How to establish a dichlor/chlorine dosing routine

[chem geek]

It sounds like your ozonator is overpowered, especially for your low use of your spa.  If you use Nature² with MPS then at least the ozone won't react with the MPS so it should last longer.  You'll only need to use chlorine once a week or so as a shock to help keep the water clear.  And you won't need to worry about CYA buildup.  Sounds like it might be the right approach for you.  I'm not sure why you are concerned that this is something else you need to add -- the MPS is used in place of chlorine, not in addition (except for the occasional chlorine shock).  Nature² with MPS is and EPA-approved disinfectant.  You shouldn't smell any chlorine or bromine smell nor any disinfection by-products.

[999]

That is a genuine consideration. I will seriously give it some thought.

My brother-in-law has the exact same model of hot tub. It was because of using his that i bought mine.

He uses a system called Bayrol Sparocular and a liquid activator . Once a week he shocks with Spa Lite sachets . He seems happy with this odourless system but it seems quite expensive especially the weekly sachets .

Have any of you heard of or used this.

[999]

Correction ....... Bayrol Bayroclar Spa

[chem geek]

According to the Bayrol Chemical Reference Manual 2009, the system is probably a combination of Polyquat and hydrogen peroxide with the latter used for shocking (activation) and often referred to as "active oxygen".  Hydrogen peroxide is not approved by the EPA as a disinfectant for pools or spas but it is approved in Australia.  However, the level of hydrogen peroxide needed for disinfection can be irritating to some people.  It's an option you can try if you want to.  Bayrol is normally a brand sold in the U.K. whereas in the U.S. the brands are from BioLab such as BioGuard for pools and SpaGuard for spas.

[999]

Jacuzzi Jim,  You may be right with regard to the ozone shutting off when the main pump is on. I remembered what you said when I was sitting in it the other night. There seemed to be small bubbles coming out of the outlet with the pump on but when it switched off and we sat there in the still water I noticed that the speed and size of the ozonator bubbles increased, so maybe it does change with the pump being on or off.

Going to persevere with chlorine for now and see how it goes. (Did my MPS weekly shock today as well)

When I check the chlorine level in the morning and if it is zero, but we plan to go in it in the evening would you add some chlorine for the day (1 tea spoon) and then add some more after use or would you just add it after getting out?

Also, how much do you add after it has been used. Do you add a certain amount per person?

[999]

This forum would really benefit from an edit button.

Jacuzzi Jim, you are probably the wrong person to ask if you are using Nature2 as well. I was thinking of those using just chlorine.

[TwinCitiesHotSpring]

This forum would really benefit from an edit button.

Jacuzzi Jim, you are probably the wrong person to ask if you are using Nature2 as well. I was thinking of those using just chlorine.

chlorine 1-3x per week depending on use, and MPS/Shock once a week is a routine that works well imo....I personally do not like Shock after each use because MPS is commonly known to irritate skin more than all of chemicals you add to the spa...Nature2 is fine but if your considered a "heavy user" I'm not sure it will as beneficial

[Water Boy]

This forum would really benefit from an edit button.

999, there is a Modify button for each post that you enter where you can go back later and edit the post. The modify button is in the upper right corner above the post that you want to edit. Hope that helps!

Also, I would encourage you to try the Nature 2 Cartridge with the Chlorine and MPS. Many of my customers use that, and it works great, keeps it simple, and you can really cut down on the amount of chlorine you use by using the MPS with the Nature 2. Its worth trying at least imo!

[999]

This forum would really benefit from an edit button.

Jacuzzi Jim, you are probably the wrong person to ask if you are using Nature2 as well. I was thinking of those using just chlorine.

chlorine 1-3x per week depending on use, and MPS/Shock once a week is a routine that works well imo....I personally do not like Shock after each use because MPS is commonly known to irritate skin more than all of chemicals you add to the spa...Nature2 is fine but if your considered a "heavy user" I'm not sure it will as beneficial

Could you explain what you mean by "chlorine 1-3x per week depending on use"
Are you saying you get the level up to 1-3 ppm, or are you adding 1 of something three times per week.

[999]

This forum would really benefit from an edit button.

999, there is a Modify button for each post that you enter where you can go back later and edit the post. The modify button is in the upper right corner above the post that you want to edit. Hope that helps!

Also, I would encourage you to try the Nature 2 Cartridge with the Chlorine and MPS. Many of my customers use that, and it works great, keeps it simple, and you can really cut down on the amount of chlorine you use by using the MPS with the Nature 2. Its worth trying at least imo!

Doh....   yes I see the modify button now, I hadn't noticed that before. That will be useful in future. 

Nature2 recommend using it with MPS. What would the routine be if used with chlorine and MPS?

[Water Boy]

MPS after each use, couple of tablespoons of chlorine once per week. Maybe twice per week on the chlorine if the spa gets heavy usage.

[chem geek]

When I check the chlorine level in the morning and if it is zero, but we plan to go in it in the evening would you add some chlorine for the day (1 tea spoon) and then add some more after use or would you just add it after getting out?

Also, how much do you add after it has been used. Do you add a certain amount per person?

The chlorine level should never get to zero except possibly during the latter part of your soak.  If it is zero for too many hours, then bacteria can grow too much and form biofilms and your tub can go south in a hurry if, for example, the chlorine level was zero for 8 or more hours.  If you add enough chlorine right after our soak such that you have around 1-2 ppm at the start of your next soak, then that will work well.  You won't be using the spa during the time of the high chlorine level and it will drop in the few hours after your soak as it oxidizes bather waste.  It then drops more slowly until your next soak, though unfortunately is dropping faster in your case due to the ozonator which also reacts with chlorine.  It would be better to have your ozonator running more right after the soak when there is more bather waste and to not have it run as often during the non-soak days so as to not use up the chlorine so quickly, but I don't think you have much control over that.

I already gave you the amounts you would use if you had no ozonator.  Every person-hour in a hot (104ºF) spa requires roughly 3-1/2 teaspoons of Dichlor or 5 fluid ounces of 6% bleach or 7 teaspoons of non-chlorine shock (43% MPS).  This is just a rough guide, but with an ozonator that was running right after your soak you should need less than these amounts BUT you would then need to add more in between soaks if the ozonator was still on since it will react with chlorine.  This is why people are saying that you might be better off with Nature² using mostly MPS since the ozone will not react with it so it should last longer.  Also, the silver ions in Nature² react with the most irritating component of MPS so make it more tolerable compared to using MPS without any silver ions.  And as was just noted by Water Boy, you normally use MPS after each use with Nature² and the chlorine as needed which usually means once a week though depends on bather load (chlorine is only needed because it can oxidize some things better than MPS).

[999]

When I check the chlorine level in the morning and if it is zero, but we plan to go in it in the evening would you add some chlorine for the day (1 tea spoon) and then add some more after use or would you just add it after getting out?

Also, how much do you add after it has been used. Do you add a certain amount per person?

The chlorine level should never get to zero except possibly during the latter part of your soak.  If it is zero for too many hours, then bacteria can grow too much and form biofilms and your tub can go south in a hurry if, for example, the chlorine level was zero for 8 or more hours.  If you add enough chlorine right after our soak such that you have around 1-2 ppm at the start of your next soak, then that will work well.  You won't be using the spa during the time of the high chlorine level and it will drop in the few hours after your soak as it oxidizes bather waste.  It then drops more slowly until your next soak, though unfortunately is dropping faster in your case due to the ozonator which also reacts with chlorine.  It would be better to have your ozonator running more right after the soak when there is more bather waste and to not have it run as often during the non-soak days so as to not use up the chlorine so quickly, but I don't think you have much control over that.

I already gave you the amounts you would use if you had no ozonator.  Every person-hour in a hot (104ºF) spa requires roughly 3-1/2 teaspoons of Dichlor or 5 fluid ounces of 6% bleach or 7 teaspoons of non-chlorine shock (43% MPS).  This is just a rough guide, but with an ozonator that was running right after your soak you should need less than these amounts BUT you would then need to add more in between soaks if the ozonator was still on since it will react with chlorine.  This is why people are saying that you might be better off with Nature² using mostly MPS since the ozone will not react with it so it should last longer.  Also, the silver ions in Nature² react with the most irritating component of MPS so make it more tolerable compared to using MPS without any silver ions.  And as was just noted by Water Boy, you normally use MPS after each use with Nature² and the chlorine as needed which usually means once a week though depends on bather load (chlorine is only needed because it can oxidize some things better than MPS).

Let me be clear on what you are saying. If three of us spend an hour in the hot tub, then it will consume 10 and a half tea spoons of dichlor??? Surely that is as much as most use in a week.

[999]

Okay guys,

If I was to order a Nature2 cartridge, I have figured out that it would fit inside my filter by putting it in from underneath before screwing it onto the tub.

I let the chlorine level disappear to nothing.

I then use the hot tub, and when I get out I throw in some MPS ( I currently use Jacuzzi Oxidiser Non Chlorine shock - Pentapotassium Bis(Peroxymonosulpahate) Bis(Sulphate)) Is that the same stuff? and how much do you put in after a soak. Chem Geek is saying 7 teaspoons per person per user hour. So three persons spend one hour in the tub would be 21 teaspoons... thats a lot! Do they do it in barrels.

Once a week put in two tablespoons of dichlor or more often if heavily used.

[Water Boy]

999, Here is a copy of the Nature 2 cartridge owners manual. I think this will really help if you read it briefly. You might get confused because they offer two diffrent ways to treat the water. One where you do MPS after each use and chlorine once per week. The other where you do chlorine after each use and MPS once per week. I always felt that the second method kinda defeated the purpose of using the Nature 2. If you are using chloring daily, why even bother with the Nature 2? I know there are others on here that disagree with me on that, and Im sure the daily chlorine method works good too.But, most peoples reason for wanting to use the Nature 2 is to use less chlorine, so that is why I recommend the first method.

To answer your question on the Jacuzzi brand MPS, yes that is exactly it and it would work. All you would need other than that is Chlorine and the Nature 2, and of course your pH and Alkalinity buffers.

Here is a link to the owners manual. I hope this helps:
http://www.nature2.com/files/TL2700_Nature2_Spa_Owners_Manual.pdf