2. Sanitation and Shock. Cal Spas Portable Spa

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2. Sanitation and Shock

Sanitizers kill bacteria and other organic waste by breaking them down to non-harmful levels which are filtered out.

Before you fill your spa, you need to decide which chemical sanitizer you wish to use. Consult your Cal Spas dealer for the right decision with regards to your lifestyle and spa usage.

We recommend either

bromine

or

chlorine

as your sanitizer. Both work well when maintained regularly.

DO NOT use Trichlor. Trichlor is very acidic and the hot temperature of the spa causes it to dissolve too quickly. It will cause damage to your spa and will void your warranty.

Whichever plan you decide on, follow it completely and don’t take shortcuts. It will provide you with clean, safe, clear spa water with a minimum of effort. Spa owners with an ozonator still need to use a chemical sanitizer. See page 31 for a description of how the ozonator works.

Whenever you test your chemical levels, your test strip will likely have a test for chlorine or bromine. Make sure your sanitizer falls within the range shown below.

Testing For:

Chlorine Level

Without ozonator

With ozonator

Bromine Level

Without ozonator

With ozonator

Ideal Range (ppm)

Minimum Maximum

3.0 5.0

2.0 4.0

6.7 11.0

5.7 10.0

Starting and Maintaining Sanitizer Levels

Sanitizing your spa with chlorine or bromine is very similar.

Each sanitizer has its advantages and disadvantages.

Bromine:

Whereas chlorine can sometimes cause offensive odors and skin irritation, bromine is less likely to do so.

Additionally, unlike chlorine, when bromine combines with bather waste and other contaminants in the water, it remains a very effective sanitizer. Bromine is also far less pH-dependent than chlorine.

Always remember that bromine by itself is not a sanitizer, and it needs to be activated by shock in order to be effective.

Chlorine:

The most commonly recognized sanitizer is chlorine. However, the effectiveness of chlorine depends heavily on the pH level of the spa water. In order to get the most effective and economical benefit of chlorine, you must maintain a consistent pH level of between 7.2 to 7.6.

A disadvantage of using chlorine is that when chlorine combines with bather waste and other contaminants in the water, not only does it lose its sanitizing ability, it can cause odors and irritate eyes and skin.

1. Establish a baseline by adding either granulated chlorine or bromine.

• Use half an ounce of chlorine for every 500 gallons of water.

• Use half an ounce of bromine for every 100 gallons of water.

2. Run the jets for 10 minutes.

3. Test the water. Make sure the pH, TA, and CH levels all fall within the ranges shown on the previous page.

Make adjustments where they are needed.

4. At this point, if you use bromine, it is not yet activated and

it will not sanitize the water

. You need to shock-oxidize the spa water. Depending on the size of your spa, add one to two ounces of shock. You can use any kind of shock you want.

5. Test the water again. When the water is balanced, your spa is ready to use.

After you choose a sanitizer, you will need to establish a baseline and maintain it regularly.

Starting with fresh water:

Note: If you choose to use bromine, we do not recommend using a floater. You have more control over the bromine level by adding bromine as needed. For more discussion on this, see page 29, “Common Water Chemistry Questions”.

www.calspas.com

2018 Portable Spa

LTR20181000, Rev. O