Seeking Chemical Advice

[Max78]

I am looking for advice on people's different chemical routines.  I know a lot of it depends on how much the tub is used.  Mine is used 3-4 times a week by a couple of people with an average of 2 "social" soakings (4-6 people for an extended period of time) a couple times a month.  I have an Optima and use dichlor and have an ozonator.  I use a Taylor test kit.  My questions are:

1) Is it better to soak in water with very little chlorine (.05 ppm) or is it better to have the levels a little higher (up to 3 ppm)?  
2) How long should you allow the levels to remain at .05 ppm? I check my levels daily and  I normally add a TABLESPOON daily (afternoons usually) because levels are down to between .05 ppm and 1 ppm.  I then add 1 TEASPOON of dichlor per person after use (usually in the evenings).  Then shock weekly with 3 TABLESPOONS of dichlor, clean filters, add Spa Defender or GLB Enzyme Clarifier (alternate weeks on those two)
Should I not keep the chlorine levels up daily since tub isn't used everyday?
3) How often do you check and make adjustments on PH and Alkalinity?  I usually check PH and Chlorine daily but don't check alkalinity as often once it is in range.  

Sorry for all the questions.  Any and all feedback is appreciated.  I know it takes awhile to learn all of this and I eventually will.  I've been at it for 4 months now and just when I think I know what I'm doing I figure out that I don't.  Thanks!

[Steve]

1) Is it better to soak in water with very little chlorine (.05 ppm) or is it better to have the levels a little higher (up to 3 ppm)?

The key is making sure you have some level of chlorine prior to use. Recommended Chlorine levels should be 1-3ppm. Remember that 1 person in a spa uses 1ppm of chlorine every 15 minutes so if 4 of you are in there for an hour and it was only a .5ppm reading when you got in, that water will depleted of sanitizer quickly. That can then open the door for cloudiness, odors, foaming and bacteria.

2) How long should you allow the levels to remain at .05 ppm? I check my levels daily and  I normally add a TABLESPOON daily (afternoons usually) because levels are down to between .05 ppm and 1 ppm.  I then add 1 TEASPOON of dichlor per person after use (usually in the evenings).  Then shock weekly with 3 TABLESPOONS of dichlor, clean filters, add Spa Defender or GLB Enzyme Clarifier (alternate weeks on those two)
Should I not keep the chlorine levels up daily since tub isn't used everyday?

You have a good program going. Again, a level of .5 chlorine will not sustain for very long. That applies even with no usage. Maintain a 1-3 at any given time and continue with the way you have been. Filter cleaning can be reduced to monthly though. The water will tell you if you haven't done enough. Cloudy water is a result of lack of chlorine but it's like waiting for your oil light to come on before you check the oil in your car. The key is being more proactive than reactive with watercare.

3) How often do you check and make adjustments on PH and Alkalinity?  I usually check PH and Chlorine daily but don't check alkalinity as often once it is in range.

I recommend checking pH every few days and alkalinity every couple of weeks.
 
Sorry for all the questions.  Any and all feedback is appreciated.  I know it takes awhile to learn all of this and I eventually will.  I've been at it for 4 months now and just when I think I know what I'm doing I figure out that I don't.  Thanks!

That's why we're here! You're doing very well by the sounds of it and you have a solid program.

Steve

[wmccall]

I  THINK the dichlor is best after soaking as that is when it is needed mostl. However, it probably doesn't remove 100% of the bacteria and other nasty stuff, so leaving it that low for long periods of time may allow bacteria to grow and you might find a cloudy tub after 3 days. Recently when we had 3 days of cool rain, I added a little dichlor after 48 hours of non use.  It was fine the next day when I used it.

[Vinny]

1) From what I've read, it's better to soak in as little chlorine as possible.

2) It sounds like your adding enough chlorine. The result you want is to have 2-3 PPM of chlorine 20 min after you add it (can be once a day) and run all the pumps and blowers to get the chlorinated water in every nook and cranny. You may try to skip adding chlorine on the days that you don't use the tub as the ozonator should take care of the "in between" days.

3) I don't have a tub yet but in my pool I check PH and Alk on a weekly basis. I would assume that PH doesn't fluctuate as much in a pool as it can in a tub because of the volume of water so maybe check PH 2x a week and Alk once a week. As far as adjusting the PH, I would leave it alone as long as it was in the 7.2 to 7.6 range.