update..thermospa arrived

[teach]

Dec. 6th my million dollar Concord Thermospa arrived.  All 1000 lbs of it.  It has an ozonator, Silver ion cartridge and two large filters.  Two animals muscled it into place which amazed me.  Only problem, they damaged several trim pieces which they will replace.  The installers also installed the spa cover helper on crooked, so they have to come back and fix that.  Seems like so many people out their in the work force are just plain stupid.  Use of a measuring tape would have eliminated the problem, but now they have to come back for a service call  ( at their cost) to fix their stupid error  The thermospa Concord tub seems great.  It looks great, and all 109 jets work and feel great.  The tub is very confortable.   Had my first soak last night and another today.   Problem..... I am kind of confused as to water maintenance.  Is keeping your water chemistry good as complex as it seems from reading the manuals?  There are so many different names for all the different chemicals that it is mind blowing too me.  Whats with having to add Activatior whenever you use it?  What if you go into the tub 3 times a day?  Dp you have to add the Activator !/2 tsp ( per two people) ( 1/4 tsp for every other) every time you use the tub.....What a pain in the ----.  I could see using the Activator once a day if you use the tub, but the directions say when ever you use the tub.  That seems rediculous.   Right now it seems to me that owning a hot tub is more work and stress than raising a child..  Also, I am on well water that has high level of Iron.  Ater two days I have a discoloration at the top of the water level on the tub.  I called the dealer and they sold me a filter to put on the end of the hose for the next water change and something called "Protection Plus" that I am suppose to add once a week.  I like the tub, but if I knew that it would be such a pain to deal with water chemistry.....I don't think I would have become a tub owner.  Its too late now so I will have to learn....I hope that later I can look back and wonder why I was so stressed about maintaining water chemestry because it iseems simple now. but right now it worries me that the cost of chemicals, filters etc. will take all the fun out of having a hot tub.    Catch ya later......Teach

[Anoroc]

There are plenty on this sight to offer you advice.  I got a feeling that all new spa owners, myself included, tend to get pretty anxious about water ballance and sanitizer.  But if so many folks are doing it I am sure it will become second nature to you after a short while.

I have learned more from this forum than I would have learned in a very long time from my local dealer because here you have access to information 24/7.

Good luck and enjoy.

[East_TX_Spa]

Relax teach (I always wanted to say that in school but would've gotten my butt paddled...ah, the good old days)!

You're going to be fine!  There's a learning curve to water maintenance.  It took me about three months to figure it all out and I went through chemical training.  Once you get it figured out, it's like kicking cats.  Once you get the hang of it, it'll become second nature.

Enjoy yourself!

Terminator

[Snowbird]

I am confused and don't even have water in my 385 yet.  It has an ozonator and a stick of some kind that goes in the center of one of the filters.  

Beyond that, I am lost.  Daily or weekly PH tests? Treatments before and/or after each use?  Weekly shocks?  Foam killers?  Additives that make minerals sticky?  Bromine? Chlorine? Clarifiers?  The more I read the worse it gets.

I have always believed that the simpler something can be made the better it will work.... so the plan is to follow dealer instructions (they have been great so far) until they don't work, then ask for advice here.

Hell, if everyone else can do it, so can I.
:-/

[hamrhed]

"KICKING CATS"   Term you crack me up....

[Brookenstein]

Am I the only one who doesn't stress about their water?  I've owned my spa a week.  I put dichlor in after use and put MPS in yesterday for the first time.  I've tested my levels twice and everything is perfect.  I'm not even thinking about it...

Crap I probably just jinxed myself.  

[Bonibelle]

Congratulations on your new spa.  I am sure we will all get this water balance thing straight sooner or later. Brooke has the right attitude and that is probably why she is having such good luck.  Enjoy

[lawdawgva]

I was one of those people who "pre-stressed" about water chemistry.  By that, I mean that I had gone out and purchased almost every hot tub chemical known to man BEFORE I even got the tub.  Boy, was THAT a  mistake.

First fill, I wound up with a yo-yo PH problem because I kept adding this to raise this, and adding that to lower that, etc. etc.  Over this past year, I have learned to be patient more than anything.   It seems we all want our water perfect and we want it RIGHT NOW.  What I had to learn was, even if your water is WAY off, don't rush the correction process.  Add a little of what you need to adjust it, and test it again later, maybe even the next day.  A high "this" or low "that", is not going to disintegrate your tub lining overnight.

Also, when you get one item balanced, then move on to the next.  Otherwise you'll be like I was the first time and have 7 chemical bottles sitting next to the tub, a set of measuring spoons in your hand and a nervous tic that just won't go away.

My best advice is keep it simple.  Just because they sell a chemical for everything and I DO mean everything, doesn't mean you need them all in your particular situation.  My current routine?  I have an ozonator that runs 24/7 on my circ. pump, I use Nature 2 in the filter standpipe that also  serves my 24/7 circ pump and use good ol' cheap Dicholor for my sanitizer and shock.  I can honestly say, other than fill time (when I need a little calcium increaser and PH decreaser) I never add anything except for my sanitizer/shock.  I have been blessed with clean, fresh, clear water since and usually get 4 mos. between water changes.

Sorry to make this so long, but my heart goes out to anyone who thinks that their glorious hottub experience is going to be ruined by dealing with water chemistry problems because it just doesn't have to be that way!  Oh yes, utilize your dealers free water testing services when you need to.  I test at home weekly and still will drop by my dealer every few weeks with a bottle of water just to make sure my test results jive with theirs.  Good luck on your new Thermospa Teach!

-Sarge

[hamrhed]

Good tips Sarge...

[Perk1]

Sarge hit it right on the head as far as my 'routine' too.  I have the 24/7 circ pump with ozone and N2.  I add dichlor after each use and shock with dichlor once a week.  Thats it....keep it simple....its only water....

[cappykat]

KICKING CATS??  Geez...thanks, Term!

After a few mis-steps my water is crystal clear.  

[East_TX_Spa]

KICKING CATS??  Geez...thanks, Term!

After a few mis-steps my water is crystal clear.  

I'm sorry.  I should've said "It's like riding a pig.  Once you learn how, it becomes second nature."

Terminator

[drewstar]

Congrats on your million dollar tub!   I'd love some pics of it.


Water discolartion line: This happens ussally on fresh water fill up and  can be wiped away with a Mr Clean magic eraser sponge.  I don' t use a prefilter for filling, and think unless you have bad water off the tap, don't really need it.

Sounds like you are on Dichlor.   I add it after each use. If I think I will be using the tub again, I wait until the last soak  before putting it in.  The theory being, you want to spike the water with Dichlor to sanitize AFTER you get out and kill the bacteria and then let the levels drift down before you get in again (usually the next morning). I don't think you want to bring the Chlorine (Dichlor) levels up and then jump in again in a few hours. Wait until you are done for the day to do the chems.


I have a 350 gallon tub, with an ozinator, and use a bit less than half a tsp per person before getting out.   I would treat "each" use of the tub as a person. So if one person used the tub 3 times, I would sightly less than 1.5 tsp of clhorine in at the end of the day.


Just my 2 humble cents.

[wmccall]

First fill, I wound up with a yo-yo PH problem because I kept adding this to raise this, and adding that to lower that, etc. etc.  Over this past year, I have learned to be patient more than anything.   It seems we all want our water perfect and we want it RIGHT NOW.  What I had to learn was, even if your water is WAY off, don't rush the correction process.  Add a little of what you need to adjust it, and test it again later, maybe even the next day.  A high "this" or low "that", is not going to disintegrate your tub lining overnight.

Wise words, they are the common sentiment of users after a few months, but seldom do I see it expressed so well.