HOT TUB GUIDE
Hot Tub Start-up Guide Connect to the electricity supply. Get a qualified electrician to do this, as you need a Part P certificate for your warranty and potentially for your home insurance. Put hose into the filter area and start filling. Take out the filter, put the hose to the bottom of the filter housing and fill. This will force water through the system and push out any potential airlocks. Stop filling an inch an under the headrests. Make sure that all of the jets are completely submerged. Turn the power on & run the jets. Switch on the power at your isolation switch. Turn on the pumps to get the water moving. Add your chemicals. With the pumps still running, add your chemicals. See the chemicals section for more information on how to do this. Leave the pumps running. Allow the pumps to run for at least 15 minutes to allow the chemicals to circulate. Adjust the temperature. Set the temperature to your desired setting. We recommend 32 C - 37 C Put the lid on. This will help to raise the temperature quicker. Test your levels. Use your test strips to test your chemical levels and make sure they re in the right zone. If they are, and the water is hot enough, your spa is ready to use!
Water Care SANITISERS The most common is Chlorine, and this is recommended. It s cheap and will kill any unwanted bacteria in your water. If you have a skin reaction to chlorine you can use Bromine, which is very similar. The downside of Bromine is that it s a slower reacting chemical and is not as effective at killing bacteria. CHLORINE GRANULES If you are using Chlorine, you need to keep the level of chlorine between 3 5ppm (parts per million) ideally. Simply sprinkle it into the water with the pumps running, leave for 5 minutes then shut the pumps off. WATER (gallons) ADD CHLORINE (weekly) 150 ¾ teaspoon 200 1 & ½ teaspoon 250 1 & ½ teaspoon 300 2 teaspoons 350 2 teaspoons 400 3 teaspoons NON-CHLORINE SHOCK When Chlorine meets water, it kills bacteria, creating chloramine. This is removed from your water using oxidiser, otherwise known in the hot tub world as a shock. This needs to be done on a weekly basis. TOP TIP! If your Total Chlorine is higher than your Free Chlorine level then it s time to shock. WATER (gallons) ADD SHOCK (weekly) 150 1 & ½ teaspoon 200 1 & ½ teaspoon 250 2 and ½ teaspoons 300 3 teaspoons 350 3 teaspoons 400 4 teaspoons
ph As you can see from the ph scale above, the lower your ph level, the more acidic the water in your hot tub is. The higher the ph, the more alkaline the water is. The smallest change to your spa water can have a huge impact on ph level, such as people (make-up, sweat, hair products) or general debris (dirt, leaves etc). ALKALINITY Think of Alkalinity as the security for ph. If the Alkalinity level in your hot tub is correct, then it will take most of the change to your water. Alkalinity is a buffer to ph, and you generally need to maintain a level of 125 150 ppm. If your alkalinity is low, your ph will almost certainly be low too. If your ph and Alkalinity are low, just adding Alkalinity Plus might bring both back to the proper levels. If this doesn t work you can increase your ph level with ph Plus. Vice versa, if your ph and Alkalinity levels are both high, adding some ph Minus will lower both levels. Add ph or alkalinity adjusters one tablespoon at a time. Add some, run the jets for 10 minutes then test again, adding more if necessary. TOP TIP! If your ph is too low, it can damage your spa plumbing, pumps and heater. If your ph is too high the water will leave a white residue everywhere. Damage caused by chemical misuse will void your warranty.
CALCIUM HARDNESS If your water is too soft then it can cause problems for the hot tub shell and for the internals. If the calcium levels are too low, the water will soak in calcium from anywhere, including the metal parts of your heating/pump system. If the calcium levels are too high, it will leave scale on parts of your spa. There is no known chemical method of reducing calcium hardness. However, if your calcium level is too low, you can increase it using Calcium Hardness Plus. Generally you only need to do this once when you first fill the tub. It s unlikely you ll have to add more calcium increaser until the next time you drain and refill the spa. WATER TESTING We recommend you test your hot tub water every three days (especially if it s being used regularly). Your test strips will give readings of Total Hardness, Total Chlorine (or Bromine), Total Alkalinity and ph level. HOW TO TEST YOUR WATER Turn off the pumps Grab a pint glass, turn it upside down and dunk it into the water until your arm is elbow-deep. Turn the glass the right way round and remove. Dip a test strip into the water for a couple of seconds. Wait for 15 seconds, then compare the results to the back of the bottle. Add whatever chemicals you require.
FILTER CLEANING WEEKLY THE QUICK RINSE Grab your filter and give it a blast with your hosepipe. Spread each of the pleats and rinse between them to get rid of any dirt, hair or other nasty stuff. THE CHEMICAL RINSE MONTHLY Spray your filter with Instant Filter Cleaner and let it soak in for about 15 minutes. Then rinse with your hose, and be thorough, as the cleaner chemical can cause foamy spa water if it s not all rinsed out. EVERY 2 MONTHS THE CHEMICAL SOAK Fill a bucket with water and add filter cleaner. Push the filter into the bucket and hold it for a moment whilst it soaks up the water and the weight keeps it completely submerged. Leave it for 24hrs, then rinse thoroughly, again so you don t get foamy spa water. TOP TIP! If you have two filters, you can alternate them every two months, allowing one to fully dry out after cleaning whilst you use the other. This will maintain the life of the filter much better.
HOT TUB CLEANING SHELL CLEANING From time to time you might find that you have a chalky or scummy looking ring around your hot tub, above the water surface. This is almost always caused by chemicals not being used correctly. It s usually caused by oil, sweat, make-up and general human bacteria. It s also caused by water not being balanced properly. Wipe with a wet sponge don t use household cleaning chemicals! If this doesn t work, buy Waterline Cleaner Drain your spa so that the water line drops a couple of inches Apply Waterline Cleaner, then wipe off thoroughly with a wet sponge Don t let the chemical come into contact with your spa water. CABINET / SKIRTING CLEANING If you have a PVC cabinet then you can just clean it with regular household cleaning products. These synthetic cabinets are generally maintenance-free. If you have a wooden cabinet, this will need to be stained and treated 2-3 times per year to retain colour.
DRAIN & REFILL We recommend you do a full drain and refill of your hot tub every 3-4 months (or when your chemicals start to become vastly imbalanced every day). Turn off the power. Shut off power to your spa via your isolation switch. Drain the water. Unscrew the drainage cap and add the hosepipe adaptor that came with your spa. Fit your hosepipe then twist and push the drainage outlet until water is released. If your spa is sunken into ground or you don t want the hassle, buy a submersible pump to do the draining for you. Clean the shell. Give the shell a clean using an acrylic cleaner or bathroom cleaner (make sure its ammonia-free). Rinse the shell. Give the shell a good rinse with a hosepipe, then drain the rinsed water thoroughly (including the footwell area which the drainage system can t empty). Clean the filter. Remove the filter and give it a Chemical Soak Refill the water. Put the hosepipe into the filter housing (without the filter) and fill. This will push water through the pipe system thoroughly before it enters the seating area. Turn on the power. Switch power back on at the isolation switch. Add your chemicals. Add your chlorine, shock and any other chemicals you use. Test your water balance straight away.
COVER CARE It s important to take care of your cover and look after it. Over time, the cover could eventually fade and absorb water and become very heavy here are some tips to make it last for years. Clean your cover. Every month, give your cover a clean. Spray some surface cleaner on the top and sides and give it a quick wipe down. After a while they can develop a mildew/must smell cleaning it regularly will stop this from happening. Air it out. On a dry or sunny day, take off your cover and unzip it a bit to let some fresh air in. Dry it out. Put it upside down on your lawn like an upside down V (see below), apply a little bleach to the underside and give it a clean. Then leave it to dry out for a few hours. TOP TIP! A waterlogged cover can become heavy (the insides are just thick foam which will absorb moisture) so it s important to let it dry out.
TROUBLESHOOTING The vast majority of water balance and chemical issues can be solved quite easily. We ll go through some of the common issues here, and how to resolve them. CLOUDY WATER Test your water. If the ph and alkalinity are properly balanced then you can shock the water. When doing this, make sure the jets are running but the air blower is not. Once you ve added shock, let the jets run for about 20 minutes. You can also use Spa Clarifier. FOAMY WATER Foamy hot tub water is usually caused by lotions, skin cream, make-up, hair products etc. It can also be caused by laundry detergent (from washing your bathing suit rinse it thoroughly after washing!). Ideally people should shower before entering a hot tub. To get rid of foamy water, test your balance and make sure the ph, alkalinity and chlorine levels are ok. Add some No Foam and run the jets for 15 minutes. If the water is foaming regularly, it s time to do a drain & refill. ALGAE IN THE WATER Algae is very easy to cure. You might find your water has a green haze to it. The most effective way to get rid of it is by draining and refilling. However, the general cause is chemical imbalance, so test you water. Water that is properly sanitised will not grow algae. PROBLEM ph & Alkalinity are both low ph and Alkalinity are both high ph is normal, Alkalinity is low ph is high, Alkalinity is normal ph is high, Alkalinity is low ph fluctuates wildly ph drops after shock REMEDY Add ph Plus to raise both ph and TA. Make final adjustments with Alkalinity Plus, if necessary. Add ph Minus to lower the ph level which should drag alkalinity down with it. Add Alkalinity Plus to raise the alkalinity level. Normal ph will not be affected. Add ph Minus to lower the ph. If alkalinity drops below normal, use Alkalinity Plus to bring it back up. Add ph Minus to lower ph. Add Alkalinity Plus to bring alkalinity back. It will not raise ph above normal. Usually caused by low alkalinity. Use Alkalinity Plus and make ph adjustments if necessary. Add a teaspoon of Alkalinity Plus every time you shock.
ENJOY YOUR SPA! For more common hot tub problems or for general information, check out our Blog To contact us about a problem, call us on 0115 978 0197 Alternatively, email us at: technical@danz.co.uk DANZ SPAS hot tub water capacities: SPA VOLUME (litres) VOLUME (gallons) Atlantic 2 1600 350 Aurora 1400 310 Broadway 1600 350 Escape 2000 440 Moonlight 1000 220 Niagara 1600 350 Rhine 1100 240 Storm 550 120 Sure 3 1150 250 Sunset 1500 330 Tiny 600 130 Ultimate 1650 360