Is your spa water as sparkly as on "day one"?

[irekz]

Hi guys.
I have an inflatable spa and after some intial problems with water quality (CYA getting too high), I found this forum and have been following TFP procedure. I have a decent test-kit (tablet based comparator as Tailor kits don't seem to be available in the UK). I use dichlor-then-bleach approach. Not using anything else than: dichlor, bleach, dry acid, borax. My water:
FC: 5
CYA: 20 (indoor spa)
TA: 110
PH: 7.7
Borates: 50

I never allow FC to drop below 2, shock weekly, we shower before getting in, filters are cleared frequently. bottom vaccumed.
My water (1.5 months now) is clear, does not smell or foam, no visible particles, etc, but just does not have this amazing sparkle and clarity you get on the fresh fill.

Am I asking for too much? Is it even possible to mantain crystal clear water in spa like on the day one?
What is your experience?

Cheers,
Irek

ps. TFP is amazing, now considering a proper hot tub as I feel confident I can make the water safe

 

[SouthVirginiaPool]

Following as I have a new hot tub x 1 month.

 

[Oly]

Test for and monitor CCs (combined chlorine) levels in your spa.
When CC rises above 1ppm that is a call to action. It appears you are doing the all the right things to keep your water clean and slow CC rise but I would recommend including purging the plumbing with a good surfactant even for new tubs. Do a search for "biofilms" and understand how hot tubs are affected. Many here use https://www.ahhsome.com with excellent results.

Now to your clear water observation, I have a tub with a water volume close to yours and my experience is at some point you will want to drain, purge and refill. Or at minimum partially drain and refill to reduce the CC. Yes you can raise the FC level to shock and sanitize, then open the cover, expose the water to sunlight and lower the CC. Over time I realized replacing some or all of the water is the easiest remedy and how often will depend on your water volume, number on bathers and frequency of use. Happy soaking.

 

[irekz]

Thanks for your feedback @Oly!
I ordered a tub of "ahhsome" - it's available in UK (expensive though), will use it on the next purge.
I ordered a DPD3 as well to test for CC - will be interesting to see where I am - I usnderstand that lack of UV from sunlight (spa is indoor) might be creating some problems here.

Cheers,
Irek

 

[Oly]

Yes it is not cheap but you will not use much to purge your spa. The visible results of the purge were obvious and the effect on our sanitation efficiency going forward was confirmed.
With an indoor spa you cannot use sunlight to lower your CC but most outdoor stand alone spas utilize covers for insulation so are not exposed much either. My experience with opening to reduce CC did work but with diminished returns over time and replacing the water in our small spa at regular intervals was the answer.

 

[irekz]

Hi guys - a bit of an update. I did some experiments tying to get the "sparkle":

1) Started with getting DPD3 test kit for CC to make sure my water clarity is not affected by CC.
Initial measurement of CC was 1.5 (12h after last soak) so decided to make a long SLAM to destroy as much CC as possible. Increased FC to 13 (CYA is 20), opened the lid and keep it like this for three days. Afterwards allowed FC to drop back to 6 (another 2 days) so I can measure it my my comparator without sample dilution. CC dropped to 0.5.

However: water clarity has not improved - so CC was not a factor.

2) Next I replaced the filter in my spa with brand new one and waited for 24h: no change in clarity.

So to summarize: my spa follows TFP method religiously, FC is always at good range, water is clear (just does not have this super-clarity), filters are new, CC is not an issue.
This lead to the final conclusion: This small loss of clarity is due to particles that are smaller than my filter can catch!

3) So as a final (and controversial step) I bough a bottle of clarifier and added half of recommended dose. 24 hours later water was CRYSTAL clear, no hint of any haziness around the underwater lights, like on day one! I checked the filter and was not blocked or gunked - no surprise as clarifier removed a tiny ammount of mater from the water.

Conclusion (might be controversial):
While I fully agree that use of clarifier should be discourged as some people abuse it (use it to clear algee blooms, use it instead of proper spa care).
If you have a high bather load, follow TPF method, are 100% sure your spa water is clear, has no algee or other problems, and you become obsessed about water clarity - use of tiny doses of clarifier can be justified to get this sparkle back.


ps. on the next re-fill will use "ahhsome" and see if sparkle lasts longer without use of clarifier

 

[SouthVirginiaPool]

Thank you - good to know!