🌊 Salt Water Hot Tub Start-Up Guide for Swim Spas

Setting up your saltwater spa correctly ensures clean, silky water, longer-lasting equipment, and fewer headaches down the road. Follow these simple steps to get started the right way.

Before you start:

• Ensure the electrical connections have been made in accordance with the owners manual.
• Before filling your spa, test your source water at Premier Pool & Spa. If calcium is above 200 ppm, fill partially with soft water from inside your home.

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🧾 Step 1: Soften Your Water

• Ideal calcium hardness range: 100-200 ppm

• If Calcium is too low, add Calcium Hardness Increaser.
• If calcium is too high, add Stain & Scale Control to your weekly maintenance routine to prevent white calcium build up in equipment and on the spa surface. 
  • There is no way to remove the calcium outside of adding more water with a lower calcium level, so when you need to add water to the spa, consider adding it from a source that goes through your water softener (inside the house). 

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⚖️ Step 2: Balance Total Alkalinity & pH

• Ideal Alkalinity: 40–120 ppm

• Ideal pH: 7.2–7.8

If pH or Alkalinity is too high:

• Turn on all pumps and open one air diverter.

• Add 1 cup Spa Down or Spa pH Decreaser, wait 30 minutes, retest, and repeat as needed.

• If Alkalinity is in range but pH remains high, add 1/4 Spa Down every 30 minutes until balanced.

💡 Most customers use 1.5–2 bottles of pH/Alk Decreaser on a fresh fill.

If Alkalinity is too low:

• Add 1/4 cup of Alkalinity Increaser

If pH is too low:

• Add 1 tbsp of pH Increaser

Or top off the spa with fresh water to raise both pH & alkalinity levels slightly.

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🧴 Step 3: Lock in Alkalinity

Once both pH and alkalinity are in range after 3 consistent test results, add:

• • • 1 bottle of Simply Soft

  Simply Soft will:

  • Lock in your alkalinity
  • Stabilize pH
  • Soften water
  • Improve water clarity and bather comfort
  • Reduce skin & eye irritation
  • Prevent scale formation

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🧪 Step 4: Establish Sanitizer Levels (FCl)

• (Free Chlorine or Bromine)

  • With the pumps running, add 1/4 cup Chlorine Concentrate

    • Aim for an FCl reading of 1–5 ppm

  • Test with strips or bring a sample to Premier Pool & Spa for confirmation

  • Leave the cover off for 30 minutes after adding chlorine or shock
    🔄 This allows oxidized contaminants to escape the water properly.

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🧂 Step 5: Add Salt

Salt Dosage by Spa Model:

• If not an Arctic Spa, refer to your owner's manual for the appropriate amount.

• Remove filters before adding salt.

• Pre-dissolve ⅓ of the salt in a 5-gallon bucket of hot spa water.

• Add dissolved salt to the spa, wait 1 hour, then test and adjust pH & Alkalinity.

• Repeat for the next ⅓ and final ⅓ portions of salt.

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🌡 Step 6: Test Salinity

• Confirm salinity range: 2200–2500 ppm
  Use Salt Test Strips or bring in a water sample.

• Test salt levels after every water top-off and adjust as needed.

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🧖 Step 7: Enjoy Your Spa!

• For the first couple of weeks, test twice per week.

• Average spa usage: 2 people, 15 minutes, 3x per week
  More use = more chlorine demand or salt generator output.

• After topping off water, retest chemical levels within 1 hour.

• MN water is typically high in alkalinity — topping off may raise pH/Alk and dilute chlorine.

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🔁 Weekly Maintenance Checklist

1. Test Water

   • pH: 7.2–7.8

   • Alk: 40–120 ppm

   • Free Chlorine in Salt Water (FCl): .5-3 ppm - Salt cells are constantly producing chlorine as needed, so can be run at a much lower level of chlorine.

2. Adjust pH and Alkalinity

   • Add Spa Down in 6 tbsp doses as needed

   • If Alkalinity is low and pH OK, monitor pH or add water

   • If both are high, use Spa Down

   • If both are low, add Alkalinity & pH increaser or just add water
     

3. Shock the Spa

   • <3 uses/week: Add 4 tbsp Shock every 2 weeks

   • 3+ uses/week: Add 4 tbsp Shock weekly

   • After heavy use: Shock immediately

   • Leave cover open for 30 minutes

4. Optional Weekly Treatments

   • Enzymes

   • Stain & Scale Control

   • Unique Clarifier

   • Scum Balls

   • Pre-Filters

5. Test & Maintain Salinity

   • If below 2200 ppm, add salt in 2 cup increments

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🧼 Seasonal Deep Cleaning

Drain, Clean & Refill Every 3–6 Months

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💡 Pro Tips:

• Regular testing = better water, longer equipment life, and less chemical waste

• Visit us anytime with a water sample — we’ll test and guide you

• Shop all your spa needs online at premierpools.com

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💬 Have questions or need supplies?
📞 Contact us or stop by your nearest Premier Pool & Spa showroom. Our team is happy to help!