Hot Tub Water Balancing: The Ultimate Video Guide

Hot Tubs and Spas are very popular, and they can be a great leisure item to invest in. They are relatively inexpensive and can fit easily in even the smallest backyard space. Once you purchase one you will need to hire a service company to maintain the chemistry for you or you can do it yourself. The chemistry is similar to a backyard pool with some slight differences.

Since they are often heated to 100 degrees all of the time be aware that the chemicals in the spa will burn off much faster than they would in a conventional inground pool. Since they are covered and out of the sun there is also no need for Conditioner (cyanuric acid) to protect the chlorine from the Sun’s UV Rays. Also, if you are using bromine Conditioner is not compatible with it anyway so there is no need to add it to your Hot Tub.

You need to have some idea of how much water is in your Hot Tub. The easy way to do this is to find your manufacturer brand and model number and then go to their website or call them and ask how many gallons are in that particular model. Typically a Hot Tub will be 250 to 400 gallons so yours will be in that range.

You also need a way to calculate the dosage to add to balance your Hot Tub water. The easiest way to do this is to use a Chem Dosage App like https://www.poolcalculator.com/
These apps will give you the exact amount of chemicals to add to achieve your desired levels based on your Hot Tub size in gallons.

Here are the Ideal Levels for your Hot Tub:
Free Chlorine or Bromine ppm: Min 1.0 (Ideal 2.0-4.0) Max 5.0
pH: Min 7.2 (Ideal 7.4-7.6) Max 7.8
Total Alkalinity ppm: Min 80 (Ideal 80-120) Max 120
Calcium Hardness ppm: min 150 (Ideal 150-250) Max 250

Sanitizers:
Chlorine and Bromine are the primary sanitizers that you will use in your Hot Tub. You would use either of these two exclusively and not combine them in your Hot Tub. If you are using Bromine Tablets you would therefore not use liquid chlorine. I prefer using chlorine since it is easy to add and measure and it is highly effective. Bromine is also a good choice and having tablets available is convenient in helping you maintain your Hot Tub sanitizer level all week long. You just want to make sure you don’t over do it since it is a very small body of water and a little really goes a long way.

Low pH or low Alkalinity - Sodium Bicarbonate:
If the pH or Alkalinity falls below the ideal levels you can easily raise both with sodium bicarbonate. The most familiar product on the market and one you can readily use is Baking Soda. Sodium bicarbonate is also sold under the label as Spa pH Up, Spa Alkalinity Up, pH Increaser and any common name that indicates the product raises the pH and Alkalinity. So look for a product with the active ingredient of sodium bicarbonate or just purchase a bag of Baking Soda and use that to raise the pH and Alkalinity in your Hot Tub.

High pH or high Alkalinity - Sodium Bisulfate:
If the pH or Alkalinity gets above the ideal levels, you can easily lower it with dry acid or sodium bisulfate. It is sold under the label of, Spa pH down, pH down, pH Decreaser, Dry Acid or anything with the active ingredient of sodium bisulfate. Remember a little goes a long way so do not overdo it or you will soon be adding sodium bicarbonate to bring the level back up.

High or Low Calcium Hardness - Drain the Spa or add Calcium Chloride:
The calcium level in your Hot Tub will pretty much match your fill water. So, if you have hard water in your area your spa will likely have high calcium also. The only way to lower it is to drain the spa. So you may need to drain your spa more often to keep the calcium hardness in range. If your calcium hardness is low you can add a small amount of calcium chloride to raise it up.

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