James Arjuna

Hot Tub Water Clarity
with Ions.

Water Clarity with the
Copper/Silver ionizer and the Calcium test

This comes from a letter asking for advice about cloudy water.
It takes a little time to get the water maintenance under control
with any system. Here is a brief letter addressing one concern.

Jim - I seem to have gotten my levels back in the normal ranges again -
however the water seems to cloud somewhat over a 3 - 4 day period even if no one has used the spa - any ideas

Also just for general knowledge info - I've been reading up on spa water
chemistry and am curious to know why we don't test for chlorine levels.

One more for today! - Can I do an accurate calcium hardness test on the spa
water after I use the ionizer and other chemicals - I tried and the test
doesn't seem to reach an endpoint. I was reading somewhere that when
evaporation occurs the calcium stays in the spa so that when you add fresh
water you are always increasing the calcium levels - what do you think? -

Answer:
( this is a small 180 gallon spa)

If the levels are correct, and no one has used it, then organic wastes are still in the water.
In order to remove organic matter in suspension in the water, use a bit of chlorine along with the shock each time. If you read too much about water chemistry, you may get confused, because ionized water is different than regular pool water. For instance we don't test for chlorine, normally, because it is not the primary santizer, the copper, silver, and zinc is. Chlorine is not stable in hot water, so we like that. It will go in and do it's job then gas off..

The concept is this:

We want to go into water without harsh chemicals, so we ionize.
The ions kill all the harmful bacteria, fungus, virus, and algae, but it does not remove organic waste from the water. There isn't anything growing in the water, however, the water will get cloudy over time, if the organic matter in suspension is not oxidized (burned up and cleared from the water).

We bathe in the water without harsh chemicals. After we leave, there is organic waste to be gotten rid of; sweat, mucus, and so on.
We oxidize the water, not our skin. We put in the chemicals after we get out so we are not bathing in a bleach solution.

If the water shows signs of cloudiness, and all other factors are correct, then we have organic waste showing in the water.
That is why we put in shock and chlorine after we get out.

Each person's conditions are different. Everyone's skin is different, so there is no standard amounts of products that work for every one. As you use the spa you will have to evaluate the conditions and adjust the amounts, increase or decrease. The recomendations on the Haven Care pages is for starters.

If you test for chlorine, it would be to make sure the levels are not getting too high. If you are using the chlorine each time, from 1/2 to 1 teaspoon along with the shock, then the levels of chlorine may get too high in your small spa. Then I would test to make sure it doesn't get above 1 PPM as a residual after a day or so from the time you added the chlorine.

The chlorine helps the shock to remove organic from the water. It is similar to washing your white clothes in a bleach solution, removing organic stains. The two products together keep the chlorine from becoming chloramines and starting to smell.

I recommend using a teaspoon after each exit along with a table spoon of shock. See it that keeps the water clear.
Weekly still shock with one table spoon and 2 tablespoons of shock (Larger spas 3 to 4 tablespoons of shock and up to one tablespoon of chlorine.)

Test it too see if the chlorine isn't getting too high. If so, go to 1/2 teaspoon of chlorine and one tablespoon of shock, or 1/2tea chlor and 1/2 tablesp shock.
The chlorine will gas of by the next time you enter the spa, so you will not notice it in the water or smell it on your skin. If the spa is not used for a few days, it is a good idea to put in a teaspoon of granular chlorine every other day.

The calcium test is harder to use with copper in the water. I usually recommend testing the spa water for calcium before adding copper/silver ions. The test is still functional, but doesn't change color as abruptly, making it difficult to determine which drop to stop at. It usually works out to within one or two drops. Just look for a color change, not for the complete blue change when testing. I only test my spa one time at each fill before putting in the ions. If the copper is way high above .7 PPM the calcium test is inaccurate. Since we only need to test the calcium one time per refil of the spa, just do it before you put in the copper/silver/zinc ions. If you forget and pour in the ions, just test a sample of the source water for the calcium.

I hope that answers your questions.