THE FIVE TESTS USED TO CONTROL SPA WATER ARE AS FOLLOWS
Free Chlorine/Bromine
Using your test strips, determine whether your spa water has the correct amount of sanitiser in the water. A sanitised environment will not allow bacteria to survive & multiply. Always add enough sanitiser and allow at least 30 minutes for the sanitiser you apply to register on the ‘ok’ region of your test strips. Either use SpaMate Bromine Granules, SpaMate Bromine Tablets or SpaMate Chlorine Granules or SpaMate Chlorine Tablets.
Alkalinity
Using your test strips, determine whether your spa water’s Alkalinity is in the “ok” area. If the test shows that the spa water has low alkalinity, always adjust with SpaMate TA Increaser before adjusting the Ph. There is no liquid or granulated product to lower the Alkalinity level. Oxygen lowers the Alkanity. If the Alkalinity is too high, put on the spa’s main pumps. Rotating the spa water with the main pumps will naturally lower the total alkalinity (TA) to the desired level.
pH
Using your test strips, determine whether your spa water’s pH is in the “ok” area. The pH of spa water can be adjusted with small amounts of SpaMate pH Increaser (up) or SpaMate pH Decreaser (down) to achieve the correct level.
Calcium Levels
Using your test strips, determine whether your spa water is hard or soft. ‘Hard’ water will lead to scale building up in your pipes / pumps / heater, etc. ‘Soft’ water will cause corrosion of equipment. Use SpaMate Decrease Calcium if your water is “hard” or SpaMate Increase Calcium if your water is “soft”. This will adjust the spa water to the correct level accordingly.
Shock (oxidizing)
After you have sanitised the spa water or adjusted the pH or Alkalinity, there is a residual by-product left behind in the water. This by-product is unavoidable and needs to removed from the spa water. Every week, depending on usage, add SpaMate Non-Chlorine Shock (if you use Bromine) or SpaMate Chlorine Shock (if you use Chlorine) to the water. This will gas-off the unwanted by-products and leave the water more receptive to new chemicals.
Always turn on all pumps, jets & waterfalls when adding any chemical, so 100% of the spa water is treated. Always leave the thermal cover off the spa during chemical treatments and for at least 30 minutes after applying the treatment. Do not mix different products together. Only apply one product to the spa water at a time. Do not pour water onto any product, always apply the product to water.
Information Courtesy of the Spa Doctor.
Daniel Anthony
