Overwhelmed by chemical care

[jamiho]

Well, I thought shopping for and choosing a tub was confusing.  Now I realize we have to figure out the chemicals!

We bought a reconditioned Marquis Destiny which comes with an ozonator and an inline Spa Frog system. It does not come with any starter chemicals or assistance in getting things started other than delivery.

I did a little research and decided to try out bromine first, along with the "mineral stick."  I ordered this starter kit which comes with 3 bromide cartridges, 1 mineral stick, testing strips, and small bottles of shock treatment, ph and alk decreaser and increaser, and calcium increaser: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N2O0GO8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I am assuming the shock treatment that comes with this set is compatible with bromine but I'm having a hard time confirming this.  I still have reading to do to figure out initial set up, but would love if anyone could help put things into plain words as I'm a little overwhelmed by all the info I've found.

[bud16415]

You have the exact same starter kit I started with and I also had the inline frog system.

If you are going with bromine you need to also get the bromine starter packets.

https://www.amazon.com/HTH-Spa-81106-Brom-Start-2-Ounce/dp/B000JWEFFK/ref=sr_1_2?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1513037887&sr=1-2&keywords=bromine+starter+packet

You will add one or two depending on how many gallons your tub holds. These give you a quick start on the bromine bank until your frogs get going.

The thing to remember is you can sanitize with chlorine or bromine. If you start with chlorine you can switch to bromine at any time. If you start with bromine you will have to do a total drain before switching to chlorine.

There are similar cartridges that fit the frog feeder that hold a product called @ease and that is the chlorine version.

I messed around with the feeders for close to a year and they never worked for me. Your luck may be better. I switched to just manually adding each day after we use the tub and found it cheaper and simpler. Even with the inline feeder you will have to adjust your PH and such by hand as well as shock each week to 2 weeks.

Folks will be here to help as you get started it is not as bad as you first think.   

[jamiho]

Thank you!  So the bromine starter you linked is the shock you use for bromine systems at the begin and every couple weeks?  Or is there a different product for that?

[bud16415]

The packet is just to use in the beginning. It gives you a startup dose of bromine.

To shock it weekly or every other week you can use a type of shock commonly labled non-chlorine shock or MPS it is not chlorine it is a oxidizer and burns up the garbage the bromine has killed. Another type of shock is to use regular dichlor granules they are a chlorine not a bromine but will convert to bromine. The idea of shocking that way is to give it an extra high shot of sanitizer where you might be normally running around 5PPM bromine when you shock this way you will shoot it up to 20PPM.

  https://www.spadepot.com/Oxy-Spa-Non-chlorine-MPS-Shock-2lbs-P77?zmam=55673001&zmas=1&zmac=1&zmap=CA1021&gclid=CjwKCAiAmb7RBRATEiwA7kS8VMUnB4ee8tuehHlDdcBeRCZD0kv4QU07XnIOWFcCrZwiA75Pb_YWyBoCafMQAvD_BwE

https://www.spadepot.com/Dichlor-Spa-Sanitizing-Granules-1-lb-P828?zmam=55673001&zmas=1&zmac=1&zmap=CA1004&gclid=CjwKCAiAmb7RBRATEiwA7kS8VGZBbcCXYECqKWrJz6SCLNLBkmLG8IrFGGKbUgfu5jIgb2_8Hw8pORoCp3wQAvD_BwE

 

[jamiho]

Got it. Still trying to figure out if the Mineral Buddies Shock Treatment that comes in the kit I bought is OK to use with bromine. Do you know?

[Sorrentino100]

https://www.hotspring.com/sites/default/files/hot-spring_spas_owners_manual_2006b.pdf

Pages 54-63 will guide you on all you need to know about water care for your hot tub.

[bud16415]

That shock treatment is the same non-chlorine shock I mentioned above. Yes you can use it. 

[jamiho]

Thanks, you have been super helpful!