Hot Tub Forum
Original => Hot Tub Forum => Topic started by: diane on September 09, 2007, 03:14:03 pm
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Here starts the post I knew I would have to one day type. After 2.5 wks of being a spa owner, I fear my beginners luck with water chemisry has run out. Today I had excessive foaming and now the water is CLOUDY!! My sundance has an ozonator and a mineral cartridge. I've been adding one tablespoon of sodium-dichlor after each time the tub is used and once weekly I am shocking. My ph is sometimes high so I've added small amounts of ph down to get it into a good range. The tub has not seen any wild nights of maximum occupancy but it is used approx. 4 times a week. Over Labor Day weekend, five children did enjoy themselves in it. We did not tell them to keep their heads out of the water so all of them including 3 girls had their hair in the tub. I know this is not a big deal but on top of sundances' floating stereo/jet remote control which worked for us ONCE, I'm a bit frustrated. What the heck! A floating remote should be waterproof, wouldn't ya think? Anyway, so I'm going to have to have that replaced and figure out the cloudy water issue with the help of you spa specialists out there. I was planning on dumping and refilling after 4 weeks of usage as many of you recommend, but after only 2.5 weeks of enjoyment, it seems soon to consider doing that. HELP A NEWBIE OUT :(
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Probably due to the "party" that was in there! When was the last time you used the spa and/or dosed/shocked it?
It's not a big thing. Start the tub, turn on the air and get something to scoop out the foam, a pool's skimmer net woks great. Scoop out as much as you can, then shock the tub with non-chlorine shock, we call it MPS.
What you are doing is getting rid of the excess contaminants (scooping) then oxidizing (shocking) what ever is left over. If after 24 hours you still have cloudiness, use a little clarifier (1/2 the recommended dose) and wait for 12-24 hours then rinse the filters and you should be good to go. If you haven't used the spa in a while then the cloudiness can be from bacteria. In that case put 3 tablespoons full of dichlor in and watch your chlorine readings.
Since a dump and refill is in your immediate future this is a good way to see if the above works for you and if not you are prepared to do it.
As far as your dichlor/ozonator/mineral cartridge. For dichlor, you might be using too much or too little. I have a 400 gallon spa and I use about 2 teaspoons for 1 person and up to 4 when more people are in the tub. You didn't say how much you're using for shocking but it should be substancially more. Ozone and mineral cartridge - their there to help the dichlor work. When you dump the water you need another cartridge - don't reuse the exsisting one.
Let us know how you made out!
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Diane
No need to panic just yet!
Add one tablespoon of dichlor to your tub, wait 20 minutes then test the water. If you have somewhere around 3ppm of free chlorine you should be good, just wait for the water to clear up. If you have less then 3ppm, add another tablespoon of dichlor. Give it time to work. In the meantime run your jets on high and scoop out as much foam as you can. Don't worry the water care gets easier as time goes on.
For what its worth, don't let kids dunk their heads underwater the oils and stuff from their hair is probably what caused the foam
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Diane
No need to panic just yet!
Add one tablespoon of dichlor to your tub, wait 20 minutes then test the water. If you have somewhere around 3ppm of free chlorine you should be good, just wait for the water to clear up. If you have less then 3ppm, add another tablespoon of dichlor.
Ditto what everybody else said. It's probably too early in your ownership to know exactly what a "regular" dose of dichlor is. Next time you exit the spa and dose with dichlor, check the reading after leaving the cover off for half an hour or so. If you're not in the 1-3 ppm range, add more, and remember the "total" amount of chlorine you added. Next time you leave the spa, add that amount, & check again after the chlorine is well mixed. After a month or two of that, then you'll have an idea of how much you should be adding on a regular basis.
A clarifier is a good idea to - you need something to grab on to all those particles in the water so your filter can pull them out. Follow what the others posted above & you should be in good shape.
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After responding to this post, I went outside and continued closing my pool. I haven't opened the spa for apparently days ... it was cloudy too. I could swear I put chlorine in on Fri morning but I guess not ... time is getting away from me!
So this can be contagious! ;D ;D
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After responding to this post, I went outside and continued closing my pool. I haven't opened the spa for apparently days ... it was cloudy too. I could swear I put chlorine in on Fri morning but I guess not ... time is getting away from me!
So this can be contagious! ;D ;D
This is an example of a bacteria cloudy water ... I put in 3 heaping teaspoons - should be over 4 1/2 PPM and 30 minutes later I had 0.5 PPM. I threw in another approx 4.5 PPM and letting the tub do it's thing. Make sure you monitor your chlorine levels.
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After responding to this post, I went outside and continued closing my pool.
NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
Say it isn't so...............SUMMER IS NOT OVER :'( :'( :'( :'(
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NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
Say it isn't so...............SUMMER IS NOT OVER :'( :'( :'( :'(
I may not be by you even if your in Canada eh ;). It is here ... the kids are in school and the leaves are dropping off the tree. I love and hate trees.
We've talked about a solar cover but we probably wouldn't use the pool any more than it gets used now. I do make sure it's opened for our Memorial Day (bad flashbacks from when I was a kid) and I know a woman who kept her HEATED pool open until Halloween the first year she got it. I think she keeps her pool open into October.
Although the days are getting shorter I keep thinking about those nice winter soaks and I have not soaked in a snowfall since I've had my tub; I believe Bonibelle hasn't either.
I think you need to move to Florida .. just came back from there on a vacation - it's as hot as h*ll there - I prefer the cooler weather.
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After responding to this post, I went outside and continued closing my pool. I haven't opened the spa for apparently days ... it was cloudy too. I could swear I put chlorine in on Fri morning but I guess not ... time is getting away from me!
So this can be contagious! ;D ;D
Funny...my water is cloudy today, also. Must be aliens.
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I'm afraid to look in mine :-/..Hubby and I were in last night after going in the pool with our pet spiders :o :o ;D ;D. the tub seems to require more attention after the pool to tub thing. But I will still say it is the best therapy..the colder the pool water, the better.
Yeah Vinny...go ahead and make me feel lousy about going to Florida. ;D ;D I don't like the heat either...and that snowy soak is something that I am still looking forward to. It has to be this year for sure... ;)
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Ut oh......I better go look at my tub...you guys are scaring me! :o
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My tub won't even be installed until the end of the month. So no, I don't feel sorry for any of you. >:(
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Nobody has mentioned Chas' law. In the first month of ownership, its easy to over/under do stuff. The weather is still warm, dump the water and start over again.
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Yep, it worked for me. And by that second fill, you magically become a better water manager! Speaking of Chas...where is he?
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Nobody has mentioned Chas' law. In the first month of ownership, its easy to over/under do stuff. The weather is still warm, dump the water and start over again.
Diane had mentioned that she planned to drain and fill at four weeks which makes sense. This thread, however, brings to light that we all deal with cloudy water from time to time and its not just a new owner issue. :)
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Yep, it worked for me. And by that second fill, you magically become a better water manager! Speaking of Chas...where is he?
Hot Springs was sold to Haven so Chas is in Colorado for dealer training.
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Hot Springs was sold to Haven so Chas is in Colorado for dealer training.
I can't wait to see Term & son sitting in his first floor model Super Custom Magnum.
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I can't wait to see Term & son sitting in his first floor model Super Custom Magnum.
If I know Term, it will be the Super DUPER Custom FALLSBURG Magnum with the BAIT insulation package.
Does this mean that H*ven is gonna pick up the balance of my warranty on the Envoy?
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If I know Term, it will be the Super DUPER Custom FALLSBURG Magnum with the BAIT insulation package.
Does this mean that H*ven is gonna pick up the balance of my warranty on the Envoy?
No, every HS spa has been obsoleted due to design flaws ... warranties are no longer valid!
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I may not be by you even if your in Canada eh ;). It is here ... the kids are in school and the leaves are dropping off the tree. I love and hate trees.
We've talked about a solar cover but we probably wouldn't use the pool any more than it gets used now. I do make sure it's opened for our Memorial Day (bad flashbacks from when I was a kid) and I know a woman who kept her HEATED pool open until Halloween the first year she got it. I think she keeps her pool open into October.
Although the days are getting shorter I keep thinking about those nice winter soaks and I have not soaked in a snowfall since I've had my tub; I believe Bonibelle hasn't either.
I think you need to move to Florida .. just came back from there on a vacation - it's as hot as h*ll there - I prefer the cooler weather.
Vinny,
We are just a little south of you, now thats a statement thats going to mess up a lot of Americans (Canada south of New York :-?), but yes we normally keep the pool open till about the beginning of October. Don't get me wrong I love the hot tub in the winter its just everything else about winter I hate :P
Hope your vacation was good
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No, every HS spa has been obsoleted due to design flaws ... warranties are no longer valid!
Hmm, so then your basically saying we get the normal H*ven warranty?
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Hey I live in NJ. I am a transplanted New Yorker though, I guess my accent threw you.
When we discussed getting a pool, we briefly thought about an inground but since the season is so short we couldn't justify the expense.
My wife loved Florida and said she could live there, I was melting. We went into a pool and it was over 90º and it was not refreshing. Although I am not a fan of cold water, there is something to be said about being in 80º water and roasting in the sun. Last week I was in the pool brushing the walls and floor and the water was 78º and it was cold for a few minutes, it really was nice and refreshing.
It also doesn't hurt to know that a 101º body of water is waiting a few feet away! ;D
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Hmm, so then your basically saying we get the normal H*ven warranty?
You'll be receiving your koolaid soon! ;D