Best practices for good water quality

[kniquy]

It has been a number of years since I have owned a hot tub, but we ordered our Hot Springs Flair and will hopefully have it in a couple of weeks.  We have heard a number of stories of people getting folliculitis and I am sure there are worse problems that can occur with poor water quality. 

We want to start out with a good system of checking and supplementing the water.

Can you give me your usual routine? number of days a week or usual chemicals you add to keep things looking good? if you have a preference for products that would be helpful too.

If you are really particular and have a form for tracking your testing or chemicals added that would be awesome.  I feel that the more we can keep track of our testing and what and how much we are adding the better we will be with our water quality.

If there are any online resources/tools feel free to share.

[The Wizard of Spas]

Prevention is the best method:  Keep your pH, alkalinity & sanitizer in line and only positive things happen.  How often to test is based on how many times you use it/week, how many people/use, and how long/use.

When in doubt I suggest testing 2-3x/week if you really want to be on top of things.  Adjust as necessary:  If your pH is fine, don't do anything.  If your sanitizer is low, add more.  I'll defer to others on which sanitizer is preferred, as I do not really prefer one over the other:  They all have pros/cons.