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Author Topic: New spa setup - very hard water  (Read 3922 times)

cb1000rider

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New spa setup - very hard water
« on: December 31, 2015, 11:39:37 am »
I've been lurking for a while - finally got around to purchasing a basic spa.   I've generally got a grasp on setting it up, but I'm expecting the chemistry to be a challenge due to being on well water.
We have *extremely* hard water at home.   Some basic metrics (out of the well):
Chloride    26ppm
Sulfate      1100ppm
Sodium     57ppm
Magnesum 196ppm
Calcium    404 ppm
 
Basically total hardness is Hardness 1803 (mg/L)
Total Dissolved Solids (ppm)  1996
Alkalinity (mg/L CaCO3) 334

There really isn't anything we can do about it.  For household use, we run this water through a sediment filter, a oxygenating carbon filter, a massive water softener, then a UV light.  For drinking water, it's then run through reverse osmosis.

There are various attachment "filters" for spas - but there isn't any way that these will deal with dissolved solids. 
I don't have metrics on water post well-treatment, but I expect that it's softer - with high mineral content (my meter measures 1100 ppm) - probably more sodium.

Any advice on dealing with water that has high mineral content?  The only option I can think of is setting up an outdoor reverse osmosis system to fill the spa...

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New spa setup - very hard water
« on: December 31, 2015, 11:39:37 am »

av8r

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Re: New spa setup - very hard water
« Reply #1 on: December 31, 2015, 04:23:09 pm »
We also have very hard well water.  I used water from the softener (also have a chlorine injector, holding tank and 6' charcoal filter) then added back some hardness after filling.

joelmaners

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Re: New spa setup - very hard water
« Reply #2 on: January 03, 2016, 11:04:28 pm »
You can buy a water softener for a very reasonable price at Sears. Watch for a sale and you can get one for under $400. Kenmores are great.

http://www.kenmore.com/home-water-treaters-water-softeners/b-1040264?knshCrid=1389894&psid=65x15413&k_clickID=9a24f3be-23d2-460f-a1d8-ee389703582c&sid=ISx20110429x00001

cb1000rider

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Re: New spa setup - very hard water
« Reply #3 on: January 04, 2016, 05:15:32 pm »
Yea, your basic Sears water softner isn't going to get it done for whole house softening with that type of water. 
However, if you read my post, that analysis is pre-softener (we've got a large Clack-valved softener).   The question was - what do I do with that sort of water?   

The whole concept of "hard" water is a bit odd.  Running through a softener doesn't remove dissolved solids - so if you measure TDS before and after, it's really high.

Largely I was asking:
1) Do I fill with the well water?
2) Do I feel with softened water?
3) Or do I need to get serious about it and removed dissolved solids, which will mean putting the whole thing on a reverse-osmosis fill...

BullFrogSpasMN

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Re: New spa setup - very hard water
« Reply #4 on: January 05, 2016, 05:09:21 pm »
Yea, your basic Sears water softner isn't going to get it done for whole house softening with that type of water. 
However, if you read my post, that analysis is pre-softener (we've got a large Clack-valved softener).   The question was - what do I do with that sort of water?   

The whole concept of "hard" water is a bit odd.  Running through a softener doesn't remove dissolved solids - so if you measure TDS before and after, it's really high.

Largely I was asking:
1) Do I fill with the well water?
2) Do I feel with softened water?
3) Or do I need to get serious about it and removed dissolved solids, which will mean putting the whole thing on a reverse-osmosis fill...

generally you will fill it with soft, then have it analyzed again and you may add a small amount of calcium back in which is fine because calcium booster is a cheap product

cb1000rider

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Re: New spa setup - very hard water
« Reply #5 on: January 17, 2016, 11:14:56 am »
I filled initially.. I had really high alkalinity - like 400.  So, I'd add acid and, run it with bubbles, and let bring the PH back up.   I had to do this 3-4 times to get the alkalinity down.
Once I did that, water clarity showed up.  PH was stable at 7..
This water still has way too much stuff (dissolved solids in it).  I've since drained it and I'm filling it via reverse osmosis...(takes 3 days).

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Re: New spa setup - very hard water
« Reply #5 on: January 17, 2016, 11:14:56 am »

 

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