are adding is getting used up because your tub’s plumbing probably has biofilm that has colonized.
The procedure is easy to do and will save you lot’s of sanitizer when the nasties are removed. This will definitely help your situation.
The procedure is easy to do and will save you lot’s of sanitizer when the nasties are removed. This will definitely help your situation.
Are you only using dichlor? If yes, you should probably test your CYA. Too much CYA will make your chlorine less effective. Having an ozone generator will also deplete your FC.
I have. I'd have to go look at my notes, but last time I tested it was at 40 I think. We've only had the tub for a month. We do have liquid chlorine too but that depleted super fast. I wonder if it is the ozone generator just ripping through the chlorine. I don't think there's a way to turn it off.
- Jun 1, 2018
- 14,368
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Ozone will eat through the fc for sure.
So will biofilms- so perhaps its time to purge w/ Ahhsome (especially if u never have) & begin again using this guide
www.troublefreepool.com
You must feed it fc every day & after every use & never go below minimum for your cya or it’s hard to catch up.
The organic load in a tub is drastically higher than in a pool due to the smaller volume & continuously consumes fc.
So will biofilms- so perhaps its time to purge w/ Ahhsome (especially if u never have) & begin again using this guide
How do I use Chlorine in my Spa (or pool)?
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
The organic load in a tub is drastically higher than in a pool due to the smaller volume & continuously consumes fc.
So every day even if we don't use it we should be adding chlorine? I guess we figured the cover would keep the chlorine from dissipating so quickly. Perhaps we just need to reevaluate our perception. Or get a floater.
I have read that post. Did not do a startup purge though. Figured we'd see how it goes...guess we know now!
Is it safe to drain it into our pool after the ahhhsome?
I have read that post. Did not do a startup purge though. Figured we'd see how it goes...guess we know now!
Is it safe to drain it into our pool after the ahhhsome?
- Jun 1, 2018
- 14,368
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Yes-
All the time - 24/hrs a day the fc is consumed by proliferating organics. Hot tubs are people soup.
You must stay one step ahead to keep that under control by following the FC/CYA Levels
A floater is not recommended as trichlor dissolves too rapidly in the hot water & is quite acidic so not good for surfaces & equipment.
It will also raise your cya which in turn means you would then need more fc (vicious cycle)
If you don’t want to dose every day during standby times you can get a swg to do that for you. I have a saltron mini & it’s fabulous.
Drain the Ahhsome purge water on the ground or down a drain- otherwise you would be putting the biofilms & nasties you just removed from your spa in your pool.
When u see what comes out u will understand what I mean.
All the time - 24/hrs a day the fc is consumed by proliferating organics. Hot tubs are people soup.
You must stay one step ahead to keep that under control by following the FC/CYA Levels
A floater is not recommended as trichlor dissolves too rapidly in the hot water & is quite acidic so not good for surfaces & equipment.
It will also raise your cya which in turn means you would then need more fc (vicious cycle)
If you don’t want to dose every day during standby times you can get a swg to do that for you. I have a saltron mini & it’s fabulous.
Drain the Ahhsome purge water on the ground or down a drain- otherwise you would be putting the biofilms & nasties you just removed from your spa in your pool.
When u see what comes out u will understand what I mean.
I was under the impression from various other posts on this forum that a large pool wouldn't be affected much by the relatively small amount of hot tub water as long as both are sanitized the same way (chlorine to chlorine or bromine to bromine). Our hot tub is only 270 gallons vs. a 13k gallon pool. We don't have a sewer clean out and have fruit trees in the back yard, so we may have to get an extra long hose to divert the water to the front yard I guess.Yes-
All the time - 24/hrs a day the fc is consumed by proliferating organics. Hot tubs are people soup.
You must stay one step ahead to keep that under control by following the FC/CYA Levels
A floater is not recommended as trichlor dissolves too rapidly in the hot water & is quite acidic so not good for surfaces & equipment.
It will also raise your cya which in turn means you would then need more fc (vicious cycle)
If you don’t want to dose every day during standby times you can get a swg to do that for you. I have a saltron mini & it’s fabulous.
Drain the Ahhsome purge water on the ground or down a drain- otherwise you would be putting the biofilms & nasties you just removed from your spa in your pool.
When u see what comes out u will understand what I mean.
You may be able to get by with every other day when you're not using the tub. I'm just guessing though and basing that on my tub which doesn't have ozone. I can go two or three days without adding or testing, with no use of the tub. I test before I go in to make sure I have FC and dose with liquid chlorine after I get out. I can tell you for sure that after an Ahhsome purge, you will not need to add as much chlorine. Almost two years ago when I got my tub, I was putting in 3-4 ounces of chlorine after a soak. After quite a few purges now, I'm down to only an ounce or two. My tub is only 250 gal, but I can tell that it worked. I barely get anything out of the pipes anymore. Btw, I drain right into my yard after a purge. It has never killed anything; it would be nice if it would kill the weeds though! 
I wish it would kill Bermuda grass, but alas, that stuff grows everywhere I don't want it and nowhere I do want it.You may be able to get by with every other day when you're not using the tub. I'm just guessing though and basing that on my tub which doesn't have ozone. I can go two or three days without adding or testing, with no use of the tub. I test before I go in to make sure I have FC and dose with liquid chlorine after I get out. I can tell you for sure that after an Ahhsome purge, you will not need to add as much chlorine. Almost two years ago when I got my tub, I was putting in 3-4 ounces of chlorine after a soak. After quite a few purges now, I'm down to only an ounce or two. My tub is only 250 gal, but I can tell that it worked. I barely get anything out of the pipes anymore. Btw, I drain right into my yard after a purge. It has never killed anything; it would be nice if it would kill the weeds though!
I'm not so worried about killing the fruit trees as I am about having contaminated citrus fruit.
- Jun 1, 2018
- 14,368
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
My main thought against putting purge water in the pool is the gunky stuff as well as the foaming it might cause. Ahhsome contains surfactants. 270 gallons isn’t that much water to deal with - mine is a little over 200 gallons & it dries up pretty quickly. Never killed any weeds for me either but I guess there’s always hope !
where do u backwash/drain your pool to or clean your filters? Maybe send it there?
where do u backwash/drain your pool to or clean your filters? Maybe send it there?
Welllll...the pool is new too! We had a pool at our previous house for many years, so we're pretty good at taking care of pools. What we didn't realize when we built this pool is that we do not have a clean out and we made the patio huge so we don't have much space to drain water ion back that isn't occupied by a citrus tree. We have a cartridge filter so no need for backwashing. If we ever have to drain the pool though, I guess we will run a big hose to the front yard which is all rock. I'm sure the remaining Bermuda grass rhizomes will love it.My main thought against putting purge water in the pool is the gunky stuff as well as the foaming it might cause. Ahhsome contains surfactants. 270 gallons isn’t that much water to deal with - mine is a little over 200 gallons & it dries up pretty quickly. Never killed any weeds for me either but I guess there’s always hope !
where do u backwash/drain your pool to or clean your filters? Maybe send it there?
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You don't say what you are testing with, or what results are. If you use a Taylor DPD kit like the K-1001, very high CHL can read a false zero. Is it an OTO (yellow) kit?
I'd suggest with a new system getting/keeping some CHL level in it based upon how much stabilizer (CYA) is in there and then reading up from the link in post #7 and posting test results. Hopefully the half day delay in doing this will give us enough info to steer you in the right direction without causing undo harm...
If you know how much sanitizer/shock you put in already you can actually use that to calculate how much CYA is in there from the percent figures on the label if you do the math or use this site's calculator page
I'd suggest with a new system getting/keeping some CHL level in it based upon how much stabilizer (CYA) is in there and then reading up from the link in post #7 and posting test results. Hopefully the half day delay in doing this will give us enough info to steer you in the right direction without causing undo harm...
If you know how much sanitizer/shock you put in already you can actually use that to calculate how much CYA is in there from the percent figures on the label if you do the math or use this site's calculator page
My OP said I use TFP's test kit. We do daily tests with the small chlorine and pH kit in there and then weekly tests for TA, FC, & CC. I only did CYA testing until we hit 40. We actually did realize the small kit we bought at Leslie's to tide us over until the TFP kit came was defective. I had been using the Leslie's kit and then did a drop test which was way different. Retested using the Taylor kit inside the TFP kit and realized the Leslie's kit was giving me bad readings.You don't say what you are testing with, or what results are. If you use a Taylor DPD kit like the K-1001, very high CHL can read a false zero. Is it an OTO (yellow) kit?
I'd suggest with a new system getting/keeping some CHL level in it based upon how much stabilizer (CYA) is in there and then reading up from the link in post #7 and posting test results. Hopefully the half day delay in doing this will give us enough info to steer you in the right direction without causing undo harm...
If you know how much sanitizer/shock you put in already you can actually use that to calculate how much CYA is in there from the percent figures on the label if you do the math or use this site's calculator page
ETA: I can do another test tonight. Water is looking much better today though. I think we will still do the purge this weekend.
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Maybe I missed it somewhere in the thread, but does you tub have an ozone generator?
Ozone kills FC, it oxidizes it, just like it oxidizes CC and organic matter. My ozone eats about 2 ppm of FC daily.
Ozone kills FC, it oxidizes it, just like it oxidizes CC and organic matter. My ozone eats about 2 ppm of FC daily.
Sorry, I missed the kit probably by skimming past the pool part. CYA levels of 40 call for maintaining a minimum level of 3 and target levels 4-7 ppm FC. Shock level is 15 according to the chart though I am skeptic that high is necessary I'm no expert.
If levels drop below 3 at any time you risk fighting a loosing battle with anything growing in the water that doesn't belong there. Did you have a chance to read the info in the link on post #7? It's really a great starting point.
Glad your water's improving, I'm in the same boat as you, new tub, learning by doing, hoping to figure things out. There's some very knowledgeable folks here!!!