Chemical questions

[z71tahoe193]

I recently purchased a tiger river siberian and it know sees a lot of use. Each night there are at least 4 people in for an extended period of time. My ph has been rediculously high and I am reluctant to mess with it because they said i only needed to do it once a week. I think they were kinda surprised when I walked in yesterday and had to by another thing of MPS after having it for only a week. Any tips on what to do? Thanks

[Steve]

Reading between the lines here a bit, it's possible that you have been running high chlorine levels which in turn can bleach your pH readings and give a false, purple color that many misread as very high pH.

Other than that, my first question would be, what has your alkalinity readings been?

Steve

[z71tahoe193]

Alk is reading about 90 and is stable. I do my water treatments on saturday and get the pH into the 7.2-7.6 range, but after a day or two the pH climbs to very high levels. I have taken readings before and after I use the tub and the TBr will drop to zero, FCl doesn't register because I only use it as a shock after a party and rely on MPS very keeping regular levels, Alk stays steady most of the time and will climb by the end of the week, pH seems to get a darker and darker color of orange after every use. I have taken a sample up to the store for testing and confirmed that it is a high pH level and to not worry too much about it. I use Freshwater test strips and they measure Tbr, FCl, Alk, and pH.

[Russ]

Disclaimer: I am by NO means an expert.  

I had the exact same issue you are having. lots of  things worked against me.
1. I have well water.
2. My tub was sitting in the show room a long time.
    ( lots of dirt and dust)
3. LOTS of use so far... almost every night.
4. Lots of company lately... I wonder why?  

I finally called my dealer and told them the history and my problem. The first thing they asked...

How dirty is your filter?
Well, it looked decent, not white, but decent. They suggested I clean my filter. Well, I did  one better and bought a spare. I changed it out and now I am having a MUCH easier time keeping my pH in check.

I'm not saying it's your problem, but just relaying my story.... and I'm sticking to it!  

--- Russ ---

[z71tahoe193]

Yeah sounds like we are in the same boat. I too have purchased another filter, cleaned the ones that I had with filter cleaner and a pressure washer. Still havin the same problems. Might just have to change the water.

[Steve]

Alk is reading about 90 and is stable. I do my water treatments on saturday and get the pH into the 7.2-7.6 range, but after a day or two the pH climbs to very high levels. I have taken readings before and after I use the tub and the TBr will drop to zero, FCl doesn't register because I only use it as a shock after a party and rely on MPS very keeping regular levels, Alk stays steady most of the time and will climb by the end of the week, pH seems to get a darker and darker color of orange after every use. I have taken a sample up to the store for testing and confirmed that it is a high pH level and to not worry too much about it. I use Freshwater test strips and they measure Tbr, FCl, Alk, and pH.

Water chemisrty is water chemistry and yours is no different than mine. Alk is a buffer for pH and when in range, it will tend to stabilze pH. Something is causing your pH to rise. The problem here is that it's exceedingly high according to you and that seems odd. That's the reason why I believe it's due to the bromine being high. I'm not sure why you're testing for free chlorine as you are on a bromine system, correct?

Draining is one answer, but I'd rather address the problem and prevent it from continually happening first.

One other suggestion is that your strips are no good. They do have a "best before" date so you might want to check that as it could have sat on the shelf for a year before you purchased them.

Personally, strips are a guideline only and have little accuracy to them at all. Get yourself a good Taylor test kit with DPD drops and get your water tested monthly. I wouldn't take it back to the place you mentioned as pH is very important and high pH can cause skin problems, cloudiness, corrosion and reduce the effectiveness of your sanitizer. Telling you to not worry too much about it is chemically ignorant.

Steve

[z71tahoe193]

I do use chlorine after a night of heavy use and/or a little bit of a drink might be spilled in the water. For the most part I use MPS and put the corresponding amount of sanitizer to the amount of people. I shock with MPS once a week on Sunday and put pH/Alk decreaser till It is where it is supposed to be. The exp. on the test strips is 05/06. If I get out of class early enough tomorrow I will go pick up the test kit.

[z71tahoe193]

Was able to pick up a test kit today. Got the pH problem under control for now it seems. Haven't been able to get in yet though because we got attacked by the green water and im waiting for chlorine level to go down.  Crazy story, while I was going to get the test kit, I was rear ended getting off the highway. Luckily the other driver is ok, and my roommate that was driving with me. As of now back is really sore, but im going to my orthopedic monday. I hate going to the doctor but at least it gets me out of organic chemistry for the day. Thanks for all the help.

[wmccall]

Take it from me, after a car accident, the hot tub is a wonderful place.