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I tell our folks to give the test strips a chance for a few months before they bail on them. Sad to say, most new tub owners over-care for their new tubs in the extreme. You don't need to fine tune the pH and TA - just keep them in the right range - and for heaven's sake don't test more than once a week.Also - at the end of your first month of ownership do a water change (Chas' Law).Enjoy your new Caldera !!
For the first while, the tub is used heavily and the level of watercare knowledge is lacking. Good watercare is about the ability to be proactive and prevent problems before they arise. I don't agree that you should drain "just because" but be prepared to within the first month if you didn't receive good advice from your dealer on proper maintenance.Test strips are a guide line only and a poor choice for accurate water testing IMO. My suggestion for accurate water care analysis is have reagents that test for pH (phenol red) and Chlorine/Bromine (OTO) and have your dealer perform a monthly water test for Alk, Calc hardness and TDS. It doesn't get easier than that!Steve
Hi Steve what is TDSCapMorgan
I've done this over two decades now. Sheesh, makin' me feel old.I have found that the combination of over-attentive owners, newbies at the various chemical balances, 'help' from friends and relatives, large crowds, tons of use, various leftovers from manufacturing and shipping - and the fact that your pores get 'deep cleaned' and the gunk winds up in your spa all contribute to the fact that a one-time water change at the end of the first 30 days makes thing just that much easier.Water is the cheapest chemical you can add to your spa.
I've never used these so I'm unsure of the accuracy of them personally.Steve
Now, I got my own well. And there's lots and lots of iron in the water, so I do not want to get that into the tub. I do have filters that cope with normal use of water, but to do 425 gallons at once is impossible. So I will order a truck with fresh water from a water plant. Costs 400$.
I wouldn't suppose that those pre-fill filters would get enough of the iron out to make it worthwhile, huh? (I've seen them online, haven't seen much info on their usefulness in a case like this)