Trichlor ok to use in uncovered hot tub to maintain chlorine level? Better option to sanitize an uncovered hot tub?

[aarunt1]

Hello. I have an in-ground, uncovered acrylic (or some type of very hard plastic) hot tub that is rarely heated and gets sunlight all day. Due to this I sanitize with dichlor until the CYA level is up, then I use bleach to maintain the chlorine level. I believe this is the only real option I have to keep it sanitized. The problem is that I still need to add bleach pretty much everyday.

I searched and it looks like trichlor tabs in a floater to maintain the chlorine level should be ok instead of adding bleach daily. As far as I’ve learned, trichlor is only bad for heated, covered acrylic hot tubs. I plan to use 1" tabs. Please let me know if this sounds ok to do.

If you know of a better way I can keep my hot tub sanitized without having to add stuff daily, please let me know. Thanks!

 

[mgtfp]

The reason why you change from dichlor to bleach once the CYA level is up, is that that you don't want to add more CYA from that point on.

Trichlor also adds CYA, so I don't really see this as a real alternative.

 

[mgtfp]

If you don't want to add bleach daily, then an SWG is probably your best option.

 

[aarunt1]

So are you suggesting that I should have started with trichlor when the water was fresh?

I'm not interested in a SWG, sounds like more trouble than putting bleach in daily.

 

[mgtfp]

With dichlor you add more CYA per ppm of chlorine than with trichlor. The idea is to bring up the CYA quickly with dichlor and then switch to bleach.

Also, dichlor dissolves quite fast, so it is suitable to meet the larger chlorine demand of a spa quickly (4 people sitting in a small spa depletes chlorine much faster than 4 people swimming in a large pool).

Trichlor dissolves slowly, so I don't think it is great in spas (apart from the CYA accumulation).

But I don't have a spa myself, just saying what seems common sense to me. Others with spa experience might chime in with more detail knowledge.

 

[duraleigh]

What about a cover? That will reduce your FC consumption to near zero.

 

[Mdragger88]

In your instance it’s treated similar to a pool. Being Outdoors, uncovered, rarely heated. Yes, you could have used trichlor or dichlor in that instance but either way - when cya reaches 30/40 ppm or so you should switch over to bleach because both trichlor & dichlor add cya along with fc. Always follow the FC/CYA Levels at any rate. A saltwater chlorine generator would add fc for u daily as mentioned above. There are drop in/drape over models available as well as inline options. There’s not much to them, add proper amount of salt, set the swg run time, enjoy not having to manually add fc unless u use the tub.

 

[aarunt1]

With dichlor you add more CYA per ppm of chlorine than with trichlor. The idea is to bring up the CYA quickly with dichlor and then switch to bleach.

Also, dichlor dissolves quite fast, so it is suitable to meet the larger chlorine demand of a spa quickly (4 people sitting in a small spa depletes chlorine much faster than 4 people swimming in a large pool).

Trichlor dissolves slowly, so I don't think it is great in spas (apart from the CYA accumulation).

But I don't have a spa myself, just saying what seems common sense to me. Others with spa experience might chime in with more detail knowledge.

Yea I'm familiar with the process of adding dichlor and switching to bleach that's why I'm currently doing it but I see now that maybe it is not the best for my situation because the hot tub basically lives its life as a normal pool. Maybe that method was created for people that cover their hot tub? I think most people with pools have trichlor floaters right? Mine is rarely used so I'm not really worried about chlorine demand. I'm just looking to keep the the chlorine at the right level so I don't have to add bleach everyday. Maybe I will just drain the hot tub, add trichlor tabs and keep an eye on the CYA level. Considering spas are supposed to be drained 3 or 4 times a year, I think it might not reach too high of a level by the time I drain it? In your pool how long does it take before your CYA gets too high? And what do you do when it's at the optimum level?

 

[aarunt1]

What about a cover? That will reduce your FC consumption to near zero.

We don't really like the idea of having it covered, it looks nice having it even if we don't use it. Maybe I will consider getting one if I can't keep the chlorine under control

 

[aarunt1]

In your instance it’s treated similar to a pool. Being Outdoors, uncovered, rarely heated. Yes, you could have used trichlor or dichlor in that instance but either way - when cya reaches 30/40 ppm or so you should switch over to bleach because both trichlor & dichlor add cya along with fc. Always follow the FC/CYA Levels at any rate. A saltwater chlorine generator would add fc for u daily as mentioned above. There are drop in/drape over models available as well as inline options. There’s not much to them, add proper amount of salt, set the swg run time, enjoy not having to manually add fc unless u use the tub.

But what do people with pools do? The rental next to me has a pool guy come like once a week. And I see they have a trichlor floater. The guy is only here for like 15 mins and they never drain the pool. If you told me pool owners are adding bleach to their pools everyday I wouldn't believe you. How long should CYA actually keep chlorine levels up in the sun?

The SWG sounds like it would work but it also sounds like an eyesore. In that case I would rather have a cover on the hot tub.

 

[mgtfp]

But what do people with pools do? The rental next to me has a pool guy come like once a week. And I see they have a trichlor floater. The guy is only here for like 15 mins and they never drain the pool. If you told me pool owners are adding bleach to their pools everyday I wouldn't believe you. How long should CYA actually keep chlorine levels up in the sun?

The SWG sounds like it would work but it also sounds like an eyesore. In that case I would rather have a cover on the hot tub.

Well, compared to filter and pump, I consider the SWG a minor eye sore. But I'm not familiar with spa setups.

Just have a browse through the "Just getting started" and "Algae" forums if you want to learn about the reasons and consequences of exploding CYA.

In the the end it's your call. A spa is not a pool, and regularly dumping water not such an issue, but some of it can be avoided by using bleach instead of Trichlor.

 

[Mdragger88]

Its true that alot of folks don’t test & dose their pool daily/every other day or follow TFPC recommendations. Droves of them end up here daily trying to fix their pool because of this.
People who use trichlor pucks for daily chlorination often end up with very high cya levels. If they don’t replace water every so often to get the cya to a reasonable level they either need to maintain very high fc levels or they will have unsanitary water- bottom line. FC/CYA Levels.
Weekly pool services often make up for this lack of adequate sanitation by putting in lots of chlorine when they come. Basically those folks are riding the wave Usually really high fc right after the service comes & inadequate fc before they come back again. To try & mitigate the rising cya levels from the constant trichlor they often will also use cal hypo for “shocking” - which then creates a scaling problem when calcium hardness gets too high.

You have the added concern of a very high bather load when the spa is in use due to its small volume.
As mentioned previously- To reduce standby fc consumption from the sun a simple solar cover would do the trick. The Little sizes are cheap.

Every method of chlorination has its pros & cons.

How to Chlorinate Your Pool

Before chlorinating your pool, you should know these simple tips. Learn the best way to add chlorine to your pool.

www.troublefreepool.com

There are many who are able to hide a drape over/drop in swg in the filter compartment depending upon the setup.

Can u post some pics of your spa & its equipment area?