Water Tonic -- a gimmick or does it work?

[jasolution]

I have  a new Caldera Niagara Utopia series spa that I just bought last month. Tonight I saw an ad on Google for Water Tonic as a replacement for chlorine sanitization.

Has anyone used this product? To those with the knowledge to accurately determine the effectiveness of this system, is it a gimmick, or does it really work well?

The website is http://www.watertonic.com

Thanks,

Jason

[r100rs]

Is there Gin with that?  LOL  

r100rs

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

  WOW! Haven't hear about this product for quite some time. The "owner" used to post on my message board and, to his dismay, I have a few regulars that are rather scientific....... One in fact owns a lab that tests water for municipalities to determione if they're EPA compliant. The "owner" could, or would, NEVER answer a technical question nor provide any documented test results showing that this product did anything.

[Steve]

I think Doc's post says it all. I am in no way one of the "scientific" people he spoke of but I found this product to be a little misleading without any real data to back up some pretty wild claims.

It is an enzyme treatment and though I'm a firm believer in enzymes to help make our water quality better with less chemicals, I have never seen proof or an indication that enzymes alone can produce the type of sanitization needed for a spa. It will help suppliment a chlorine/bromine system but it can't replace it.

Many sell ozone in the same fashion incorrectly as well. It can be very dangerous to rely too heavily on products that aren't designed to do the stand alone job of a chlorine or bromine.

Steve

[Chas]

I tried an enzyme product in my spa at home and another similar product in one of the spas at one of my stores - they both seemed to reduce the required amount of Dichlor, and both kept a pleasant smell with good water clarity up to the end. But both also went south when I tried to cut the Dichlor completely toward the end of the experiement.

This is obviously far from a scientific experiment, though I did have the water tested by the lab in Vermont and the water was not a clean as we had hoped for.

I have run spas for decades on Dichlor - and it works. If you do it right, you don't seem to have an odor to contend with, and it seems to keep a very safe level of bateria and so forth.

So - I recommend keeping a trace of Chlorine in the water when tyring these various enzymes - for best results, and for you safety.

The ones I have tried are: Eco One, Spa Perfect. I liked the smooth feeling the oil imparted to my skin in the Eco One tub - smelled nice and I stayed free of the drying I usually get.

[jasolution]

Thank you all for your informative responses.

I have a large saltwater aquarium system that has been running for years without any artificial filtration (except protein skimming). The natural ecosystem is established and keeps a very stable water chemistry balance. I viewed the Water Tonic system as operating on a similar theory. The two differences I immediately saw between my aquarium and a spa were:

1) The aquarium is kept at a constant 80 degrees, low enough that most "good" organisms can survive

2) No soaps, cosmetics or other foreign substances enter the aquarium system

My concerns about the ability to maintain a "natrual ecosystem" in a spa relate to the high temp of a spa adversely affecting the enzymes (not sure if these things are temperature sensitive or not, I'm not a scientist), and the introduction of harsh foreign substances (perfume, cosmetics, detergents, etc) destroying the enzymes in a short amount of time.

Based on the responses thus far, it sounds like there's no solid proof one way or the other that the system works. I suppose it also does no harm to try it for a few months to see what the results are, but if I do, then I should still use a small amount of dichlor on a regular basis. Am I correct in this assumption?

Thanks again, this is definitely an informative and useful website!

Jason

[Chas]

Based on the responses thus far, it sounds like there's no solid proof one way or the other that the system works.

That's the reason I have gone back to Dichlor. I like to see tests with published reports, and the number of people using these products, and the relatively low output of the various companies selling them just don't support the kind of testing and evaluation that you and I seem to want.

I suppose it also does no harm to try it for a few months to see what the results are, but if I do, then I should still use a small amount of dichlor on a regular basis. Am I correct in this assumption?

Yes. By all means keep a low amount of Chlorine - and you will see that a little goes a long way if the enzymes are working.

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

Thank you all for your informative responses.

I have a large saltwater aquarium system that has been running for years without any artificial filtration (except protein skimming). The natural ecosystem is established and keeps a very stable water chemistry balance.

Actually, this is a rather bad comparison. To properly compare your aquarium to a spa you'll need to ad 50 to 100 times the fish you currently have to your existing aquarium to make it more equal to what happens in a spa.

Having a successful SW aquarium, I'm pretty sure you get the idea