Silver and limestone. The silver destroys bacteria and the limestone absorbs acids from chemicals like chlorine to help maintain a neutral pH.
For pools, FROG minerals last six months or one pool season whichever is shorter. Once removed from the water, the minerals may not be reused the following season. For spas, FROG minerals last 4 months. Simply replace every four months or whenever you drain and fill your spa.
Yes, for pools, chlorine use can be reduced to 0.5 to 1.0 ppm and for hot tubs/swim spas both chlorine or bromine use can be reduced to 1.0 to 2.0 ppm. That is typically up to 50%* less than standard pool and spa water care.
*Compared to the minimum EPA recommended chlorine level of 1.0 ppm for a stabilized swimming pool and the minimum ANSI recommendation of 2.0 ppm for a spa.
There are several options for test strips if you are using the @ease FROG system only use the FROG Test Strips. If you are using any other type of chemical please order test strips from our website or visit Big Star Backyards for all your chemical needs!
pH: 7.2-7.8
Total Alkalinity: 60-120 ppm
Calcium Hardness: 150-400 ppm
Total Dissolved Solids: <1500 ppm
Free Chlorine Alone: 2-4 ppm
Bromine With Minerals: N/A
Bromine Alone: N/A
Everything that enters your spa has a pH that can raise or lower your pool or spa’s total pH. Check the following:
- Tap water, depending on the area of the country, can either have a low or high pH.
- Overestimating the amount of pH Decreaser or pH Increaser needed is often the problem.
- Using Bromine or Trichlor tends to lower pH over time while using shocks like Calcium
- Hypochlorite or Lithium Hypochlorite may raise the pH over time.
- High bather loads will tend to lower pH.
- Swimmer wastes, such as perspiration, urine, saliva and other body oils will lower pH.
- A high alkalinity reading will raise the pH.
- Dirt, debris or leaves that blow into the pool as well as rain that is often acidic will lower pH.
- Salt chlorine generators will raise the pH over time.
pH is a measurement of how acidic (below 7.0) or basic (above 7.0) – your hot tub water is. Alkalinity is a measurement of the amount of carbonates and bicarbonates in the water, which acts as a buffer to help stabilize pH.
When pH is LOW (below 7.0), the water becomes corrosive to seals, gaskets and plastics. When pH is HIGH, the water can produce scale, leading to cloudy spa water or deposits of calcium on surfaces and inside pipes.
Calcium Hardness (or Total Hardness) refers to the amount of calcium and other minerals that make the water hard. Swimming pools require a hardness level of 150 to 400 ppm. Less than 150 and the water will be corrosive, more than 400 and the water will be scale forming.
Many spas and hot tubs can operate effectively with much higher levels. If you have a test kit or test strips that measure for calcium hardness levels in your spa, you can easily check your spa water to see if you have hard (or soft) spa fill water. Most spas and hot tubs will be fine with calcium hardness levels of up to 400 ppm. After that, you may begin to see signs of scaling and cloudy water conditions.
Here are some actions you can take: If it’s just a little above the high end of the range, drain some of the water from your hot tub, add fresh water, and then add a scale control product to keep the calcium level where it should be. You can add scale control weekly, if necessary, but always follow the manufacturer’s instructions for use.
If the calcium level is way above 250 ppm, your best bet is to completely drain the hot tub and clean it. When you refill it, use a hose filter to keep at least some of the minerals out of the water. Then use a scale control product to help keep things balanced.
Test kits are susceptible to bleaching in high concentrations of chlorine such as after shocking. Wait 24 hours after shocking and test again. Check the test strip expiration date and only use fresh strips.
There are many causes for cloudy water.
- First check your water hardness levels, if your calcium is not in balance this could cause ‘foamy’ or cloudy water.
- The pH could be too high. This is very common ensure that your pH/Alkalinity levels are in balance
- Check your filters, any dirt/build-up can cause the water to get murky.By Products in the water such as conditioners,lotions, hairspray, skin oils, dirt can cause the filters to get clogged.
- Check your sanitizer levels. When’s the last time you shocked your spa?
- Last but not least check your circulation settings, most of the time we don’t recommend for anyone to change the settings but if you notice high usage, and constant cloudiness while maintaining your water levels may be increasing the frequency or duration may be an option.
- The biggest/most common reason for foamy water is detergent/residue from swimming suits/bathing suits. We recommend you to avoid washing your swimming clothes in any kind of detergent & let them air dry. Some other cleaners, products can also cause foaming. High pH is another cause.
- You can try to use a ‘Defoamer’ but this is only a temporary solution
- If this problem persists you may want to drain the spa halfway or all the way and try again with fresh water.
