2004 Sundance Cameo, need help please.

[ATC Buckeye]

Okay so I'm done with the superchlor procedure.  I refilled, and when I switched the breaker back on and the pump kicked on low, I got a bunch of pretty large brown/black flakes all around in the water.  I'm thinking that at this point I'll start skimming them out every day until I don't see them anymore, then just use the damn thing.

Sound good to you guys?

[Chas]

Seriously??  I'd like to hear more about a product that simple to use.

Dichlor. It is as easy as it gets, and needs no expensive 'other' items.

Balance the water using something like "Spa Up" and/or "Spa Down." These are just baking soda (up) and dry acid (down), so you can buy just about any brand, and you can even use Baking Soda or Vinegar if you need to. Look for things such as "pH +" or similar if you don't have Leisure Time chems in your area.

Then simply add a bit of Dichlor as you exit the spa, every time. The amount you add will vary acc. to use and the environment in the tub area, but starting with a teaspoon per person per use is a good rule of thumb.

That's it! Doesn't get easier. Also - if you leave the tub lid open for ten minutes with the jets on after you add the Dichlor, you will add YEARS of life to your spa cover, and get rid of most of the chlorine odor. Once a month, add a couple of ounces of Dichlor as a shock, do the same after any guests enjoy your tub.

If you are doing this correctly, you should have NO chlorine odor as you get out of the tub, and very little (if any) as you enter.

Now: Getting rid of "Water Mold" is not tough, but takes a bit of time. Balance the water (pH and TA) and then add two ounces of Dichlor. Run jets (ALL jets) with the lid off for half an hour. At least five hours later check the chlorine level. If it is low, add another ounce. If it is high, close the lid. Follow up with more chlorine to keep the level at or above 3ppm for the next several days. And each day, rinse off the filter(s) to get as much of the stuff out as possible - don't rinse the filters in the spa area.

HTH

 

[ATC Buckeye]

@Chaz, that's good info, thanks.  I'm going to use up the Bromine I've got and then revisit this.

But in the meantime, my tub is worthless cuz I can't kill this mold.  In fact I called Litehouse yesterday and set up a time to have a spa tech come out and help me.  I'm so frustrated with these flakes at this point I'm regretting buying this tub honestly.  But, I've done so much work retrofitting it into my deck that there's really no turning back.

So here's where we're at.  I ran Spa Purge thru the system as directed, drained, wiped down all the funkiness than came out and rinsed everything out, soaked filters in cleaner, rinsed, replaced.  Refilled with fresh water, and flakes came right back out of those jets.   So, I tried the superchlorination technique I read about on another forum.  That meant pouring 5 cups bleach in, running for awhile thru all jets, all diverter valves, all air selectors swapped all around, etc etc.  Ran that insanely chlorinated water thru everything I could find.  Then, I pulled the filters again, rinsed them again, and then dumped some hydrogen peroxide into the funky water to bring the level back down enough to dump in my grass.   Then, I drained the water again, shop vac'ed every flake I could see as it was dumping, and wiped everything out again. I opened the bottom drain, let some of that hi-test water out that way (more funkiness came out) and wiped and cleaned everything.  I even took all the jets I could figure out how to remove out, and wiped them down.

Refilled again with fresh water.  Added 2 oz of Bromine spa boost, and popped in a fresh bromine stick into my Spa Frog and a new mineral stick as well.  Set the frog on 6, then turned it down to 3 the next day.

So now, everything is sparkling clear and looks great, but as soon as I hit a pump, bam, white nasty flakes everywhere.

I'm at my wits end now, and we're expecting a heavy snow storm tonight and tomorrow. 

So as far as adding that dichlor, can I still do that at this point with my bromine treatment?  Am I looking at yet another dump and refill?  Cuz if that's the case, I'm screwed weather wise. 

So frustrated right now.  I'm ready to just pay this tech whatever he wants to straighten this damn thing out for me.  Which I'm not ever sure is something that he will do.

[ATC Buckeye]

Okay, I just went out and checked on it, and for starters my bromine levels are ridiculously high.  Usually I can barely get it to register on the strips, now I'm getting it to show the "high" color.  With my Taylor kit, it took 17 drops to get the water to turn back to clear, which is 8.5 ppm (!!!)  I turned my frog down to two, or should I leave it cranked up high while I battle this mold???  It burns my eyes to stand over it for too long (I've been using a pool skimmer to remove as many flakes as I can).

The filter was loaded with flakes again.  I rinsed it off and skimmed out the filter box.

Man, I'm confused.  The Ph and TA look pretty close to normal on the strips.  I didn't test those levels with the Taylor kit.   

EDIT:  Just tested with Taylor kit, got 8.0 on Ph and 100 on TA.  So I added 2 oz ph down and 1 oz TA up.

I'm now trying to get the tub to filter out the flakes itself.  It seems if I run one of the pumps, the water gets drawn in thru the footwell, and all the flakes get kicked up around the tub. Then, if I hit the other pump, the water gets drawn in through the filter box and the filters trap the flakes.  So, I'm alternating running the one pump for a minute, then the other for its entire cycle.  Maybe I can get the tub to filter out the flakes itself.  I feel like the "stuff" must be dead after that super chlorination treatment (I'd think that would kill freakin' everything!) and maybe the pumps are just purging the dead crap.

As you can see, this is my first tub, and since I bought it used I didn't get any kind of instruction on how to run it.  I've been using these forums to try to work it out on my own.  Thank you all for your help so far.

[TwinCitiesHotSpring]

Okay, I just went out and checked on it, and for starters my bromine levels are ridiculously high.  Usually I can barely get it to register on the strips, now I'm getting it to show the "high" color.  With my Taylor kit, it took 17 drops to get the water to turn back to clear, which is 8.5 ppm (!!!)  I turned my frog down to two, or should I leave it cranked up high while I battle this mold???  It burns my eyes to stand over it for too long (I've been using a pool skimmer to remove as many flakes as I can).

The filter was loaded with flakes again.  I rinsed it off and skimmed out the filter box.

Man, I'm confused.  The Ph and TA look pretty close to normal on the strips.  I didn't test those levels with the Taylor kit.   

EDIT:  Just tested with Taylor kit, got 8.0 on Ph and 100 on TA.  So I added 2 oz ph down and 1 oz TA up.

I'm now trying to get the tub to filter out the flakes itself.  It seems if I run one of the pumps, the water gets drawn in thru the footwell, and all the flakes get kicked up around the tub. Then, if I hit the other pump, the water gets drawn in through the filter box and the filters trap the flakes.  So, I'm alternating running the one pump for a minute, then the other for its entire cycle.  Maybe I can get the tub to filter out the flakes itself.  I feel like the "stuff" must be dead after that super chlorination treatment (I'd think that would kill freakin' everything!) and maybe the pumps are just purging the dead crap.

As you can see, this is my first tub, and since I bought it used I didn't get any kind of instruction on how to run it.  I've been using these forums to try to work it out on my own.  Thank you all for your help so far.

sounds like your on the right track...if it appears the flakes are not going away anytime soon I would recommend this: http://www.silkbalance.com/pages/cleaning-your-spa its called clean start and its the best "purge" product I have ever used.  A bag should run right around $17-$25 at most (fyi you will need a plain old 5 gal. bucket to dilute and use the product)

[ATC Buckeye]

Okay thanks, maybe I'm just being really optimistic but I swear it seems like it's actually starting to work.  Although they're way easier to see at night, so I'm gonna go out there soon to spray off the filter and take a look.  Wish me luck.

PS is it safe to get in it tonight with the bromine up pretty high?  Assuming the chips are mostly gone I'd love a soak.

[TwinCitiesHotSpring]

Okay thanks, maybe I'm just being really optimistic but I swear it seems like it's actually starting to work.  Although they're way easier to see at night, so I'm gonna go out there soon to spray off the filter and take a look.  Wish me luck.

PS is it safe to get in it tonight with the bromine up pretty high?  Assuming the chips are mostly gone I'd love a soak.

no problems soaking, if the levels or smell are too bad you could always add fresh water to dilute the chlorine/bromine level down a bit

[Chas]

I think you may have missed the last paragraph of my post. This has worked for hundreds of our customers over two decades - give it a shot. And yes, you can still add Dichlor even once you have begun to use Bromine.

Summary: balance water, add dichlor - keep the chlorine level up high for several days. Rinse the filter every day until this is behind you.

 

[ATC Buckeye]

Ok thank you. I've been running jets and rinsing the filter every day and I think it's almost gone. I think it's just spitting out dead pieces right now. Every day has been lots less, today was almost none.

If it persists, I will do that treatment.  Will I have to dump and refill after adding the dichlor, once flakes are gone?

[Chas]

No, not at all. The water mold is organic, and the chlorine tries to kill it. It takes days and days to get it all, and you will have to keep adding dichlor. Once you get a good reading of chlorine which lasts overnight, you are on the home stretch. Once the chlorine stays put, and you don't see any flakes, you have won!!

And the chlorine level will go down by itself in another day or two.

 

[ATC Buckeye]

Ok great. If its not currently dead I will do just that.  Thanks again.

[Chas]

No charge !


 

[ATC Buckeye]

No charge !


 

Please check PM, requesting more assistance.

[ATC Buckeye]

Hey Chas, I sent you a message but I think I answered most of my own questions.  The only part I'm not certain on, is do I leave the Bromine frog out of the tub during this DiChlor treatment?  I picked up the DiChlor and some chlorine test strips today, and I just tossed 2 oz of it in the tub and am currently running all the jets with the lid open.   I took the Frog out for now.

Also, once this is all done, what do I need to do to the water to return to regular bromine usage?  Nothing?  Will the DiChlor dissipate on its own if I stop adding it?