unintended experiment Marquis Constant Clean

[Bonibelle]

I opened the tub this morning to cloudy water.  ..and I was so ready for a nice soak!. ..My Epic has something called Constant Clean and it automatically runs a clean cycle right after you soak. I know the Constant Clean concept makes sense, but I didn't realize how important that clean cycle really was until this morning.  :-/

My son and his girlfriend love the tub and Friday night they soaked for a long while, but they never used the jets. So the tub didn't trigger a clean cycle. I am running in Economy mode (and have been for a year now) and have shortened my regular filtration cycles to 1- 1hour cycle in the morning and 1-2hour cycle in the evening. This worked just fine until the tub sat for so long without filtering   and when it did finally filter, it was only for 1 hour...
Yesterday we had so much rain, I didn't even open the tub..I may have been able to catch it turning before it got so cloudy :-/

Long story short this proves that the Constant Clean system really does what it is supposed to.. but it is critical to trigger the Constant Clean when running shorter set filtration cycles. I told the kids to be sure to hit the jets from now on..even if it is on the way out of the tub  

[spalader]

I have the Epic as well.  We had green tinted cloudish water last week.  That is the second time in the two months since we got bought it.  Our dealer thinks the bromine level went to 0 after a prolonged use.  They recommended shocking after an extended use, but the last thing I want to do after getting out of the tub is to go back outside after 15 minutes to close the cover.  I changed the Constant Clean setting from 1 hour to 2 hours.  I am hoping that adds enough bromine from the frog cartridge.  

[Bonibelle]

I typically shock the tub once a week..more often if it gets more use. I have been pusing the envelope with the shortened filtration cycles as we have been using the tub much more often lately.

Spalader,
Have you read and followed Chas Law? it's at the top of the forum. Sometimes the best solution for a new spa owner is to dump and start with fresh water.

[spalader]

I also shock once or twice a week.  We did two re-fills in two months  The first time we had the cloudy water, considering Chas Law, I figured this happened to quite a few new tub owners.  The second time, I figured I must be doing something wrong, so I increased the filtration cycle time and the contant clean time.  Hopefully, that will do it.

[MarKee]

If the water has a green tint, you might have metals in the water.  Try use some metal and stain control.  

[Vinny]

Hey Boni,

I don't know how sopisticated the controller is as mine is extremely simplistic but why don't you up the filtration times of the night time cycle just to have it clean - just in case. Relying on our kids to remember anything is a chore!

[stuart]

I run two cycles of two hours each on my Epic...I also throw in about a tblsp of enhanced shock in each time I get out. My water stays clean.

[Bonibelle]

So Stuart, you throw in shock every time even with the Spa Frog?
My point here was that the constant clean (I guess it's really the Smartclean that triggers the filtration after a soak) was allowing me to keep the spa in economy mode and use reduced filter cycles. So it totally validates the concept of filtering and injecting Bromine into the tub immediately after a soak. I should have bumped up the filtration time, as Vinny said (and have now done that) but I am going to continue to run in economy mode as long as I can maintain my temperature when it gets cold.

[spalader]

If the water has a green tint, you might have metals in the water.  Try use some metal and stain control.  

Thanks MarKee, I do put in metal and stain control on initial fills, and I added more when the green tint appeared.  It did not seem to make any change.  I do not think our water has high metal content - we are not on a well.

[MarKee]

Your bromine level might have gotten low and you may have built a strong bromine/chlorine demand.  I would try adding a heavy dose of bromine concentrate.  Your dealer should carry this.   I would triple the dose that it reccomends on the back of the bottle and let it run for 24 hours and see if the water clears up.  One of our floor models had problems with a green tint to the water, and this is how I cleared it up.     

What do you have your green cartridge set to?  Have you checked to see if it is empty?  It can trick you sometimes, because it fills with water as it empties out.

[spalader]

Our dealer also thought it was a low (zero) bromine level that caused the green tint.  We already re-filled, but I will try the bromine concentrate if this happens again.  

The bromine cartridge is set to 3.  I have been checking it, but like you said, it is not always easy to tell when it is almost empty.  

Sorry Bonibelle, I did not mean to highjack your thread.

[Bonibelle]

No please don't be sorry...if it helped you, that is great. When I first got my Epic I was on here constantly trying to get my water right..
Hopefully this advice will help and you will have sparkling clean water

[txwillie]

I had my spa moved by my dealer this past April as I put in a pool and added some decking that made "just a better place for the spa". On the refill, he said to add the metal guard/stain control monthly. Is that right? I'm on municipal water and am also a mechanical/plumbing engineer and see and understand the local water quality reports. Metals are not an issue in the local supply. I have not added the stain and scale control. Should I?

btw, I am a die hard diclhor user. My first spa was a Marquis and I used the built in Spa Frog for a year and had to dump every 6 weeks. I switched to dichlor on the same spa and went for more than 4 months with no water quality issues (then sold the house and spa). I use dichlor on my Sundance, dichlor after every soak and shock "occasionally" with diclhor based shock. the only difference  in the shock vs the regular dichlor is it has some flocculants in it. I change the water 2 - 3 times a year, "just because".

Not wanting a dichlor - bromine feud, just wanted to tell of my experience and ask about the stain and scale control

txwillie