Help with high ph + cloudy / foamy water

[bradleyabell]

 I just set up my new spa late last night and have done everything to the books. I am using a bromine and mineral floating cartridge.  My wife and I got in the spa for the first time this afternoon and everything was going fine until an hour two later the water became very cloudy.  The pH and alkaline are both now very high and I know that can be a cause of the cloudy water. I have added spa down around five times now without having any affect on the pH or alkalinity of the spa. 

 Now, for whatever reason I am also getting a lot of foam...I feel like I may be over reacting and adding too much to try to fix the issue, but I have so far added enzyme, defoamer, and Bright and clear to no avail. Any help is much appreciated!!

[bradleyabell]

Update: I ran the filter for 6 hours overnight and the water cleared up fairly well. Not perfect but much better than it was. I tested the water this morning and the PH+ALK are still high. Not sure what to do to lower as it seems like the spa down isn’t really doing much, but I can’t maintain good sanitizer levels until I get the ph in check.

[Conine2965]

I would take water and have it tested there maybe more than just ph off.

[The Wizard of Spas]

Foam originates from your body:  Either oils/lotions/deodorants, etc or from your clothing.  Buy one set of trunks and never wash them.  Only use them for when you use the tub.  The pH / Alk problem is likely from your source water:  Bring two samples to your local dealer- one of the spa water and one of the source water.  The source water will tell you how much reducer you need to add from the onset when the tub is filled and will show you what happens when you top the water off.  The spa water will be able to be tested and shown how to fix your cloudy water problem.  I suspect that after your pH and alk are corrected, an increase in bromine output along with a dose of MPS shock will be needed.  Hope this helps.  Good luck moving forward.

[bradleyabell]

Foam originates from your body:  Either oils/lotions/deodorants, etc or from your clothing.  Buy one set of trunks and never wash them.  Only use them for when you use the tub.  The pH / Alk problem is likely from your source water:  Bring two samples to your local dealer- one of the spa water and one of the source water.  The source water will tell you how much reducer you need to add from the onset when the tub is filled and will show you what happens when you top the water off.  The spa water will be able to be tested and shown how to fix your cloudy water problem.  I suspect that after your pH and alk are corrected, an increase in bromine output along with a dose of MPS shock will be needed.  Hope this helps.  Good luck moving forward.

That’s what’s really weird. I tested the water from my hose before filling my spa and it tested perfect. No high PH or ALK. 

[The Wizard of Spas]

Then we have to consider all options:

1.  Initial test was incorrect
2.  Test strips have become compromised
3.  Your sanitizer level is very high, creating a false-positive

This is why taking your water to a dealer to get a second set of eyes on it is best:  Narrows down the issues and they'll have superior testing equipment. 

[bradleyabell]

Thank you everyone for your help.  I was able to take the water into the dealer and after following their suggestions, I was able to lower both the PH and alkalinity.

One question I have is if my PH is perfect, but my ALK is still a little high, what should I do?

Also - I put sodium bromide in the tub for a "bromine bank" and have the floating spa frog with mineral+bromine cartridges, but I am still getting a 0 reading on my spa test strips for bromine.  The dealer said it can take up to a full week for the bromine to show up, but I just want to make sure that is correct and that I'm not in a "non sanitized" spa.  Thanks!

[The Wizard of Spas]

Thank you everyone for your help.  I was able to take the water into the dealer and after following their suggestions, I was able to lower both the PH and alkalinity.

One question I have is if my PH is perfect, but my ALK is still a little high, what should I do?

Also - I put sodium bromide in the tub for a "bromine bank" and have the floating spa frog with mineral+bromine cartridges, but I am still getting a 0 reading on my spa test strips for bromine.  The dealer said it can take up to a full week for the bromine to show up, but I just want to make sure that is correct and that I'm not in a "non sanitized" spa.  Thanks!

You have to continue to reduce to get your alk down.  Then, you slowly raise your pH.  The Frog system may need to be adjusted to a bigger number to allow for more of the product to be dispensed depending on total time of usage.  Or you may have to up your shock amount.

[bradleyabell]

Thank you everyone for your help.  I was able to take the water into the dealer and after following their suggestions, I was able to lower both the PH and alkalinity.

One question I have is if my PH is perfect, but my ALK is still a little high, what should I do?

Also - I put sodium bromide in the tub for a "bromine bank" and have the floating spa frog with mineral+bromine cartridges, but I am still getting a 0 reading on my spa test strips for bromine.  The dealer said it can take up to a full week for the bromine to show up, but I just want to make sure that is correct and that I'm not in a "non sanitized" spa.  Thanks!

You have to continue to reduce to get your alk down.  Then, you slowly raise your pH.  The Frog system may need to be adjusted to a bigger number to allow for more of the product to be dispensed depending on total time of usage.  Or you may have to up your shock amount.

I tested yesterday and the ALK was in a good range, along with the PH.  If the PH drops too low, what do I use to raise the PH without raising the ALK? 

In regards to the FROG system, I have bromine set to 6 still, as it says to leave it all the way open until you reach 1PPM on your test strips.  What would you recommend for shock?  Also frequency?  I've only shocked it once so far with MPS and a small dose of dichlor.

[BullFrogSpasMN]

Thank you everyone for your help.  I was able to take the water into the dealer and after following their suggestions, I was able to lower both the PH and alkalinity.

One question I have is if my PH is perfect, but my ALK is still a little high, what should I do?

Also - I put sodium bromide in the tub for a "bromine bank" and have the floating spa frog with mineral+bromine cartridges, but I am still getting a 0 reading on my spa test strips for bromine.  The dealer said it can take up to a full week for the bromine to show up, but I just want to make sure that is correct and that I'm not in a "non sanitized" spa.  Thanks!

You have to continue to reduce to get your alk down.  Then, you slowly raise your pH.  The Frog system may need to be adjusted to a bigger number to allow for more of the product to be dispensed depending on total time of usage.  Or you may have to up your shock amount.

I tested yesterday and the ALK was in a good range, along with the PH.  If the PH drops too low, what do I use to raise the PH without raising the ALK? 

In regards to the FROG system, I have bromine set to 6 still, as it says to leave it all the way open until you reach 1PPM on your test strips.  What would you recommend for shock?  Also frequency?  I've only shocked it once so far with MPS and a small dose of dichlor.

Alk is more important, you need to continue to lower alkalinity until your pH stabilizes as they buffer from one another so a test strip "good range" may not mean much in your own scenario, I have customers that will keep their Alk. around 50-60 ppm (which of course is below the typical recommended range on test strips which is commonly 80-120 ppm) in order to stabilize their pH.  Shocking with regular usage should be done weekly and remember to keep your cover open while adding the shock into the spa with the jets running on high.  Someone else will have to chime in regarding the FROG system as I don't sell it.  Good Luck!