old lurker..new member

[wildman]

Howdy all!
   Wildman here, I have lurked on this site for several years while trying to decide if I really want and would use a hot tub. Turns out the answer is "yes" to both questions. In early April we bought a 2012 Hot Spring Aria from the dealer here in Albuquerque. We have been using it almost every night since it was installed.
   Today we returned from a three day trip in northern New Mexico to find cloudy water and what appears to be a slight amount of an oily substance on the surface. When we left the water was fine. Our tub has the ozone system and I have been cleaning the filters every three weeks. I have just tested the water (using HS test strips) and found the hardness @ 50 ppm, pH @ 8.0, Alk @ 80 ppm. We always shower before using tub and add a cap full of Fresh  Water MPS after each use. Any ideas what went wrong and how do I correct this? Thanks, wildman

[d00nut]

The Aria is an awesome tub!  Congrats on your purchase!

My guess would be your pH being to high.  I'd hit the spa with some dichlor (if you use it.)  Maybe 2 teaspoons, and get your pH down to 7.4-7.6.

Should clear up in a day or two. 

[wmccall]

Welcome,

Have you done a water change since your original install? If not, it may just have gone over the edge while you were gone not adding sanitizer.  You have done well for a rookie to go 2 months and have the water still be good. However, the oily film has me wondering.  Any chance you had neighbors who knew you were out of town and took advantage of that to use the tub?

[Chas]

I'm with Bill. Get locking gates.

And I know it sounds like a big deal, but a water change really isn't: if I came home to what you came home to, I'd change my water.

And buy these: http://www.vuezone.com/shop/systems-and-cameras

HTH

 

[DeaconV]

That's funny because not knowing a thing about tub care yet, the first thing that popped into my head was a neighbor, or your older "kids" knew you were away and took advantage to soak their bones...or other things.  Yeah, water change, cleaning, and refill...with locks on the cover.  When our tub finally goes in (this Fall hopefully) we'll have a nice "no you don't" lock on the cover for sure.