New Hot Tub ... Bromine advice

[ReflexReaction]

Hi all,

I am the proud new owner of a Canadian Spa Toronto hot tub.  I am based in the UK and have chosen to go with a bromine based sanitisation system as some of the family suffer with skin problems.

I purchased a "bromine chemical starter pack" online, which came with the following:

1kg Bromine tablets
1kg PH+
1kg PH-
A Spa Fusion Shock Sachet (single use)
A Immerse Filter Cleaner Sachet (single use)
Bromine test strips
Bromine dispenser

I also purchased some Scaleaway as I live in a very hard water area!

So, we filled the tub up two days ago, and an electrician came about 24 hours ago to turn on the power! It was hot by night time (40c is the max it goes to) and my chemicals arrived about 1pm today (2 or so hours ago).

I straight away tested the PH and found it slightly too high, so added a small amount of PH-.  The test I did also suggested the AK was too high, but they didn't provide anything to adjust this - in fact, they only sell AK+! I am wondering if this is to do with the UK not needing to adjust the Alkalinity?

Either way, the PH- brought the PH level down to where I would like it, and also seems to have dropped the AK slightly too, to hopefully OK levels.

About 2 hours ago I added 4 of the Bromine tablets to the dispenser, set it to wide open and plopped it in.  Since then, two hours on, the test strip is still showing white (aka no Bromine at all)!  A quick search on the interest suggested these tablets are very slow to act?

My questions:

• Is it OK to go in the hot tub tonight, before the Bromine levels are at normal levels as per the strip? Should I purchase a liquid Bromine to boost the levels immediately?
• Should I be using the Shock sachet already, before anyone has even used it? Some sites say to use the shock immediately after filling, others say you don't even need to shock! As this is a brand new tub, I cannot imagine there is must dirt to dissolve away - but I wondered if using this would help my initial Bromine levels?

I have also purchased some Scale remover, as we live in an extremely hard water area.  I plan to add this to the water tonight overnight.

Any advice welcomed!

RR

[ReflexReaction]

Also, I've just stuck my hand in and noticed a thin white powder is there on the entire surface of the tub.  If I run my finger along the edge and out of the water, I can see it's white.  It gives the edge of the hot tub a rough surface.  What is this and should the shock fix it? Or should I get in and wipe down all of the edges with a cloth?

[brillskill]

im no expert but i believe that powder is calcium ...

[TwinCitiesHotSpring]

Also, I've just stuck my hand in and noticed a thin white powder is there on the entire surface of the tub.  If I run my finger along the edge and out of the water, I can see it's white.  It gives the edge of the hot tub a rough surface.  What is this and should the shock fix it? Or should I get in and wipe down all of the edges with a cloth?

could be calcium..is it possible to have someone accurately test your water? (a test strip is not accurate)...if it is in fact calcium you will need to get rid of it asap as it can cause some major problems if it continues to "build up" on the shell, to the point where only acid will be able to remove it.  The only thing that can remedy it is to run some or all of your fill water through a softener, or use a brine bag similar to the Vanishing Act bag

[ReflexReaction]

I added a dose of anti-scale yesterday and by this morning the calcium had reduced a fair bit.  I added another dose this morning so I am hoping that cleans it up! Just goes to show how important anti-scale products are for tubs in hard water areas.

I also shocked the tub yesterday, as well as crushing up 4 bromine tablets.  6 hours later, the bromine levels were through the roof - with white powder sitting in the seats ... DOH! This morning I used a wet vaccuum to remove as much powder as I could (alot had dissolved).  The bromine levels were still around 10-14ppm, down to 20+ last night.  Part of me thinks the shock boosted the bromine levels enough, and I shouldn't have crushed the tablets - I regretted it straight away.  I'll see what happens when I am home from work, worst case I have to drain it partially and fill with new water to dillute!

I am such a newbie!