Prism tub, need help!

[Hot tub dummy]

I'm new to the hot tub world. My PH and Alk are in balance. The salt level is always in the yellow and creeps into the red sometimes. I have the setting on 6. Hard water is really high and the chlorine doesn't show up on the test strips. My dealer told me that I only have to check the PH but what I read on this forum, that doesn't sound true. I have had it for 4 months and I changed the salt cartridge last week. Do I need to change the water every 4 months? HELP!!!!

[castletonia]

You NEED soft water.  If you have high calcium hardness, you either need to use however many of the Vanishing Act or Vanishing Act XL's are necessary to get the hardness under 75 ppm or you need to invest in a portable water softener so that when you fill it is softened water.  If you cannot accomplish the soft water part, I would probably move away from the salt system as you're always going to have issues.

If your salt level is high, then you either have too much salt in the water or your TDS is too high and that is causing a false reading. 

A output setting of 6 is too low especially on the Prism.  Pretty much every customer I have with either a Prism or Cantabria are set for 10 and I have one that has to supplement with chlorine every now and then because their usage is ridiculously heavy.  If you do need to add chlorine, liquid is preferred though you can occasionally add di-chlor but you have to be careful with how high the CYA goes.  I would also have your dealer test for phosphates since high phosphates can prohibit the system from producing chlorine effectively.

If it were me, I would figure out how I'm going to have a soft water supply and then drain/refill and start over.  I might also hope your dealer has learned more about the system in the last 4 months.

[Hot tub dummy]

Ok thank you, I will get the soft water under control first off. If I have my setting at 6 is that why a test strip shows no chlorine? If i turn the setting to 10 then the salt is going to be way high isn't it? About three weeks ago i drained about 6 inches out and filled it with my hard water. The salt level always rises again, even without me putting any salt in. Could the hard water be making the salt rise all the time? Sorry about the questions, I have no idea what is going on here.

[castletonia]

Yeah, 6 is too low unless the hot tub doesn’t receive any usage.  Assuming the water is clear I would boost to get some chlorine in the water and set for 10.  Check every other day or so and adjust downward by 1 if you even can until you find the setting for your needs.

The output setting has nothing to do with the salt level, only the amount of chlorine the system is producing.  The salt level can only increase if you are adding salt, or if your TDS (total dissolved solids) are high.  This will occur once the water is saturated with chemicals or if you use liquid chlorine and use a ton of it.

Assuming your dealer can test water, bring a sample in and have them do a test.  It’s a lot easier when you aren’t guessing.  Or, if your dealer doesn’t, maybe look into getting a good Taylor test kit so you can test everything yourself.

[Hot tub dummy]

Ok, thanks for the help, this is exactly why I joined this forum. I will report back when I get it figured out. Thanks again

[Hot tub dummy]

I ended up draining about 6 inches of the tub and refilled it. The salt level is down towards the bottom of the green. I have the salt level set to 10. I'm still not getting a reading on the test strip of any chlorine. I put a vanishing act pillow in there to lower hardness but I'm not totally sure where to put it. I put it at the bottom where I think is a suction return on the side in the footwell, there are five of them? Its been in there 12 hours and then flipped but its not changing the hardness, maybe wrong place? I put the setting on vanishing act on tub also.

[castletonia]

What was the calcium hardness to begin with?  12 hours is not enough for time for Vanishing Act and depending on how hard your water actually is, it may take multiple or the XL version.  The salt system takes time to produce chlorine.  Again, without knowing hardness and phosphate levels I have no idea how efficiently the system will work or whether you are wasting your time and you should start over.

[Hot tub dummy]

Hardness is pretty much at 250 and has stayed there, should I put another pillow in? Does it matter where I put the pillows?

[castletonia]

You will need the Vanishing Act XL.  In your owners manual it indicates which suction return to put it by.  In the future, I would invest in a portable water softener.  The cost is a bit more upfront but it will save you money in the long term.

[Hot tub dummy]

I got water soft by using two vanishing act pillows, everything is in balance but I can’t get a chlorine reading on test strip, I’ve added a couple cap fulls of chlorine but still nothing, salt string is on 10, do I keep adding until it shows up?

[castletonia]

When you say cap fulls of chlorine are you referencing granules or liquid?  And how long are you waiting after you add the chlorine before you test?  If you are testing like 5-10 minutes after adding chlorine and you have no reading, either your test strips are bad or the water is really bad and its going to take a lot of chlorine being added to get an actual reading.

[Hot tub dummy]

Cap fulls of granuals, I test it the next day, Iv'e had the boost on since yesterday, Just tested it and still no chlorine reading. I know I need to test the TDS but I need to order a tester to do that. Until then should I just add a bunch of chlorine until it shows?

[castletonia]

If you keep adding granules you are going to increase the Cyanuric Acid (CYA).  Once the CYA gets too high it will make the chlorine less effective and possibly create a chlorine lock situation.  High CYA will make the salt system work less effectively, if not at all.  The fact that you are adding capfuls of chlorine and get no reading would lead me to believe that you may already be in that situation and the only solution is a drain/refill.  If you are adding chlorine after the start-up process with any frequency, it needs to be liquid (bleach or pool shock).  Also need to test for phosphates.

Since I don't have a sample of your water to test, I can't with 100% certainty tell you what the issue is, but if you were my customer, I would probably be advising to drain/refill and start over.  Does your dealer not do water testing?  If not, is there a different local pool/spa store that does?  Without having a complete water analysis, you are trying to correct and issue without knowing the root cause.

Every customer I have had that has had issues with the Freshwater Salt System have all had the same initial problem: bad source water.  I hate to say it, but if you source water is not good and you do not do the proper start-up process, you're probably in for a frustrating experience.