Hi everyone!
I came across this website while searching for "hot tub rash". That in itself probably tells you the condition of my water! I'm incredibly thankful for the encyclopedia of information on this website and in the forums. The more I read, the more questions I have.
My story:
Wife and I decided to get a hot tub and landed on the Bullfrog R7L which holds 426 gallons of water and we keep the temperature at 103. We received the spa mid-January and so far have been loving it. I was using it about every day or every other day. The spa came with the frog spa-ease system, the revolutionary low-maintenance set it and forget it but bring a sample in to us weekly so we can sell you more chemicals system. The grey chemical cartridge is supposed to last a month. I found out the hard way that they only last 2-3 weeks by a test result stating I have 0 Free Chlorine and 0 Total Chlorine. But not a big deal right? The blue cartridge kills bad things so it's ok to dump a package of starter chlorine in and change the grey cartridge and you're good to go. The water is starting to look cloudy, kind of a yellow-ish hue, so I dump in a few caps of Clear Spa Crystal Shock Oxidizer (Potassium monopersulfate) and run it with the cover open for an hour with jets on high. Water is now clear. Fast forward another 2-3 weeks, I shake the grey chlorine cartridge... it's empty. Put a new one in. This is about the time I start developing a rash after the hot tub. I got in it about 3 weeks ago, had a reaction. Stayed out for two weeks to heal. Adjusted chemicals, got in it a few days ago... big mistake. As I've read on this forum the water can look crystal clear (which it does), yet be contaminated.
Items I have on order:
TF-100 test kit - large size
Ahhh-some hot tub cleaner
Items I have on hand:
Frog-ease test strips - Useless in my opinion. I've spent far too much time trying to determine which shade of red the TA is.
Aqua-check strip reader - If anyone is reading this wondering if the Aqua-Check strip reader is useful and works, it doesn't.
ClearSpa Alkalinity riser (Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate)
ClearSpa pH Minus (Sodium Bisulfate)
ClearSpa Crystal Shock Oxidizer (Potassium Monopersulfate)
My last water test:
Performed 3-27-2021 by the dealer
Free Chlorine = 1.32 (Range 0-1) From what I've read this is typical for the low chlorine spa-ease system, but should otherwise be up around 4-6?
Total Chrlorine = 17.18 (Range 0-1) This seems oddly high but I'm guessing this is because Cyanuric Acid (CYA?) is low
Combined Chlorine = 15.86
pH = 7.1 (Range 7.2 - 7.6) We're always chasing pH with sodium bisulfate to lower this. We add a capful weekly.
Alkalinity = 43 (Range 80-140) Dealer wants this above 80 and provided instruction to add 2/3 of a cup of sodium hydrogen carbonate. Pool School says this should be around 50 though to help stabilize pH. What should my Alkalinity target be?
Hardness = 171 (Range 175-350) This is low from what I've read, but dealer provided no instruction to increase it
Cyanuric Acid = 4 (Range 0-100) This is really low, correct? Should be in the 30's to buffer chlorine? If this is 4 doesn't that mean my chlorine is essentially ineffective at cleaning the water?
Iron = 0.10 (Range 0 - .2)
Copper = 0 (Range 0- .2)
Phosphate = 112 (Range 0-500)
Conclusion and next steps:
My water is a mess. According to the maintenance schedule I'm about 30 days from a water exchange but I can't use it in its current state anyway. Once the Ahhh-some hot tub cleaner arrives I'm going to add that to the tub, dump it, and start over with fresh water.
I like the concept of a low maintenance system but not if I'm bathing in a colony of wee beasties. I'm going to ditch the spa-ease system and follow the guidance of this community. I don't like the idea of daily chlorine additions or checks. I realize I'll need to do this to get the initial chemistry correct, but I'd prefer the chlorine to manage itself which means I'm probably looking at a SWG.
More questions:
Recommendations for an SWG?
I think I need to have chlorine and dichlor on hand and possibly CYA. I'll buy regular bleach with no additives for chlorine. Where do I find dichlor? I'd guess this is a common chemical at most pool supply stores.
What else should I have on my shopping list for chemicals to have on hand?
If you made it through my story and questions I thank you! I look forward to the responses and becoming more educated on proper spa maintenance.
-Howdy
I came across this website while searching for "hot tub rash". That in itself probably tells you the condition of my water! I'm incredibly thankful for the encyclopedia of information on this website and in the forums. The more I read, the more questions I have.
My story:
Wife and I decided to get a hot tub and landed on the Bullfrog R7L which holds 426 gallons of water and we keep the temperature at 103. We received the spa mid-January and so far have been loving it. I was using it about every day or every other day. The spa came with the frog spa-ease system, the revolutionary low-maintenance set it and forget it but bring a sample in to us weekly so we can sell you more chemicals system. The grey chemical cartridge is supposed to last a month. I found out the hard way that they only last 2-3 weeks by a test result stating I have 0 Free Chlorine and 0 Total Chlorine. But not a big deal right? The blue cartridge kills bad things so it's ok to dump a package of starter chlorine in and change the grey cartridge and you're good to go. The water is starting to look cloudy, kind of a yellow-ish hue, so I dump in a few caps of Clear Spa Crystal Shock Oxidizer (Potassium monopersulfate) and run it with the cover open for an hour with jets on high. Water is now clear. Fast forward another 2-3 weeks, I shake the grey chlorine cartridge... it's empty. Put a new one in. This is about the time I start developing a rash after the hot tub. I got in it about 3 weeks ago, had a reaction. Stayed out for two weeks to heal. Adjusted chemicals, got in it a few days ago... big mistake. As I've read on this forum the water can look crystal clear (which it does), yet be contaminated.
Items I have on order:
TF-100 test kit - large size
Ahhh-some hot tub cleaner
Items I have on hand:
Frog-ease test strips - Useless in my opinion. I've spent far too much time trying to determine which shade of red the TA is.
Aqua-check strip reader - If anyone is reading this wondering if the Aqua-Check strip reader is useful and works, it doesn't.
ClearSpa Alkalinity riser (Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate)
ClearSpa pH Minus (Sodium Bisulfate)
ClearSpa Crystal Shock Oxidizer (Potassium Monopersulfate)
My last water test:
Performed 3-27-2021 by the dealer
Free Chlorine = 1.32 (Range 0-1) From what I've read this is typical for the low chlorine spa-ease system, but should otherwise be up around 4-6?
Total Chrlorine = 17.18 (Range 0-1) This seems oddly high but I'm guessing this is because Cyanuric Acid (CYA?) is low
Combined Chlorine = 15.86
pH = 7.1 (Range 7.2 - 7.6) We're always chasing pH with sodium bisulfate to lower this. We add a capful weekly.
Alkalinity = 43 (Range 80-140) Dealer wants this above 80 and provided instruction to add 2/3 of a cup of sodium hydrogen carbonate. Pool School says this should be around 50 though to help stabilize pH. What should my Alkalinity target be?
Hardness = 171 (Range 175-350) This is low from what I've read, but dealer provided no instruction to increase it
Cyanuric Acid = 4 (Range 0-100) This is really low, correct? Should be in the 30's to buffer chlorine? If this is 4 doesn't that mean my chlorine is essentially ineffective at cleaning the water?
Iron = 0.10 (Range 0 - .2)
Copper = 0 (Range 0- .2)
Phosphate = 112 (Range 0-500)
Conclusion and next steps:
My water is a mess. According to the maintenance schedule I'm about 30 days from a water exchange but I can't use it in its current state anyway. Once the Ahhh-some hot tub cleaner arrives I'm going to add that to the tub, dump it, and start over with fresh water.
I like the concept of a low maintenance system but not if I'm bathing in a colony of wee beasties. I'm going to ditch the spa-ease system and follow the guidance of this community. I don't like the idea of daily chlorine additions or checks. I realize I'll need to do this to get the initial chemistry correct, but I'd prefer the chlorine to manage itself which means I'm probably looking at a SWG.
More questions:
Recommendations for an SWG?
I think I need to have chlorine and dichlor on hand and possibly CYA. I'll buy regular bleach with no additives for chlorine. Where do I find dichlor? I'd guess this is a common chemical at most pool supply stores.
What else should I have on my shopping list for chemicals to have on hand?
If you made it through my story and questions I thank you! I look forward to the responses and becoming more educated on proper spa maintenance.
-Howdy