Small brown dots

[Chad]

 I don't think the spa N2 cartridge contains copper either...silver and zinc I believe.

You're right Tony. I just read the Nature 2 website and sure enough N2 Spa uses zinc and silver. While N2 Pool uses silver and copper.

I wonder how the copper is getting into my water? Have you been following this thread? What's your take on my problem?

[tony]

You're right Tony. I just read the Nature 2 website and sure enough N2 Spa uses zinc and silver. While N2 Pool uses silver and copper.

I wonder how the copper is getting into my water? Have you been following this thread? What's your take on my problem?

Chad

I have been following the thread.  It certainly is a mystery but it is good that you've identified the copper.  I would add a bottle of LeisureTime Metal Gon at next fill and see if it helps.  My tap water is high in iron and manganese.  Tastes good but can stain.  I had some brown staining on a white part of a couple of jets that I first thought was algae and finally realized it was a metal stain.  I couldn't get it clean and was resigned to the fact that these stains would remain.  Next fill I added Metal Gon and stains disappeared.....like magic.

[Chad]

Thanks Tony.

The guy at Leslie's said that the Spa Metal Free product he sold me, does the same things as Metal Gone and more. Is this accurate or should I go buy a bottle of Metal Gone? There's quite a significant price difference.

Metal Gone -$7
Spa Metal Free -$18.

[tony]

Thanks Tony.

The guy at Leslie's said that the Spa Metal Free product he sold me, does the same things as Metal Gone and more. Is this accurate or should I go buy a bottle of Metal Gone? There's quite a significant price difference.

Metal Gone -$7
Spa Metal Free -$18.

Spa Metal Free looks more like a stain and scale product like LT's Defender.  It is something that you add weekly (priced like Defender also).  Metal Gon is added only when you drain and fill.  You add the whole bottle.  It sequesters the metals rather than remove them.  I would use the Metal Gon next time you fill.  Use the Spa Metal Free weekly...it won't hurt to use both.

[Chad]

Spa Metal Free looks more like a stain and scale product like LT's Defender.  It is something that you add weekly (priced like Defender also).  Metal Gon is added only when you drain and fill.  You add the whole bottle.  It sequesters the metals rather than remove them.  I would use the Metal Gon next time you fill.  Use the Spa Metal Free weekly...it won't hurt to use both.

Thanks for the help/advice Tony.

[tinybubbles]

Hi Chad, you mentioned the copper content of your water, but did you get a reading for iron?  I thought that iron spots were usually rust colored and copper spots were blue/green or black.  Just a thought.  

[Chad]

My iron was .2ppm and my copper was .3ppm. As far as the color of my spots, I'd say they're either brown or black.

[Chad]

Since I've added the Spa Metal Free stuff, I haven't had any new spots. I'm still not going to fully believe that was my problem until I have atleast a couple more spot free days...

[Chad]

Still no spots.  

[Chad]

Man oh man, not the way I wanted to start my weekend. The spots are back and worse than ever. There wasn't any a few days ago and now there's about 100(pretty much located in just one area of my spa). It's gotta be some sort of ozonator discharge. I'm gonna remove the panel and see what the tubing looks like. I bet it's filled with gunk. Here are some pics of the spots. Click to enlarge.

[Cyn]

If it is an ozonator problem...why did the spots disappear for quite a while?

[Vinny]

Chad,

When you looked at the ozonator's hose that went to the injector was there a loop that went above the water line? This is called a hartford loop, by all accounts it should be a large loop and the tops of it should be above the water line. This picture shows a little loop but it shouldn't matter for air. I have seen pics where the loop may be a foot or more in diameter.



If you don't have this - do it. There would be no way for ozonator gunk to get into the spa if it had to go up a large loop. I would do it such as a cursive ( vs printed) lower case "L" with 2 loops in the center.

[Chad]

If it is an ozonator problem...why did the spots disappear for quite a while?

Good question. I don't know what it is but that's my best guess.

There's no way that not even one person on this forum knows what this is and/or has never seen something like this before. Someone's gotta be holding out on me.

Surely I can't be dealing with that unique of a problem.........

[Chad]

Chad,

When you looked at the ozonator's hose that went to the injector was there a loop that went above the water line? This is called a hartford loop, by all accounts it should be a large loop and the tops of it should be above the water line. This picture shows a little loop but it shouldn't matter for air. I have seen pics where the loop may be a foot or more in diameter.



If you don't have this - do it. There would be no way for ozonator gunk to get into the spa if it had to go up a large loop. I would do it such as a cursive ( vs printed) lower case "L" with 2 loops in the center.

Last year I noticed the amount of bubbles coming out of the ozone port decreased and they were also smaller in diameter. I took some advice from Tony and disconnected the tubing, thouroughly cleaned it, and then mounted it back up with a hartford loop like in your picture(the tech who installed it originally, didn't use a hartford loop). After getting everything back together and turned on she was bubblin' like she's never bubbled before. I was amazed at how much it helped.  
I still have yet to open up the panel today as it was cold, there was a bunch of snow on the ground in front of my spa, and my drill's battery was dead. It's now-not so cold,  the snow is shoveled, and my battery is fully charged. So I'm going back out after a quick bite to eat.

Thanks for lookin out.      I'll keep you posted.

[Jacuzzi Jim]

Doubt its the ozonator, I talked to our tech (he's been doing it for 15 years) as well as Jacuzzi tech per our conversation awhile back.  
 its a pretty strange situation, if bits of metal are coming from the heater they should/would get stuck and clog up your mazzi injector, which is after the heater thus you would not have heat and a flo error would show up.
  The heater is the only psc of metal that the water passes over or through, the element and the heater tube are stainless steel.  The only real theory I can come up with if possible, very small bits of the heater tube inside are  corroding something I have never seen in a Jacuzzi yet.  But if it was a bad tube or element always possible since its man made I suppose it could happen?

 Other than that I am stumped, unless its possible small bits of grit from your patio are to blame?  Or its coming from your nat2 cartridge?