Problems ????

[thebad]

I have a hot tub that is about three months old.  I am using chlorine daily and shock once a week.  I also have a ozoneaator built in and use the nature 2 nature cartridge as well.  

My problem is that about 8 hours after getting out of the tub  I get a skin rash on my arms that borders between itchy and painful.  It seems to only happen to me ( I use the tub more than anyone else)  If I stay out for a week it goes away , but comes back immediately after a hot tub session.  

My chlorine levels stay fairly constant, but my PH fluctuates wildly.  It seems that I can not keep it in the acceptable level range for a day or two before it drops low again.  My alkinity goes into the slightly high range to get my PH into the lower level of acceptable range.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.... I love my hot tub....but this is killing me.

Thanks for any help.  

[PPOL]

Sounds like your water is unbalanced and that you may be adding a little too much Cl2.  Take a water sample to your dealer and have him check out what is out of balance.  Could be a low pH (acid) and high Cl2 usually results in itchy dry skin.

Your pH bounce could be caused by the Alkalinity not being at the ideal level, again see the dealer.

You also sound like you could have sensitive skin and perhaps you should look into a non-cl2 sanitizer.

Hope this helps,

Neil O'Donovan
Phoenix Park Outdoor Living
Wilmington, NC

[thebad]

Yes the PH drops...and the Alkinity goes up.   I have missed a day here or there with the Chlorine...but never had any serious low Chlorine issues.   I am a newbie with this ...so all help is appreciated.   I will take a water sample in to the dealer as well.


It seems the PH never stablizes....always a moving target to the low side

[HotTubMan]

Any young children in the tub? I sell far more PH increaser to customers who have young children than those who do not.

If you ask them they all say "Oh, my kids know better than to do that....." So I guess its the parents, and then they stop once the kids get older.

HTMan

[poolboy34]

here's a suggestion.  at my store we deal alot with nature 2, and d-1's vision cartridge.  since you have an ozonator, i would suggest cutting back on your cl2 use as it is defeating the purpose of having the nature 2.  Secondly, try shocking with a tbsp of non-chlorine shock (mps) after you are done using the spa.  This ammount will vary depending on the number of bathers (if you have more then 3 people in the spa, shock with dichlor).  Third we have all of our customers who use vision or nature 2/spa frog keep their spas alkalinity a lil bit higher then the "normal" range.  We suggest keeping the alk anywhere between 125-180.  Three reasons for this.  1.) Is that we advocate shocking with mps, which over the course of 2 weeks will reduce the alkalinity in the water, therefore by keeping the alkalinity higher minimizes the number of adjustments you'll have to do to maintain your alkalinity.  2.) Nature 2/Vision has a high pH (7., and keeping the alkalinity on the high side will help stabilize the pH of your water.  3.) Keeping the alkalinity a tad higher also helps prevent the minerals in the cartridge from forming a "ring" at the waterline of the tub.  This works well for our customers.  It's mearly a suggestion.

Jason
Store manager for a D-1 and Caldera Dealer

[thebad]

Would it help If I changed chemicals......I drained the tub today, (I did save a sample to take to my dealer)  and have not yet refilled it.  Would changing from Chlorine to Bromine or another sanitizer help ??

Also is there any good products that anybody would recommend to clean it with, while I have it down.  Also should I worry about flushing the system as well.

Thanks...for all the suggestions...

[empolgation]

What do y'all do when Alkalinity is low but PH is where you want it? What do you recommend to raise TD without effecting the PH?

[Wisoki]

Use Guardex's Total Alkalinity Increaser!

[CalicoskiesNC]

I have stuff called pH increaser and ALK increaser.  Also, fix your ALK first as that will help hold your pH.  And I read somewhere that if your pH is high it diminishes the effect of the chlorine, so even if you add the correct amount it may not be doing its job.  

[HotTubMan]

I agree with Calico on all points. Always fix TA, then fix PH. Clorine and Bromine are both pH dependant. when pH is high C/Br get sluggish. When pH is low they become overactive and disappear quickly.

HTMan

[Roborph]

 If your PH is correct, then most of your problems are over. It's the ph that can do the damage..

[poolboy34]

Bromine actually isn;t effected all that much by pH.  It doesn't lose it's sanitizing efficiency like chlorine does when the pH is out of wack.  pH and alk levels tend to fluctuate more in a spa due to the small volume of water.  That is why Bromine is often times recommended for use in a hot tub, b/c it's not as pH dependent as chlorine is.  

[Pooldevil]

Hi
We have helped a lot of people here in the UK with a product called EcoOne which will help balance the pH and also reduce the amount of chlorine needed to keep your tub clean.
It comes from the US so you should be able to find it quite easily.
Made by: Pacific Sands
The results from our customers is very favourable ....