Keep losing chlorine in Spa?

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RichTJ99

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Sep 16, 2016
256
Katonah NY
Hi,

So I have a new 600 gallon spa. I am really enjoying it but having a very hard time with the chemicals. I keep dumping in chlorine but it keeps disappearing, then I over compensate & its generally a mess

I have an inground pool (40,000 gallons) so I am a little familiar with chemicals but it seems that the larger pool is much easier to maintain.

I am using the liquid pool shock for my pool in my spa (not attached or sharing anything with pool).

I bought the TFP kit from our sponsor & here are my results.

The T100 test (chlorine & PH) both are way above what they should be. The chlorine was so far above yellow it looked orange. The PH was so far above red it looked purple :)

The larger kit results showed:
FC - 23 drops or 11.5 ppm
CC - 2 drops or 1 ppm?
CH - 4 drops or 200 ppm
TA - 9 drops or 90ppm

CYA - couldnt even get a reading (black dot never disappeared).

Any advice aside from dont dump 40,000 gallons worth of chemicals in a 600 gallon tub?

Thanks,
Rich
 
Yeah, you probably need to clean the plumbing using a biofilm and degreaser purge. We recommend Ahh-Some as it is the best of the best for doing this. Just look up Ahh-some on Google and you'll find it.

And yes, a brand new hot does need to be purged as there is typically water left in the plumbing by the manufacturer from pressure and system testing. The stagnant water causes all kinds of nasty films to form and they are breeding grounds for bacteria. They also act as a constant source of chlorine demand. No amount of chlorine shocking can remove them, you must use a biofilm remover.
 
I would get some CYA in there and try that. Switch over and use dichlor for a few days until you get your CYA level up to around 40. I filled my spa with pool water and it worked fine for several weeks. Suddenly my FC started disappearing faster and faster even with no use. I was dropping 7-8ppm in 24hr with no use of the spa.

I ran a full set of tests and found for some reason the CYA had dropped from the 40 that it had been in the pool, to no reading at all. I shocked with dichlor and chlorinated for several days using dichlor. Now my CYA is back up to 40, FC barely loses 1ppm each day and I've switched back to bleach.

Understand you will need to boost FC after each use of the spa. More use requires more chlorine just like the pool but happens much faster in the small spa. I find I need to add about 2-3ppm per person/hour. Two people for a half hour, I add about 2-3ppm, two people for an hour add 5-6ppm.

Of course with high FC, your PH test won't be accurate so be careful adjusting it until your FC is back under 10 ppm.
 
dsmith99 said:
I would get some CYA in there and try that. Switch over and use dichlor for a few days until you get your CYA level up to around 40. I filled my spa with pool water and it worked fine for several weeks. Suddenly my FC started disappearing faster and faster even with no use. I was dropping 7-8ppm in 24hr with no use of the spa.

I ran a full set of tests and found for some reason the CYA had dropped from the 40 that it had been in the pool, to no reading at all. I shocked with dichlor and chlorinated for several days using dichlor. Now my CYA is back up to 40, FC barely loses 1ppm each day and I've switched back to bleach.

Understand you will need to boost FC after each use of the spa. More use requires more chlorine just like the pool but happens much faster in the small spa. I find I need to add about 2-3ppm per person/hour. Two people for a half hour, I add about 2-3ppm, two people for an hour add 5-6ppm.

Of course with high FC, your PH test won't be accurate so be careful adjusting it until your FC is back under 10 ppm.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info! I ordered the ahh-some from amazon over the weekend & will try running that through.

Is there a ‘local’ source of CYA? Something from Home Depot or Walmart? Thanks to you guys I know to buy bleach or baking soda to raise PH. That sort of thing.
 
The easiest way i found for my spa is to just use dichlor granules for a few days. Using dichlor takes care of adding both chlorine and cya. It adds cya with every dose and allows you to ease up to the proper level. The small volume of water in the spa makes it quite easy to overshoot when adding chemicals. You can buy stabilizer separately in the pool aisle but it may be hard to find stocked locally this time of year, my local stores pull most all the pool stuff off the shelves in winter. If you have a pool or spa place nearby they will have it, or you could order online. For the small water volume I find the dichlor then bleach method a little more foolproof.
 
dsmith99 said:
The easiest way i found for my spa is to just use dichlor granules for a few days. Using dichlor takes care of adding both chlorine and cya. It adds cya with every dose and allows you to ease up to the proper level. The small volume of water in the spa makes it quite easy to overshoot when adding chemicals. You can buy stabilizer separately in the pool aisle but it may be hard to find stocked locally this time of year, my local stores pull most all the pool stuff off the shelves in winter. If you have a pool or spa place nearby they will have it, or you could order online. For the small water volume I find the dichlor then bleach method a little more foolproof.
Click to expand...


I am going to see what I have but can I buy this? Can I get a larger one?

https://www.amazon.com/2-Pack-Chlorine-Dichlor-Granules-sanitizer/dp/B00B0H55OI

Or should I look elsewhere? Also not sure how much to put into the tub?
 
I think Amazon carries "leisure time" as a prime product. It might be cheaper...

- - - Updated - - -

Pool Math is a good way to find out how much of the different chemicals you should use. It's available at the top of each page.
 
I was going to buy this which is less money for 5 pounds. I got lucky and found a couple bottles included when I bought the spa. You won't need much, I probably used only a few tablespoons over the course of a week before switching back to bleach. Amazing how much CYA is added with each dose, hard to believe so many owners use dichlor full time.
 
Sorry for all the questions but is this:

https://www.amazon.com/Leisure-2233...53&sr=8-3-fkmr1&keywords=dichlor+leisure+time

The one you were mentioning? One of the answers said it was 99% sodium dichloro-s triazinetrione dihydrate. Is that the same as Dichlor Granules?

I was sent this with my spa:

http://i.imgur.com/nqcVjxc.jpg It says it has 52% sodium dichloro-s triainetrione & 14% Sodium Bromide.

My local pool place (I am in NY so not much) said they had the sodium dicholoro also

Rest of the stuff the spa purchase came with:
http://i.imgur.com/mHy7Aau.jpg

I already had this:
http://i.imgur.com/xPECQHQ.jpg

I have been using this for my chlorine needs:
http://i.imgur.com/AzdUtf6.jpg

- - - Updated - - -

dsmith99 said:
I was going to buy this which is less money for 5 pounds. I got lucky and found a couple bottles included when I bought the spa. You won't need much, I probably used only a few tablespoons over the course of a week before switching back to bleach. Amazing how much CYA is added with each dose, hard to believe so many owners use dichlor full time.
Click to expand...

Wow! That is an awesome find – is that exactly what we need? Seems to be the right chemical at a great price! Looks like that might be the winner!
 
I'm not sure about the sani-brom stuff, I'm not too familiar with using bromine and don't know if that stuff is usable if you are going chlorine only. Definitely wouldn't want to use the trichlor, the tablets dissolve too fast in the hot water and it is more acidic. The liquid shock is fine, you just have to be careful not to use too much. It is basically identical to bleach just stronger at 12.5% where common bleach is 6 to 8.25%. The poolmath link at the top of the page will help you calculate how much you should add.

The link I posted is 99% dichlor so it should work perfectly.

- - - Updated - - -

How do I use Chlorine in my Spa (or pool)?)

This link may help you manage your spa
 

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You don't want to use the Sani-Brom unless you plan to run your hot tub as a bromine hot tub. I would suggest you stay-the-course and keep your tub as a chlorine tub. You should flush the tub with Ahh-some and then use the dichlor-then-bleach hot tub process. Depending on when you plan to get the Ahh-some, you may or may not want to add too many chemicals as the spa purge will require you to dump the tub after the cleaning is complete.
 
When I began noticing problems I ordered ahh-some to purge my tub, but the weather turned before I was able to get it done. Not really interested in cleaning the tub in the cold weather and I worry about the lines possibly freezing in the cold overnight temps before it fully reheats. I was pretty happy that the dichlor/cya seemed to take care of my problem. Almost amazed at how little chlorine it uses now. I had been adding 3-4 oz per day but after using dichlor and getting the cya back on track I have been adding slightly less than an ounce of bleach per day to maintain 4-6ppm. I add about 2oz after use, but its been so cold that hasn't been all that often lately.
 
I am expecting the Ahh-some to arrive today & the Dichlor to show up tomorrow. I am back to 0 chlorine & high PH. Not sure what to do about it today though. I can add more chlorine which will be good but the PH gets even higher.
 
The pH is always going to rise until you get the TA much, much lower. In the dichlor-then-bleach method, TFP recommends keeping your hot tub TA at or below 50ppm and supplementing the pH buffering by adding 50ppm borates. The borates do not leave the water like carbonates do and therefore do not cause a constant pH rise. In fact, the borates act as a strong buffer against pH rise.

Since your Ahh-some is arriving soon, I would not do much to the tub except try to keep a little measurable FC in it. Then you can use your existing water to do the spa purge and refill after that.
 
Unfortuantely I am heading out of town at the end of the week so I dont know if i want to do the ahh some route until i am back. While its winter here my tub is inside so i am not worried about pipes freezing but it seems that the advice is:

1. Add ahh some
2. Run for 20 minutes
3. Scoop gunk out of tub
4. Full, run, empty tub
5. Refill & use tub.

Ahh-Some Bio-Cleaner Purging a 320 gallon Hot Tub - YouTube

NASTY!

I think i will start with the Dichlor on Thursday. Then try Ahh some when i get back from traveling.
 
So my Dichlor should be here today. Using the pool math calculator with my 600 gallon tub. If i want to go from my current 0 CYA to 30ppm I need to add 2.4oz of dichlor? It also looks like it will lower my crazy PH.

I have read the chlorine thread a few times & am still a bit confused. What should my target levels be as a general rule?

When I posted originally my stats were:

FC - 23 drops or 11.5 ppm
CC - 2 drops or 1 ppm?
CH - 4 drops or 200 ppm
TA - 9 drops or 90ppm

If my water is out of balance (which it is) should I be starting with Dichlor (sanitation)? So if i am supposed to add 2.4 ounces of Dichlor, that would be 7 tablespoons of it (which sounds like a lot).

That brings my CYA to 30, it should lower the PH (right)?
 
You can't add that much dichlor to a spa. For every 10ppm increase in FC using dichlor, 9ppm CYA is added. So you need to chlorinate the spa with an amount of dichlor that doesn't exceed 10ppm or so (unless you want to shock it) in order to not drastically over-chlorinate the water and crash the pH. The dichlor-then-bleach method assumes that one adds dichlor in batches over a long period of time until the proper CYA level is reached and then, one switches to bleach.

Even adding the initial 10ppm CYA from dichlor will have an immediate affect on FC loss rates. So there's no need to get to 30ppm right away.
 
Thanks for the help, so its a slow process - not a quick one.

So if I am aiming to go from 0 to 10, then I use .8 oz which is not quite 2 tablespoons of dichlor.

I will add that tonight & see how the FC goes over the next few days, then slowly add more dichlor.

Should I stay out of the tub for a few hours after adding it?
 

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