Using the BBB method in Spa

[bucky4835]

As much as I'd be grateful for another Lifetime Membership, if your primary concern is with a spa, I'm not sure I'd recommend that you purchase one. Neither I, nor most of the moderators, have a lot of spa experience . . . and spa chemistry is rather different.

So while the general BBB approach can work for spas, the details are something you may have to work out yourself. I'm glad that you seem to be succeeding with that now, but I don't want to 'oversell' you on what the PoolForum can offer.

PoolDoc, I understand that totally. I have been looking at this site for a couple of months now learning about above ground pools as we are going to be getting one in the spring so I have been doing a lot of research. This site has been very helpful in that regard. By the info here, I decided to try the BBB method in my spa. It has worked out awesome. By the time I get the pool up and running, I am hoping to have good experience with this in my spa so I can have a good experience with the pool chemistry as well. I am sure by that time, I will be on here asking plenty of questions for help. Lol!

Jim,

I hope you initially added some Cyanuric Acid (CYA) to the water after your fresh fill -- either as pure CYA or initially using Dichlor for a week or so to get the CYA up to around 30 ppm or thereabouts. Without any CYA in the water, using bleach will be too harsh and won't last very long. The CYA helps moderate chlorine's strength. You want some, but not too much -- similar to what you do for pools but you don't need as much since the spa is likely covered.

I also presume you kept the TA very low, perhaps at around 50 ppm, in order to prevent the pH from rising. Adding 50 ppm Borates (such as from ProTeam Gentle Spa or from boric acid or from adding both 20 Mule Team Borax and Muriatic Acid) also helps to reduce the rate of pH rise.

As for handling spa questions, waterbear and I can handle that, though you could go to Pool and Spa Forum which is more oriented towards spas and where waterbear is a moderator. Either way, we'll help you out if you need any assistance.

Richard

Thank you for your response. I did add CYA right after I refilled the spa. I the only issue is I added a bit more than 30 ppm. I am at 45 ppm. I do keep the TA at the low end. It is at 70 right now but I have been lowering gradually. Im trying to get a feel for where the parameters need to be to stop the ph bounce. So far, as far as adding the bleach, I have been adding close to 9 oz every week. That is using the spa 3-4 times a week with both my kids, and keeping the temp between 100-101 degrees F. Also, the capacity of the spa is 450 gal. Any help or comments is greatly appreciated. Thank you.


Jim