Newbie with J-495 needs advice on EVERYTHING

[Payton]

Could someone recommend the best vacuum, the best test kit,  and which chemicals we need to make this simple to maintain. We have a 2012 Jacuzzi 495. It has the UV light, no ozonator. I'm using dichlor granules currently and placing half a cap every night as recommended by the dealer. We use a defoamer occasionally if a guest has soap in their suit. We use descaler several times per week and a non-chlorine shock once per week. Is there a simpler plan? It's used daily by 3 people and high traffic on weekends with 6-8 people. Our water was soft and water was cloudy so I added hardener and that resolved. Currently using strips for testing but is testing water in a tube better? Finally, anyone have input on spa naturally? Sorry so lengthy. Any input is appreciated.

[goose973]

I hate to tell you this, but the regimen your dealer put you on may not be what's really best for your situation. My dealer told me to put "a teaspoon or two" of dichlor in after each use and shock with MPS once a week. It wasn't long before I was looking for help with why my water was getting cloudy. I've come to learn that it takes around 1 teaspoon of dichlor per person per 20 min. cycle to do the job in my sundance with clearray. So, two people for two cycles is about 4 teaspoons. Also, with use as heavy as yours, I need to shock with MPS at least twice a week. If you have low hardness, you may not need scale preventer, either. It took me several months of experimentation to hit what I needed to do to keep my tub in shape. Read chem geek's posts and you'll learn a lot. As for the strips, a lot of people swear by the Taylor kits. I use strips, and they work for me. Your experience may differ. Good luck.

[wmccall]

We use a defoamer occasionally if a guest has soap in their suit.

Welcome to the forum!  On this note, I've found that pouring defoamer directly into the tub is overkill.  Its been a few years since anyone has been in our tub with a suit that has been washed in soap so I rarely see foam. But when we do, we keep defoamer in a spray bottle and spray it directly on any foam that shows up.  It seems to attack the foam and stick to it so the matter gets filtered out quickly. We used a lot less foamer that way.

[bimmerdog]

We use a defoamer occasionally if a guest has soap in their suit.

Welcome to the forum!  On this note, I've found that pouring defoamer directly into the tub is overkill.  Its been a few years since anyone has been in our tub with a suit that has been washed in soap so I rarely see foam. But when we do, we keep defoamer in a spray bottle and spray it directly on any foam that shows up.  It seems to attack the foam and stick to it so the matter gets filtered out quickly. We used a lot less foamer that way.

Great idea on the defoamer.  I will be using this idea.