New Spa (And New TO Spas) - What Am I Doing and What Should The Water Look Like

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Maxx

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May 25, 2009
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Hi! We just had a spa (Sundance 880) installed and filled, and I realize I know NOTHING about this bromine process and the basket of chemicals they left me to dispense into the spa. The instructions from the installation guys were well-intentioned, but by the time they got to the 5th product, I was lost. (Everything has different cycles and quantities, and there was nothing about testing prior to adding...just do these steps weekly/monthly/quarterly.) I've been using the BBB method on our old beast of a pool for about 7 years, now, so I'm comfortable testing the normal 'pool' things (pH , TA, HCl, etc.). I just need a little help figuring out how all that relates to a spa.

I read thru the info here and it sounds like they set us up for bromine with a float.. The float is currently full and dialed to '4'. The water was treated with whatever they throw into a Sundance Spa to get it going. There's another product - SpaGuard Brominating Concentrate- they said to put a 'capful' in every week (it's 82.5% sodium dichlor-something and 14.7% sodium bromate.) I have a pint of Spaguard Stain and Scale Control - no info about what the ingredients are, though, and I can't remember why I'm putting it in - he said to pour 'a little' in every week. In addition to these, he gave us a Soft Soak Trio kit - there's an opening packet, a weekly packet, and a closing cleanser packet (you buy the kit every 3 months and it's used on a cycle of emptying spa, cleaning it and refilling it).

I'm a little confused by everything and would like to simplify. I can use the 5-in-one test strips they gave us, but they're hard to read and I'd prefer more accurate numbers. I can test pH and TA with my pool testing kit, but am stuck on the Br test. Can I test that with something other than a test strip, and if so, what test would give me a more accurate number? Or do I not need to test it at all and just rely on the 'capful' of the one thing and 'a little' of the other thing?

The next question is actually what started my other question. What should the spa water look like? It's currently got a slight green color to it (not like algae, but like literally green tinged water) and it's a little cloudy even after it's been at rest for a few minutes for the air to bubble out. Is clear spa water a goal or is it supposed to be like this? I wanted to test whatever needs to be tested to see if there's anything off, but then I had no idea what I was doing.

FWIW, the pH is 7.5 and TA is about 50. I can smell 'spa'-like chemicals in the water, but it doesn't have any off odors or anything, and there sides aren't slippery or gross feeling. Any thoughts or comments are appreciated! I'm nothing if not teachable - I'd love to get the spa monitoring on a good cadence like the pool testing and balancing. I love the pool and spa, so the time investment is well worth it for the enjoyment! TIA for any prods or tips - much appreciated!!
 
Maxx said:
I can test pH and TA with my pool testing kit, but am stuck on the Br test. Can I test that with something other than a test strip, and if so, what test would give me a more accurate number? Or do I not need to test it at all and just rely on the 'capful' of the one thing and 'a little' of the other thing?
Click to expand...

Let's start with basics.

Review the spa guide:
www.troublefreepool.com

Spa & Hot Tub Maintenance A Basic Guide

Hot Tub Maintenance can be done easy with a few tricks. Hot tub chemicals, rashes, and schedules are all covered in this easy to grasp article.
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

How do you test your pool water? If you have a recommended kit, you can use it for bromine. Link-->Test Kits Compared

The FAS-DPD powder is the same. The difference is that Taylor provides two different titrating reagents. The K-2006 provides R-0871, designed for measures of Chlorine, unless you use the R-0872 designed for Bromine level testing.

You can use the R-0871 perfectly fine understanding that each drop for ppm chlorine has to be multiplied by 2.25 for ppm Bromine. R-0872 just makes the math easier.

Taylor R-0872 FAS-DPD Titrating Reagent (Bromine) is used in the Taylor FAS-DPD bromine drop test to measure total bromine in pool water:
  1. Rinse and fill a large comparator tube with the water to be tested to the desired mark. The sample size depends on the drop equivalence: 25 mL for 1 drop = 0.5 ppm, or 10 mL for 1 drop = 1.25 ppm.
  2. Add two dippers of R-0870 DPD Powder and swirl until dissolved. If bromine is present, the sample will turn pink.
  3. Add R-0872 dropwise, swirling and counting each drop, until the color changes from pink to colorless.
  4. Multiply the number of drops added in step 3 by the drop equivalence from step 1. The result is the parts per million (ppm) of total bromine.
From what I've figured out, switching between the two reagents will give you a 10% variance in test results as long as you are using the same instructions.

The K-2006 instructions for R-0871 with chlorine is: 1 drop = 0.2 ppm in 25mL sample, 1 drop = 0.5 ppm in 10mL sample.
The K-2106 instructions for R-0872 with bromine is: 1 drop = 0.5 ppm in 25mL sample, 1 drop = 1.25 ppm in 10mL sample.

Therefore, if you are using R-0871 with bromine, you need to use the chlorine instructions (not bromine) and then multiply the result by 2.25. From the instructions above it's clear that the two reagents are actually very close in concentration. With R-0871 you would multiply 0.2 ppm (chlorine) x 2.25 = 0.45 ppm per drop for bromine. Compare that to 0.5 ppm (bromine) per drop with R-0872. This is a difference of 10% in the results.

Likely best to choose a chlorination method, chlorine or bromine, then use 0871 for chlorine and 0872 for bromine.

Maxx said:
What should the spa water look like? It's currently got a slight green color to it (not like algae, but like literally green tinged water) and it's a little cloudy even after it's been at rest for a few minutes for the air to bubble out. Is clear spa water a goal or is it supposed to be like this?
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A green tinge sounds like copper. Clear spa water is the goal. Any sense of the product they added? Can you list all the brands and product that were added?

It might be best to just start over, drain and refill. Choose a sanitization method, chlorine or bromine, and use the guide to start over. Use the associated 0871 or 0872 to maintain your sanitizing agent.
 
THANK YOU so much for the replies!!!
PoolStored said:
The FAS-DPD powder is the same. The difference is that Taylor provides two different titrating reagents. The K-2006 provides R-0871, designed for measures of Chlorine, unless you use the R-0872 designed for Bromine level testing.

You can use the R-0871 perfectly fine understanding that each drop for ppm chlorine has to be multiplied by 2.25 for ppm Bromine. R-0872 just makes the math easier.
Click to expand...

THIS is what I was hoping for (a titration test - the test strips are driving me bananas.) I appreciate your math explanation, as well - it makes sense and helps me understand what I'm doing.

I do have the R-0871 but will pick up the R-0872 - I like having a separate test for bromine with it's own math.

The FAS-DPD powder is the same. The difference is that Taylor provides two different titrating reagents. The K-2006 provides R-0871, designed for measures of Chlorine, unless you use the R-0872 designed for Bromine level testing
PoolStored said:
A green tinge sounds like copper. Clear spa water is the goal. Any sense of the product they added? Can you list all the brands and product that were added?
Click to expand...
Hmmm.... it does kind of have that oxidized copper color, so that might be it. No idea where it would come from, but it's something to explore. The products they added, I believe were all SpaGuard brand. I didn't see them add it, but they said they used the SoftSoak TRIO opening packet (packet is gone, so not sure what was in it) plus some Brominating Concentrate plus 'a little' of the SpaGuard Stain and Scale Control (no ingredients listed on bottle). The Trio set is a 3 month package of 'easy' spa treatments to make the water softer, from the sounds of it. It was free with the spa (though, considering the cost of the whole set up, I'm not sure that 'free' is the right word :rolleyes: )

Effortless Spa Care Kit - SpaGuard

spaguard.com spaguard.com
Spa Sanitizers - SpaGuard (this is the brominating cleaner and the stain/scale product)



wireform said:
I would recommend if you have a chlorine pool then keep the spa the same otherwise there will be confusion.
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I'm the Pool Wife, not the decision maker 😂 My husband had a spa about 30 years ago and it was bromine, so when the spa install team asked him which to use, he said bromine...and here we are.

I do the pool chemistry (and now the spa) and would tend to think 'keep them the same' but it sounds like bromine works better with the heat and use of the spa, maybe, so I'm fine with learning something new. The spa is so much smaller than the pool, really, so it should be fine once I get the hang of it. I love that we'll be switching the water out relatively often so there will be a fresh start every 3-4 months if I mess up too much.

Again, thanks! I'm going to order the bromine reagent and start looking into the products to see if copper in involved anywhere, if it's a problem, was something else added, etc.
 
When I first fill my spa from the well, it can have a slight green color - I first thought it was the hosepipe, but I noticed it using a new one too.

I found that once I got my FC/CYA in balance, it cleaned up and went the nice blue color within a day or two.
 
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