chemicals vs natural enzymes

[fabio]

Hi Everyone,
Received my first hot tub 2 days ago and super excited (beachcomber 360).  This weekend I'm going to be getting it all up and running and I'm hearing different stories with regards to water quality.  I was given a starter chlorine chemical kit from the dealer but a few hot tub owners are telling me to use natural enzymes for health reasons.  My questions are: Are natural enzymes as effective vs chlorine/bromine?  Are they more/less/similar maintenance?  Are they more costly?  And if I start with chlorine and want to switch to a natural product would I need to drain and refill or just switch products with the water?  Also if you want to add your comment of which you use and why that would be helpful.

Also my starter kit came with some additives to help with the hardware of the pipes and motors to help from corroding and wearing down.  Are these a good idea to be putting in?  Your thoughts on this is also appreciated.

Thank you,
Fabio

[Sam]

I don't know of a single enzymatic treatment system that doesn't still require some amount of chlorine.  There really aren't any systems that seem to universally work without some amount of chlorine, bromine, or baquacil.  Occasionally you'll run into to people who claim success without any of those 3 but I have yet to see one work myself. 

[fabio]

Thank you for the reply Sam.  Was in a meeting yesterday and was talking to a coworker beside me who was going on and on about how chlorine will be the death of us all and that he has a natural enzyme product (which he couldn't get the name for me) that he uses.  He says he throws a bunch in after each use and never checks his levels and every time he opens the cover.....BAM.....crystal clear water.

Sounded too good to be true so wanted to get experienced owners opinions.

[bradleyabell]

Thank you for the reply Sam.  Was in a meeting yesterday and was talking to a coworker beside me who was going on and on about how chlorine will be the death of us all and that he has a natural enzyme product (which he couldn't get the name for me) that he uses.  He says he throws a bunch in after each use and never checks his levels and every time he opens the cover.....BAM.....crystal clear water.

Sounded too good to be true so wanted to get experienced owners opinions.

Would definitely always keep a little chlorine or bromine in the water.  I use the spa frog filter stick plus try to keep a 2-4 PPM with bromine.  Very low level of chemical but enough to make sure bacteria and germs aren't spreading in your tubs plumbing lines.

[fabio]

so its all good to use both??

[castletonia]

Thank you for the reply Sam.  Was in a meeting yesterday and was talking to a coworker beside me who was going on and on about how chlorine will be the death of us all and that he has a natural enzyme product (which he couldn't get the name for me) that he uses.  He says he throws a bunch in after each use and never checks his levels and every time he opens the cover.....BAM.....crystal clear water.

Sounded too good to be true so wanted to get experienced owners opinions.

If your pH is low enough, the acidic water will almost always be clear.  Doesn't mean the water quality is good though.

[d00nut]

Thank you for the reply Sam.  Was in a meeting yesterday and was talking to a coworker beside me who was going on and on about how chlorine will be the death of us all and that he has a natural enzyme product (which he couldn't get the name for me) that he uses.  He says he throws a bunch in after each use and never checks his levels and every time he opens the cover.....BAM.....crystal clear water.

Sounded too good to be true so wanted to get experienced owners opinions.

When your co-worker gets legionnaires disease, let us know how they feel about chlorine use then

[The Wizard of Spas]

Others have covered this well- The clarity of the water is not the judge of the quality of the water.  Bacteria must be dealt with and there is nothing on the market that is EPA-registered that can kill bacterial/algae that isn't bromine/chlorine/biguianide.  There are products that can kill things and help with your water but you'll always have to deal with pH, alkalinity, and a sanitizer (again- some form of chlorine, bromine, or biguianide).

Sorry to burst your bubble but if you want to do it the way that wont both cause rashes and other health issues, and wont eat up your seals, jets, heater, cover, pillows, etc. -- which will void all warranties, degrade the quality of your parts and make your spa an issue way sooner than it should be -- you need to properly balance your water and correctly add sanitizer.

EDIT:  SPELLING

[dlleno]

my view on "natural" is that not only is it a risk, its just doesn't make sense (to me) to attempt to grow an entire ecosystem as you would find in a lake for example, where biofilms and flora/fauna naturally balance.  thats doable when you have a million gallons of water per bather, but not when you have 100 gallons per bather.  in a hot tub you want things disinfected, sanitized, whatever -- everything that can live must be killed.  the regular use of regular tested biocides that are certified by public pools and spas is the answer for me, because it puts me in control.  I use 4-6ppm Bromine and keep my spa purged and water clear, and its just a wonderful way to obtain piece of mind that you KNOW nothing is growing.  yes people have been successful (meaning they haven't gotten sick) with near-zero sanitizers and various natural methods, but for me it all boils down to the fact that you can''t guarantee a "no bad guys in my water" hot tub unless you kill the bad guys with known tested, verified, and proven over decades, methods. 

I start my spa with sodium bromide, oxidize with dichlor granular chlorine on a daily basis until I have achieved the right amount of chlorine stabilizer (CYA)  built up,  and then I switch to ordinary bleach to oxidize the bromide into bromine.  its simple, effective, safe, and wonderfully compliments the ozone generator in my spa which by itself will oxidize sodium bromide into bromine, giving me a wonderful "vacation maintenance" plan (which means my water stays sanitized when I'm gone).  I use no floater - -just granular chlorine or liquid bleach. 

its so simple I just wonder why spa stores make things so complicated.  if you keep your spa squeaky clean with regular purges, you just don't have cloudy water or water balance issues.