Brown foam is ...

[patty]

good right?   We are 3 weeks into our second fill (Optima, sunpurity/n2, no ozinator, vermonter method)... Last soak was Monday nite or Tuesday.   Been a busy week and I knew I needed to add chems but kept putting off.. Needless to say.. come Saturday.. CLOUDY water.

 Normal dicholor amt is approx 1Tsp + a bit more (about 4 tsp)  so I added normal amt.  

-20 mins later: 0 free chlorine & water still very cloudy.   Added another 4tsp.  

-20 mins later:  free clorine is 4 or 5, water still cloudy.   Added 6 capfuls of clarifier (4 per 300 gals) (ok so I  
  probably overdosed a bit.. added 5 capfuls then felt like I should add one more for good measure

-10 mins later: BROWN foam!  Ttub has been foamy... so foam is not not a surprise.. but the brown color was.

I assume that brown foam means the nasties are coming out of the water and this is good right?  I'm going to scoop out the brown foam ... Am I doing this right?  Or should I give up and dump water?   At what poind do you stop dumping chemical ($$) into tub and dump it?

Help!

[patty]

Scooped out all the foam and wiped down the shell, filter compartment, cover & now back to 'regular' white foam (never thought I'd be glad to see white foam!!!)

2 hours later free chlorine at 4-5 but water is still cloudy.  What do I do now?  Wait?  How long does clarifier take to work?  The clarifier bottle said to wait 24 hours before adding again.

Since chlorine is ok I would assume the water safe to use, right?

Oh and I shocked too.  Sorry for all the ?s....  I am all about instant gratification and thought/hoped adding the dichlor and clarifier would work  - BAM - clean tub.  

[Jacuzzi Jim]

 I would just go out and hit pump 1 btn through out the day, That should pull more water thru the filter, it wouldnt hurt to add a little more clarifier. it should clear up.

 I guess the micron filter isnt all its craked up to be.  

 When I am in that situation and you have not added anything for awhile my fix is shock real good run pump 1 thru 1 cycle (approx 20 min),then hit with a 1/2 to 3/4 cup chlorine (dichlore) run pump 1 again, then add the clairifier.  Run pump 1 off and on thru the day and the spa should come out clear as a bell.  adjust ph and alk when done.  Chlorine level may be high but it will come down pretty quick.

 I know you cant clean the micron filter but atleast rinse it really good when all done.

 Hope this helps.

[Tatooed_Lady]

now that you've run the crud thru the filters, take the filter(s) out and wash/clean them to get rid of the goo buildup. It'll give you extended water and filter life.

[patty]

Thanks for the feedback.  I've run the pumps 4 or 5 more times for 20 mins each time.  And I also added 2 capfuls of clarifier.  At this point the water has improved from cloudy to murky.     I haven't checked the chlorine tonite but if its still 3-5 .. is it safe to go in?  Have folks soaked in murky water or wait till it it's back to crystal clear.  If wait, how long does it generally take?

It doesn't look that bad... I have not been in since early this week.. and I'm really STRESSED out about my water.  Glass of wine and a nice soak sound really good about now.... but I don't want to go in if the water is not safe.    

[Chad]

If you have a 3-5 ppm present before you soak, your good to go. Heck, I'd even be brave enough to say if there is 1 ppm you'd be ok. I soak all the time with 0-.5 ppm with no problems. Granted I didn't have brown foam but................